Week by week the weather improves and every so often a weekend will be laden with sunshine, warmer temperatures and everyone everywhere seems to relax just a little bit more.  It is the month of May, the tempress that she may be:  teasing with temperatures that slowly creep up the thermometer and with a flash of a sunny bright warm day that is more readily found in the month of June. 

As I write this, the East Coast has just had one such weekend with Saturday being the stellar day, but its indelible mark reminiscent of summer has remained and why shouldn’t Sunday be just as spectacular?   Granted the temperatures settled farther down the the thermometer than I would have liked but with its abundant sunshine and moderate breeze, it was finally comfortable for outdoor dining mid-afternoon on the back deck. 

Wine pairing in the afternoon is an art because the wine itself cannot be of a certain alcohol content or the remainder of the day is utterly wasted.  Similarly, as warmer weather approaches that higher alcohol content dehydrates you that much faster and ultimately isn’t that enjoyable.  What a host or hostess searches for is a wine that isn’t there to hijack the remainder of your weekend but to be a pleasant, fun-loving guest who knows how to hold its own throughout the afternoon event and yet know when to graciously leave so that you may still be useful towards preparing for the start of the work week.  

While rose wines are making quite a splash presently, not all are created evenly and a seemingly fun light-hearted pink can whallop a punch with a sneaky higher alcohol content depending on the grapes used and where they grew.  However, by and large, white wines do not offend and can maintain that light carefree feel (with a few exceptions like a Viognier) keeping their own composure and helping you to maintain yours largely due to a lower alcohol content.

Not wanting the pleasantness of the weekend to end, I decided to take a drive, winding through the trees to go pick up a lobster tail.  I had an idea of what I would do in order to prepare it and I knew that a glass of Chardonnay would pair well with the recipe.

For the Caymus fans, the children of Chuck Wagner do not disappoint and in the last 8 years each has really made his or her respective way into the wine scene.  Charlie Wagner is known for his lovely oaked and unoaked Chardonnays under his Mer Soleil label which I have featured many times before.  His sister, Jenny has recently emerged on the scene with her label Emmolo making a terrific Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.  Their brother Joseph “Joe” Wagner largely specializes in Pinot Noir under his labels Belle Glos and Meiomi but last year my taste buds were pleasantly surprised by a Chardonnay under the Meiomi label which picked up 90 points from The Wine Enthusiast.  

If last year’s released vintage received 90 points, this year’s released 2014 vintage should score higher.  It has a sleek undercurrent of sophistication as it transitions the palate.  The wine incorporates Chardonnay fruit from three different California wine regions:   Monterrey County (“Monterrey”), Sonoma County (“Sonoma”) and Santa Barbara County (“Santa Barbara”).  The 2014 vintage is a blend of 37% Monterrey Chardonnay fruit, 36% Sonoma Chardonnay fruit and 27% Santa Barbara Chardonnay fruit.   According to Meiomi, Monterrey provides the ripe stone fruit and round creamy texture; Sonoma provides crisp apple and lean minerality; and Santa Barbara sets forth the exotic sweet spice and lively tropical fruit notes.   Having gotten to know each county’s wine region and having tried Chardonnay from each region, this description is more than apt.  The climate of each area varies and each allows Chardonnay to offer different characteristics which may or may not be found in the other regions.   To blend Chardonnay fruit from each county actually sets forth a lively, bordering on vivacious Chardonnay.  This can be a go-to picnic wine, lunch entertaining wine or simply that wine you reach for when you have a simple light dinner or cheese plate at hand.   Its flavor profile boasts versatility and to test it, I paired it with my Sunday afternoon grilling:

• Grilled Lobster Tail with Salad of Mango-Kumquat-Herbs-Spices.

Not wanting much labor in my preparations for my Sunday afternoon outdoor lunch, I picked up a chef-ready lobster tail at the local market which made preparation as simple as firing up the charcoal grill and softening some butter.  Knowing that I had some Meiomi Chardonnay to enjoy, I decided to create a salsa cruda consisting of chopped mango, thinly sliced kumquats, chopped shallot, garlic and scallions and then spiced with red pepper flakes, threads of saffron, cilantro, ginger and lemon thyme.  The salsa was ultimately tied together with a quality single grove olive oil from Northern California.  It alone was a lively medley of flavors but one that would accentuate the attributes of the wine and not be lost among the smokey bites of grilled buttery lobster.

The blend of sweet and acidic, accentuated with sweet exotic spice notes mirrors almost perfectly to flavor profile of the Meiomi Chardonnay.   Sweet luscious peach fruit comes forth before being outlined by green apple and minerality and that spice in the wine is ginger which almost becomes seductive with the saffron in the salsa cruda.  

Meanwhile, lobster and Chardonnay are old friends:  one due to the buttery notes which have always harkened to the oaks notes in Chardonnay but second to the fact that lobster is largely tasted and truly experienced mid-palate (just like Chardonnay).

The plate is also a stunner for a lunchtime presentation as it is colorful and festive.

The combination of the flavors, near effortless preparation and the Meiomi Chardonnay wine is as carefree as the spring sunshine.  It would make entertaining on a summer afternoon fun and easy-breezy.  Adding the ocean breeze is optional; but if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Cheers!

Spring has previously struggled to start in the East but with temperatures slowly inching upwards, the afternoons are warmer and the sun teases of sun tans and summer gardening.

Even though most of us are still a few weeks away from all of the wonderful things that summer can offer, there are still ways to enjoy certain combinations of flavors which capture that delicate seasonal moment when winter gives way and spring takes over.

Asparagus is such a wonderful spring vegetable and it is now when it is its most tender and brightly flavored.  It can be added to so many dishes or as a simple side dish, but I have been wanting to add it to a flat bread pizza.  A flatbread pizza in the oven with the right combination of flavors takes simple to great and is more than satisfying to the palate.

A flatbread crust is brushed with some specialty olive oil from California.  The oil naturally has flavors that remind one of the vegetable garden.   Thinly sliced crimini mushrooms and garlic are added.   Asparagus sliced in half and then on the diagonal are tossed with thinly sliced shallots, lemon zest and a splash of lemon juice.  Combined with chopped fresh sage and rosemary, shaved parmesan and torn dry coppa, this is a flatbread that is filling, satisfying and wonderfully savory.

The flavors in this flatbread pop and continue to linger in layered dimensions long after the meal ends.  They linger in a flirtatious way that is savory and delightful which remind you and your guests just how wonderful that meal was.

To pair with the flatbread, it is seasonal and timely to select a Viognier.  Viognier, a white wine varietal, has a wonderful spring-like perfume, is far more fragrant than the other white wine varietals and offers clean flavors such as peach, lemon, melon or nectarine.  Pine Ridge Winery in Napa Valley makes and distributes throughout much of the United States an affordable Viognier blended with Chenin Blanc.  Prior to Chardonnay’s vineyard domination in the 1980’s, much of Napa Valley grew Chenin Blanc grapes and made crisp, pleasant and bright white wines offering a traditional base flavor of pear.   When Chenin Blanc meets Viognier, the combination is bright, vivacious and flavorful.   Pine Ridge’s Chenin Blanc-Viognier blend is as easy going as it is dynamic.  The flavors are bright, bouncy and welcome spring afternoons in the bright sunshine.

When the wine is paired with the flatbread, all of the flavors in the flatbread and the wine stand out crisply with individuality but comingle artfully.

In the end, this is a wonderful pairing whether as a meal or appetizer when entertaining friends.  Your guests will expound upon what they taste, readily compliment you and more importantly, they will smile in delight with this pairing.

Spring is slow-coming this year.  New England has been hit recently with multiple “spring” snowstorms putting the brakes on trees with budding leaves, flowers emerging from the ground and garden planting.

Warmer weather has not arrived with any regularity yet and at this point, it cannot arrive soon enough.  Inclimate weather provides the opportunity to slow down and spend some quality time in the kitchen, whether that is exploring a new recipe or simply learning how to master a new culinary technique.  And why shouldn’t you?  Sometimes you simply have to “treat yourself.”

The idea of “treating yourself” is certainly familiar in Napa Valley.  Often heard among hospitality is the justification, “because it’s Wednesday.”   The idea of treating yourself to something whether it is a nice bottle of wine with dinner or a nicer meal does not have to be relegated to a special occasion.  Instead, as the theory suggests, you can enjoy a nice bottle of wine with a nice dinner simply “because it’s Wednesday”.

This past week knowing that I was going to prepare a nice meal, I decided to explore my wine collection and revisit a lovely vintage of a red wine blend, “C’est Si Bon” made by Elyse Winery (“Elyse”).  C’est Si Bon (which means “It’s so good” in French) is a delicious blend of grapes indigenous to the Rhone Valley in Southern France and consists of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, Counoise and Viognier.   It is a lighter bodied red wine than many of its other red wine counterparts and it is also noted for its distinctive acidity.  Always delicious when released by the winery and difficult to set aside and allow to age, if you can age any of this flagship wine by Elyse, you will be delighted.   The 2007 vintage of C’est Si Bon hails from that landmark year which was a textbook growing year and the red wines made in Northern California were outstanding.   Given the strength of the growing year, the wines of that vintage have a wonderful aptitude for cellaring.  Case in point, opening a 2007 C’est Si Bon today makes the wine almost 9 years old since harvest and the wine still shows bright round juicy flavors of red plums, raspberries, a hint of milk chocolate and subtle aromas of lavender.  Previously the wine was rated 89 points by The Wine Enthusiast and today it does not disappoint but exceeds even the knowledgeable palate’s expectations.  The wine awakens the front of the palate with big sweet cherry flavors and then explodes into the mid-palate filling it with delicious fruit, subtle nuances of milk chocolate and finishing gently with cherry flavors which slowly fade away.  In the glass the wine is jewel like, with a deep garnet color yet with the ability to capture the light and edge the glass with ruby notes.

Even though the wine is a blend of red varietals, it has versatility to pair with poultry, fish or vegetable dishes in addition to beef.  To demonstrate this, I prepared chicken breasts roasted in Vermont Grade B maple syrup, lemon juice, slices of lemon and sweet onion, Herbes de Provence and ribbons of fresh sage.

To accompany the chicken, steamed seasonal asparagus, a polenta with lemon zest and fresh sage drizzled with a sauce made from reducing the drippings with a bit of balsamic vinegar.

Dinner, which would at first blush look like a hearty winter meal, offers bright flavors akin to spring by incorporating lemon and its zest in both the chicken and the polenta.  Sweet, herb and juicy acidity bring together a delicious meal which pairs wonderfully with the 2007 vintage of the C’est Si Bon.

And to enjoy something like this on a Wednesday night provides a sufficient break from the routine and revitalizes one to finish out the remainder of the work week.   That in itself is more than enough justification to enjoy this:  because it’s Wednesday.  So why not?  Cheers!

February, regardless of where you live, is that point in winter when you have a couple of substantial storms under your belt, waved goodbye to the holidays in the rearview mirror and you note that finally the sun has begun to rise a bit earlier and set a bit later. It is right about now when nearly everyone gets a bit restless and when that first spring-like breeze teases us, we are all too ready to bound outside whether it is truly warm or not. We all seek a bit of brightness right about now.

As we seek signs of pending spring, Napa Valley comes alive with brilliant yellow mustard blooms and the rest of us in the country look hopefully at the start of daffodils peeking up from the winter earth.

Whether you find yourself surrounded with spring blooms, overcast with clouds or under a pile of snow somewhere, you can find a bit of brightness in a thoughtful dinner paired with the right varietal of wine.

Throughout the colder months we reach for hearty red wine which warms the soul. However, Pinot Noir with its coy acidity is a lovely varietal to consider in February. Pinot Noir, a red grape varietal, grows throughout the world but thrives best in cooler climates. A sensitive if not temperamental grape, Pinot Noir with the proper cultivation, vineyard location and care can produce elegant and complex wines.

Once bottled, not all Pinot Noir wines are equal and frankly, their quality depends on where the vineyard is located and the vineyard’s age. In California, Pinot Noir wines vary widely up and down the coast. The farther north you go, Pinot Noir wines have the potential to be bigger and bolder.

For this article I elected to enjoy Domaine Carneros’ 2011 Mt. Eden Clonal Series Pinot Noir. Domaine Carneros and its vineyards are located in the Carneros American Viticultural Area (“AVA”), right down the road from where I lived in Napa Valley. While Domaine Carneros is readily known for its wonderful sparkling wines and glamorous chateau patio that looks out over the Carneros AVA, for many years the winery has been making Pinot Noir with notable success. When this wine was first available for tasting, it was 2013. At the time of release, the wine very young. Now today in February of 2016, this Pinot Noir has truly grown into its own, has aged well and offers a wonderful mature profile.

 
The wine’s nose is smoky to the point of seeming meaty. The flavor profile presents sultry notes of roasted raspberries, bits of bacon fat, subtle hints of lavender and bits of winter sage. The front of the palate experiences big round complex flavor before the wine rumbles aggressively across the middle of the palate releasing earthy flavors and politely leaves with a finish that is elegant and sweet.

So what is it about Pinot Noir that makes people grin and often passionately seek it out? It is a combination of the complex flavors that it can yield and that coy acidity that I originally mentioned. Most do not expect brightness from red wine and Pinot Noir can feign delicacy while letting big flavors tease an inquisitive palate. It is because of this acidity that one does not pair it with typical heavy meat dishes. It lacks the tannins which effortlessly slice through fat. Instead, it is Pinot Noir’s acidity that makes this red wine varietal lighter and capable of pairing well with salmon or poultry dishes.

The earthiness of Pinot Noir allows it to pair beautifully with fresh winter herbs such as sage and rosemary, portabello mushrooms, the hint of mold found in gorgonzola cheese and winter dark leafy greens such as spinach.

These seasonal winter ingredients conjure up an image of a roaring fireplace but the wine’s acidity allows us to veer away from the heavier and denser meals traditional to winter. Generally with acidity, immediately the home chef’s thoughts turn to foods that might involve tomatoes but cranberry is a good winter alternative.

To start the meal, homemade crostini is not only simple to make but a wonderful canvas to set forth some of the actual foods that the palate identifies in the wine. Here crostini is made with ciabatta bread, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, gorganzola cheese and fresh sage.
For dinner, roasted chicken with fresh rosemary and sage is a simple lean protein base to serve as a backdrop to the combination of flavors found in the accompanying deconstructed stuffed crimini mushrooms and cranberry sauce.

Deconstructing the stuffed mushroom, crimini mushrooms are thinly sliced, sautéed with minced shallots, chopped sage and toasted panko bread crumbs. At the last minute giant fresh spinach leaves are added to barely wilt.

The true standout on the plate is the Pinot Noir Cranberry Sauce with Herbs de Provence. The acidity in the cranberry and the acidity in the Pinot Noir neutralize each other which allows the bright red fruit flavors of the wine to become bolder and juicier and similarly the biting nature of the cranberry vanishes. My herb mix contains actual little lavender blossoms. The lavender brings a depth to the cranberry sauce and its fragrance brings romance to the plate.

In total, a savory and delicious combination of flavors. Cooking with the fresh herbs fills the house with such wonderful aromatics that you cannot help but grin and know that spring is not far off. Cheers!

It is no secret that Rosé is summer’s companion.  Often cheeky in its acidity, flavor and sweetness, it coyly hints of the arrival of summer freedom and the possibilities that lie therein.  It pairs well with hot weather:  no matter if your climate is dry or humid.  Slowly sipping Rosé on a hot afternoon brings an entitled sense of harmless laziness.

In the wine industry, however, the release of Rosé is a right of passage into the height of spring.  Here in Napa Valley, the temperatures continue to be warm and dry.  Spring is in full swing with flowers blooming everywhere and new flower varieties emerging almost daily. Just driving down some of Napa’s busy roads will encompass you with the fragrance of roses.  The wineries are ever ready to stock one’s collection in these early weeks of spring to prepare one for the warm days ahead and the pending arrival of summer. For those of us in the know, a good glass of chilled Rosé is easy at hand.

There are many different styles of Rosé.   These wines vary based on the grape varietal (or blend) used and the style in which they are made.   The hand of the vintner is readily apparent.  The easiest and most common way to identify that which you prefer is simply whether you like a dry style or not.  As our temperatures continue to warm, I will feature some of my favorite Rosé wines (some are new to my wine cellar).   To kick things off, however, it is only fair to commence with the winery that makes one of the most consistent Rosé bottlings in Napa Valley:   Elyse Winery.

Elyse Winery (“Elyse”), located on Hoffman Lane just south of the town of Yountville, has year after year bottled a wonderfully consistent, elegant, dry style Rosé.  Elyse has strived to present its Rosé in a style most likened to those hailing from Tavel, France.  Regardless of the vintage, there is always a unique tart quality coupled with flavors of rhubarb, strawberry, apricot and perhaps raspberry.   None of these fruits are overly sugary and all yield a certain degree of acidity.  So when you taste a bit of Elyse’s Rosé, it should come at no surprise to you that the wine will be dry, as opposed to sugary (if not candied) flavors.  While there is a tartness to the wine, it is not one that makes you pucker.  Instead, it begs for salty pairings such as prosciutto, parmesan cheese, certain olives or even tangy cheeses.   Its acidity opens the palate to a realm of pairing possibilities and when couled with its hint of sweet fruit, consider that culinary gate flung wide open.

Year after year, I seek out this wine for my Rosé rotation.  If I can manage to save some, I even enjoy it at Thanksgiving with my roasted turkey recipe (which I have posted on the Facebook Fan Page for my web site in years past).  This year, I find it wonderfully enjoyable in the spring.  Admittedly, I am still finishing my 2012 vintage.   Elyse has recently released the tasting notes for the 2013 vintage so if it is not already available for purchase in the tasting room, surely it will be soon.

For the curious, the 2013 vintage consists of 47% Grenache, 38% Mourvedre, 10% Carignan, 3% Cinsault, and 2% Counoise.  One of the other consistently attractive attributes of this wine is that its alcohol content is ony 13.6% which makes it tolerable for sipping in warmer weather.  A simple rule of thumb for me is that if a Rosé hits 14%, no matter how delicious it may be, I simply do not want that level of alcohol content on a hot day.  Once the alcohol level rises that high, I find (as do many of my dining guests) that something more substantive needs to pair alongside. 

Pairing suggestions, as I mentioned earlier, are versatile. The first year that I paired Elyse’s Rosé on this site, it fit perfectly with a grilled sourdough apricot mozzarella sandwich.  A few years later, the wine paired wonderfully with a butter roasted herbed chicken and an asparagus prosciutto risotto.  When I attended a winemaker dinner hosted by Ray and Nancy Coursen at Redd, they entertained their guests on the patio of the restaurant with a lovely thin crusted pizza with olive oil, arugula, prosciutto and whisps of shaved parmesan.  When I want something simple, I pick up a can of Graber Olives and can slowly nibble and sip while reading on an afternoon.   Most recently, I created some parmesan puff pastry twists and a unique kale salad and yes, Elyse’s Rosé paired just fine.

Puff pastry twists are utterly simple to make and easy to improve.  Using freshly grated parmesan and a wonderful spring collection of herbs (lemon thyme, marjoram, opal and sweet basil), these snacks are a fantastic centerpiece to set in front of guests, fill their glasses and allow the conversation to begin.

Salads are generally a challenge in wine pairing but when you have a wine with some acidity, salad becomes a cinch.   Wonderful dark leafy kale can be marinated with a lemon dressing to soften its bitterness.  I used Meyer Lemons from my tree, some locally made honey and tossed in blueberries that I grow along with chopped pecans.  The result was delicious, satisfying and paired wonderfully for an afternoon lunch.

There is something about Elyse’s Rosé that causes you to linger and enjoy, while time carelessly whisks away.   While it could be paired with a myriad of choices, pairing it with something straightforward will not leave you disappointed.

Right now, in the midst of spring, a glass of Rosé is the perfect way to take in the bevy of floral and herbal aromas around you, to ponder the powder blue sky above, to soak in the warm rays of the sun or simply embrace the slow sway of the green leaf canopy above you.  You, too, intuitively slow, simply sipping and nibbling while you soak up spring and wonder about all that summer this year may be.  Cheers!