Sunday, October 23, 2011

Spellbound Petite Sirah




Hello Wine Lovers!
Halloween is just around the corner and I love this time of year! The weather is changing and we all need to exchange our wardrobes from summer to fall, pumpkins, corn stalks, apple cider, bonfires and of course, it i time to drink some Sirah's. Spicy and sometimes tannic, the perfect wine for this time of year! Today's entry is Spellbound Petite Sirah from Robert Mondavi's son, Rob. The fruit is sourced from Lodi and is loaded with jammy flavors of dark berries, chocolate, coffee and a touch of vanilla. Some lots were aged in stainless steel and some lots aged in French and American oak barrels. The wine was then blended before bottling and then to market for $10! This wine is perfect for burgers on the grill while you hang out around the fire!
Let's talk a little about Petite Sirah... or also known as Durif.
Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in California, Australia, France, and Israel. It is the main grape known in the U.S. and Israel as Petite Sirah, with over 90% of the California plantings labeled "Petite Sirah" being Durif grapes. It produces tannic wines with spicy, plummy flavours. The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant and is named after François Durif, a botanist at the University of Montpellier in France.It was in a Peloursin vineyard near the university that he discovered the unique vine that he named for himself in 1880. The grape's high resistance to downy mildew encouraged its cultivation in the early 20th century in areas like Isère and Ardèche, although the relative low quality of the resulting wine caused the grape to fall out of favor with local wine authorities. Today, it is almost nonexistent in France. When it is handled correctly you are rewarded with a mouth full of jammy fruit! served this wine with the recipe here from Pine Ridge Vineyards for braised boar. (I used pork shoulder) Enjoy!
Braised Wild Boar with Egg Noodles and Thyme
Serve with Onyx
Created by Winery Chef Eric C. Maczko

Ingredients:
6 pounds wild boar shoulder, boneless with excess fat removed
3 ounces 2003 Onyx
Salt and pepper to taste
Flour, as needed for dusting
Grapeseed oil, as needed for searing
2 white onions, quartered
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 quarts beef stock, preferably homemade
Aromatics (place all in a tea infuser for easy removal): 2 each of bay leaves,
thyme sprigs, juniper berries and cloves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6-8 cups egg noodles
1 tablespoon whole butter
Fresh thyme for garnish

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°. Dice meat into 1" cubes and toss with wine to marinade. After 1 hour, drain meat and pat dry with paper towels, reserving marinade. Season meat with salt and pepper, and dust lightly with flour. Heat sauté pan with 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil over high heat and sear meat in batches, making sure all sides are nicely browned (drain spent oil between batches and replace with fresh oil). Remove meat to casserole dish or deep pan designated for braising.

Once all meat is seared, sauté onion in same sauté pan until lightly browned, approximately 4 minutes. Add tomato and sauté one minute more. Add marinade and scrape the pan into the casserole dish. Add stock, aromatics and vinegar, and cover with lid or foil. Braise in oven for up to 2½ hours, or until very tender.

While boar braises, any additional vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, carrots or pearl onions can be prepared as desired to serve with the boar. Approximately 20 minutes prior to serving, cook noodles in well salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss noodles with butter while still warm, and place into small cups for individual servings.

When boar is finished, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove aromatics and skim any impurities that may have risen to the top. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Plate boar and vegetables in a shallow bowl. Top with stock and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Terra Rosa Old Vine Malbec



Hello Wine Lovers!
My entry today is two fold, an extremely value driven Malbec from Terra Rosa made from old vines from Mendoza Argentina, and my feelings on wine and dinner. First the wine. Here is the kicker... the winery is owned by Patrick Campbell who also owns Laurel Glen Winery in California. After the wine finishes fermentation, it is brought up to our California winery by ship in temperature-controlled 24,000 liter stainless steel containers to age in French and European oak barrels for 15 months. So what is the kicker you say? The cost is only $8 a bottle! Think about it, everything this wine goes through and it still shows up at market for this price! Available at Binny's and Wine Discount Centers. This wine is teeth staining, dark violet in color with a nose of licorice, tobacco and smoke. It has a juicy mouth full of dark plums and spice with nice tannins to round out the wine. Very complex for a wine of this price point! Before they run out, go and grab all you can carry, you will not be disappointed!
Now dinner. Last night my wife and I shared dinner with a wonderful couple (of which I happen to work with the husband)who's company and conversation was divine. At one point our dinner conversation led us down the path of a changing society and how different things are now than when we grew up. My point is (I do have a point...)I think one of the factors that has shaped our society today is the dinner table, or lack of. Without getting too involved and lengthy I'll tell you what I think. With both parents working, kids enrolled in everything from soccer to violin lessons to baseball, commuting to and from work, long hours of work, and the cell phone... there is never time for dinner! Dinner should be planned and thought about, not a drive through in between games or lessons. You plan dinner, you sit with your kids and you talk! You laugh, you ask questions, you get connected to them! You listen, and I mean really listen, to each other. The nucleus of the family is at the dinner table and without it, in my opinion, it starts to crumble. This is just one guy's opinion but I'm sticking to it!
Cheers!
J