Sous Vide Salmon and Wine from 4.0 Cellars

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Oct 302012
 

**What I’m Drinking (and Eating) Tonight**

Wow! Pardon the exclamation, but it’s been a great night. I tried my hand again at cooking Sous Vide. This time it was salmon, vacuum sealed and left to set at 140 F for 40 minutes in my water bath on stove. My set-up is the poor man’s way to do it that calls for constant watching and a throwing in a few ice cubes into the water when it starts to get too hot. But yet, it works.

Secondly, my wife bought me a flame thrower that is actually called a “culinary torch”. So when my salmon steaks came out of the sous vide water bath and were plated, I gave them a quick few seconds of high intensity flame, and voila, they were just right.

But alas, again, I forgot to take a photo of the final product. This is precisely why I’m not a food blogger. It calls for stopping the process before the creation enters my mouth. I think that I’ll stick to wine blogging.

The final step was the wine, or as I should say, wines.

It was a 4.0 Cellars night with the leftovers of our Brennan Vineyards 2011 Lily, a white Rhone blend of Roussanne, Viognier and “white” Grenache, followed with a splash (or two) of Lost Oak Winery Blanc Du Bois. Both were light, fresh, aromatic and crisp.

So much for my live blogging. I hope you enjoy it half as much as I did. Or, perhaps more appropriately, I hope that that you will enjoy the experience for yourself.

 Posted by at 8:04 pm

Join in for TXwine Twitter Tuesday to Taste & Tweet Texas Tempranillos

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Oct 302012
 

TXwine Twitter Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central Time on November 13th

Join in for TXwine Twitter Tuesday to Taste & Tweet Texas Tempranillos

Austin’s Denise Clarke (@DeniseClarkeTX), and Houston’s Jeff Cope (@TXwineLover) and I (@VintageTexas) invite you to join the next TXwine Twitter Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central Time on November 13th. This month we will celebrate Texas Tempranillo, the red grape of Texas, and if time allows, we hope to hear about  your Texas wine month adventures.

We have an open tasting list for the event and ask that you select one or more of the following Texas Tempranillos and blends:

You can also check your Spec’s, Total Wine or other local wine shops/markets and wineries for the Texas Tempranillo selection near you.

Once you have your wines, get a few munchies and invite your friends and fellow Twitter-buddies to join you. Have them bring another Tempranillo to share. Remember on TXwine Twitter Tuesdays, more wine and people mean more fun for all. You can also post photos of your Twitter party. Remember to taste, tweet and repeat!

Photo courtesy of vinesleuth.com

To participate in the TXwine Twitter Tuesday tasting on November 13th, remember to include #TXwine in your tweets.

NOTE: If you’re new to Twitter, here’s how you participate:  just sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com. You can also go to the Tweetchat room set up for #TXwine (http://tweetchat.com/room/TXwine). No registration is required; you can login using your Twitter account info. In the Tweetchat room, participants are invited to follow tweets, add comments or tasting notes and share thoughts as participants taste and discuss the wines.

On TweetChat the hastag will be added automatically. If using TweetDeck or another Twitter application, you will need to add #TXwine in your Tweets.

 Posted by at 5:21 pm

Sunday at Sandstone Cellars: An Apple for a Drinker to Enjoy

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Oct 262012
 

Sunday at Sandstone Cellars: An Apple for a Drinker to Enjoy

Fall is here and it’s time roll out on the highways and byways around Texas stopping in to see old friends and meet new ones at Texas wineries. I phoned up to see if Sandstone Cellars proprietors, Scott Haupert and Manny Salerio and winemaker, Don Pullum in Mason were going to be around on Sunday. Word had it that Sandstone Cellars had a new “brew” (or more appropriately, apple wine made from Texas apples, no less) and I wanted to get a first hand look and taste.

Heading northwest from Fredericksburg, the road was like a black asphalt snake that slithered first through limestone ledges and outcrops of caliche on the outskirts of town. Later, just as I descended into the Llano basin and on into Mason, it wound around masses of ocher-brown sandstone.

When I arrived at Sandstone Cellars, I saw Don seated at a table on the front porch of their wine bar and Scott in the doorway talking to winery visitors. As I stepped up to the porch, I overheard a conversation. “On Route 290 between Johnson City and Fredericksburg, you get the feeling that you’re in Napa Valley. It’s eventually going to be wall-to-wall wineries, and some of bigger ones, too.” Then, I heard Scott say, “I know what you mean. We like to think that this stretch of road to Mason and on into Junction is more like Sonoma where you can still find smaller wineries and their artisanal wines like we have at Sandstone Cellars.”

I mentioned, “I liked that comparison to both premium California wine regions. It’s a good one for Texas to make. Napa Valley has its Route 29 and the Texas hill country has its Route 290 and beyond.”

I noticed Don was seated at the table already pouring a light amber fluid from a tall and slender, clear-glass bottle. My mission was now in sight: a taste of Sandstone Cellars Cider Dessert Wine. While Don continued to pour several more glasses of the cider for Manny, Scott and me, it reminded me of the splash of October sunshine that was about to engulf our patio party.

This apple cider is like none that I’ve had before. It came with an herbal bouquet of verbena overlaid onto a freshly baked apple tart carried by wine’s aromatic alcoholic vapors. The wine was made with only a mild tinge of sweetness, barely perceptible against the tart flavor of apple and the yeasty quality of just baked pastry, punctuated by the nip of brandy on the finish. This was truly an apple for a drinker to enjoy!

The light, bright and barely sweet apple elixir was a fine aperitif before we segued into a visit with two of my “old friends”: the Mourvedre-dominated Sandstone Cellars III (one of only a few bottles known to be in existence), and Sandstone Cellars V 2007 in which the number one position was replaced by Syrah. Bottle age was doing these old pardners well. The Sandstone III had mature and dusty red wine qualities that ended with the desiccatingly dry finish of river stones, and the V had red fruits and cedar clear to the end. These Mason County wines were paired with the equally famous Cooper’s BBQ for true Mason County gustatory delight. If you want to know more of my long relationship with these friends, you can read about it in The Wineslinger Chronicles (Chapters 2 and 18). All I can say here is that it goes back to a past life and likely farther.

Our afternoon was complete with a sampling of Sandstone Cellars XIII – a Touriga-led port-style blend of Mediterranean grapes and vintages with the qualities simply described as blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream.

– — – — –

Stop by Sandstone Cellars for your own taste of Apple Dessert Wine and XIII:

Sandstone Cellars Winery – http://sandstonecellarswinery.com/

211 San Antonio Street,  Mason, TX 76856 – Tele: (325) 347-9463

 Posted by at 2:05 pm

Messina Hof Pasta Making Party: Five things We Learned at this Food/Wine Experience

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Oct 232012
 

Messina Hof Pasta Making Party:  Five things We Learned at this Food/Wine Experience

My daughter and I are always looking for good ways to learn things about food and wine together. We have cross the threshold of cheese making and are now seriously considered making sausage. So, when I got the announcement for the recent Pasta Making Party at Messina Hof Winery and Resort in Bryan, TX, I figured that this was a must event for us to attend.

After a not so smooth exit from Houston during evening rush hour, we remarkably arrived on time ready for the experience. Messina Hof Executive Chef Chris Shepley, talked, demoed and tasted a dining room full of attendees through the preparation of a four-course pasta wine dinner that included:

1st Course – Potato gnocchi in a Chenin Blanc shrimp cream finished with spiced tomato basil jam / Messina Hof Pinot Grigio

2nd Course – Tagliatelle pasta tossed with diced cheeses and Italian meats in lemon oregano Chardonnay vinaigrette / Messina Hof Private Reserve Pinot Noir

3rd Course – Lasagna Bolognaise with ricotta, beef and pork with a Merlot tomato sauce served with side salad and rosemary foccacia / Messina Hof Private Reserve Merlot, Rea Gae Vineyard, Texas High Plains

4th Course – Fried chocolate ravioli filled with a sweetened mascarpone cheese over raspberry Port couli with a rosemary biscotti / Messina Hof Private Reserve Port

Not having actually attempted pasta making, it was both educational and interesting to watch someone who knows what he is doing go through the motions. It was also a pleasure to dine in the company of other “foodies” like us that were avidly taking notes and asking questions about the Chef’s techniques and requests for his tips to guide their own efforts.

We came away with several pasta, food and wine tips from the Chef:

  1. The most common problem in pasta making is making it too wet so that it literally falls apart while rolling or once in the boiling water.
  2. A must for making pasta is let the dough relax before attempting to roll it out. While the dough is relaxing. This is a good time for for you to do the same and drink some Messina Hof wine!
  3. When making a vinaigrette that you want to emulsify and to aid in wine pairing, don’t use too much vinegar: 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar is best.
  4. They way to cut onions without crying is to use a very sharp knife and work fast; you can also refrigerate the onion before cutting it.
  5. Dry white wines like Pinot Grigio work well with pasta with a heavy cream sauce; crisp (high acid) red wines pair with pasta with tomato sauces.

I can also share that I learned what is meant by Chiffonade, a cooking technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables (such as spinach or basil) are cut into long, thin strips by rolling them up and cutting them crossways.

Our favorite course for the evening was Lasagna Bolognaise with ricotta, beef and pork with a Merlot tomato sauce served with side salad and rosemary foccacia / Messina Hof Private Reserve Merlot, Rea Gae Vineyard, Texas High Plains. Interestingly, when I saw the wine described on the menu, I figured that the Merlot from the Rea Gae Vineyard was going to turn into another one of Paul Bonarrigo’s famous stories (aka Halfway Texas, Three-quarterway Texas etc. – ask Paul for the punch line if you haven’t heard it). I thought that the story might evolve into Rea Gae being a Texas vineyard owned by a Reggie musician. However, I later found that there actual is a Rae Gae Vineyard in Lamesa, TX, owned by Mark Shofner.

Russ Kane & daughter Caroline Carruba

– — – — –

More information on wine and food-friendly events at Messina Hof Winery can be found on their website (click here). For my article on Messina Hof Winery and my discussion with Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal click here.

Photo credit for photos in this blog: Caroline Carruba

 Posted by at 10:16 pm

California Winemaker, Greg Bruni, Planned his Escape to Texas

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Oct 202012
 

Greg Bruni and his winemaking team at Llano Estacado Winery

California Winemaker, Greg Bruni, Planned his Escape to Texas

Back in 1993, now Llano Estacado Winery Vice President & Executive Winemaker Greg Bruni planned an escape from California for him and his wife.

Greg and his wife Sharendale realized that, even though they were living at the mountain-top Byington Winery in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains surrounded by a redwood forest, their two divergent careers dictated a serious break in their routines. They looked for something different that would give Bruni a creative challenge while bringing them closer together.

Bruni said, “Sharendale often mused that she wanted me to take her somewhere that was flat, without trees. Maybe I took her a bit too literally, but when the opportunity came to make wine in Lubbock, it seemed to fit all of our needs.”

Read the rest of Greg’s “Coming to Texas Story” and comments on the future of Texas wine in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal online (click here).

 Posted by at 2:06 pm

Texas Wines Being Served at Lucille’s Houston

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Oct 082012
 

Lucille’s Restaurant in Houston’s Museum District

Texas Wines Being Served at Lucille’s Houston

Alerted to an impending change in the wine list at Chef Chris Williams’ museum district Lucille’s Restaurant, my wife and I stopped by early last Saturday evening for dinner. Because Lucille’s culinary roots date back to Chef Williams great-grandmother, Lucille Bishop Smith, and her widely acclaimed Chili Biscuits, we already knew one of two things we had to order. The other mandate for the evening was to select a Texas wine or two from the newly constructed wine list that features the wines from Lubbock’s CapRock Winery.

Lucille’s Chili Biscuits

Having visited the restaurant’s online menu, my wife had her dinner selection pegged prior to our arrival: braised oxtails, fingerling potatoes, caponata and braising jus. I wasn’t quite so fixated by one dish, but finally decided on an equally savory selection: Shrimp and grits, andouille, sherry tomato broth and stone mill grits.

As we awaited out selections, I asked for a wine list expecting to peruse a selection of Texas wines from CapRock Winery. But, search as I may, CapRock’s wines were no where to be found on the list.

Then, I summoned our waiter to to the table and inquired about the supposed missing wines. When I said that I thought the restaurant served Texas wines the waiter said, “We do. We just haven’t had time to change the wine list, yet. We should have our new wine list printed when we open next Tuesday.”

Shrimp & Grit ala Lucille’s

Then, we were offered a selection of three CapRock wines: CapRock Roussanne, a white unoaked wine from this Rhone varietal; CapRock Rosé of Grenache brandishing its trademark deep red-purple color; CapRock Merlot offering a medium bodied, well rounded red wine experience.

My wife selected the Rosé and I went with the Roussanne. The rest of the evening was a mélange of delight including the cuisine, the wine and later the fresh night air of Fall in Houston as appreciated from a small, sleek two-seater convertible.

Lucille’s Restaurant – The inside

 Posted by at 4:29 pm

Top Ten VintageTexas Blogs (By Views) in September 2012

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Sep 292012
 

Top Ten VintageTexas Blogs (by Views) in September 2012

Top Ten Texas Wines of 2011 from VintageTexas: Installment #1 – Five Wines
VintageTexas ‘Cyclopedia of Wine: Vintage Charts
Texas Wine: Is There Really Anything Behind The HoustonPress “Cellar Door” Article
Texas Black Spanish – The Grape Otherwise Known as Lenoir
So You Want to Grow Wine Grapes in Texas – How to Get Started
September 11th TXwine Twitter Tuesday: TEXSOM and Muy Grande Tasting
Wine Spectator: CapRock’s 2010 Bingham Family Vineyards Roussanne – A Very Good Value
VintageTexas Sunday ‘Cyclopedia of Wine: Trellising and Grapevine Canopy Management
2011 Top Ten Texas Wines from VintageTexas – The Honorable Mentions
Wine Wiz Quiz – What do you know about the Argentine Mendoza Wine Growing Region?

 

 Posted by at 4:33 pm

And You Thought That Texas Wines Were Only for the Moment!

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Sep 292012
 
And You Thought That Texas Wines Were Only for the Moment!

Earlier this week I perused an online article on the Dallas Morning New website titled, “The best Texas wines — all made from Texas grapes” penned by Tina Danze. Tina brought together a panel of good Dallas tasters including: Blythe Beck, chef; Hunter Hammett, certified sommelier, Pyramid Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel Dallas; James Tidwell, certified wine educator; master sommelier, Cafe on the Green, Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas; Jennifer Uygur, co-owner and wine director, Lucia restaurant; Cathy Barber, Taste editor). They gave their take on what they felt were the best Texas wines…actually made from Texas grapes.

Click here for Danze and company’s top ten Texas wine list….But, note that the lead wine in their photo array is Inwood Estates Vineyards 2009 Cornelious Tempranillo.

Also, continue down into the reader comments. There is good banter on what “local” means. I added my comments mid-week, but unfortunately, can’t seem to find them now (moderated out perhaps???). I tried to clear the air about differences between what local means to “foodies” and “winos” – foodies typically view local around there feet (maybe 30 miles around or so), but local wine people generally call wine made from their states grapes local, but then I opened the question to how many Texas grapes are required in a bottle for the wine to be called a Texas wine. Then, I got into my often said manifesto on labeling – i.e. what does “Texas appellation” mean, what does “For Sale in Texas Only” mean, etc. But, alas it seems to be gone.

As I went down the page to the recent comments, I found one tagged to the Facebook account Spencer Gatlin, son of Inwood Estates owner and winemaker, Dan Galtin. The comment starts:

“It is impossible and premature to evaluate 2009 Cornelious, or any 3-year-old Inwood wine, in a panel tasting this soon. These are premium wines with 30+ months in French Oak. That means this wine was still in barrels this Spring and only bottled at the beginning of the Summer. All Inwood Reds are hand-crafted to reach peak drinkability in 7-15 years. You would have to go back several years to properly assess the value of an Inwood wine. And, to be accurate, of Inwood’s 10 vintages, only the 2004 has entered it’s window of peak drinkability. Even the 2003 still needs about 3 more years at this time.”
And the comment goes on to say:
“It is unfortunate that the wine professionals did not understand this, but I see it everyday so I understand why.”
I suggest reading both the article and digging down into the comments below the article. All I say is that the comments cited show a man with vision, a vision that sees Texas wines that age and are not to be enjoyed just for the moment. However, I might advise from the latter comment that Galtin should not be so hard on the people saluting his father’s wines or the people that are trying to sell them. It doesn’t pay for winemakers and winery owners to look down their noses at anybody.
Bordeaux is full of people that argue over the current vintage, wine in barrel and wine in the marketplace and its age-worthiness, lack of aging potential and what the price should be today and could be in 10, 20 or more years. They are talking about investor quality wines. Maybe this is the start of a new trend in Texas wines: buy them now, lots of them and cellar them away for 10 or 20 years. I have and do cellar Texas wines, albeit only a precious few for the long term. These wines (usually Cabernet, Tempranillo and red blends with the except of a couple Viognier and Roussanne)  have generally done very well to 5 years and a very precious few have made it to 10 years in style. All I have to say is… “Is Texas ready for a futures market for its wine?”
Cheers.
 Posted by at 12:30 pm

TXwine Twitter Tuesday Celebrates Texas Wine Month and Oktoberfest with Messina Hof Winery and Saint Arnold and Real Ale Breweries

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Sep 282012
 

TXwine Twitter Tuesday Celebrates Texas Wine Month and Oktoberfest with Messina Hof Winery and Saint Arnold and Real Ale Breweries

Austin’s Denise Fraser (@DeniseFraser) and Matt McGinnis (@MattMcGinnis), and Houston’s Jeff Cope (@TXwineLover) and I (@VintageTexas) invite you to join in the next TXwine Twitter Tuesday at 7 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, October 9th. This month we will celebrate October (Texas Wine Month) with a splash of Messina Hof wine, and Oktoberfest with the froth of two Texas brews from Saint Arnold (@SaintArnold) and Real Ale (@RealAleBrewing) Breweries.

The tasting list for the evening will include:

  • Messina Hof Riesling 2010 Father and Son Cuvee (Texas) – A light, semi-dry, crisp and floral German-style Riesling wine.
  • Saint Arnold Oktoberfest – A full bodied, malty, slightly sweet beer celebrating the autumn harvest.
  • Real Ale Full Moon Pale Rye Ale – A tawny red full of malted rye and hops
  • Messina Hof 2010 Cabernet Franc, Cedar Crest Vineyard (Texoma) – A full-bodied, silky smooth red wine offering red berries and vanilla.

Pick up one of these Texas wines and beers or all four and join the October TXwine (and beer) festivities. They should be available at Spec’s, HEB, Whole Foods, Central Markets, Total Wine, Kroger Signature Stores, Randall’s, United & Market Street stores near you or from the wineries. Check out stores near you and bring home the wine, beer and some food, too.

Get a group together, share the cost and the tasting fun. It is exciting to taste with fellow Texas wine and beer lovers from around the state.

Remember to: Taste, Tweet and Repeat! You can also post photos of your Twitter Tuesday tasting activities or past winery and brewery experiences. Tell us what foods you are having with your Texas wines and beers.

To participate in the Twitter Tuesday tasting on October 9th, remember to include a hashtag #TXwine and, if you want to, you can include #TXbeer in your tweets, too. It wouldn’t hurt to monitor both, there will be lots hot Twitter action and even more cool Texas brews and wines and discussion.

NOTE: If you’re new to Twitter, here’s how you participate:  just sign up for a free Twitter account at www.twitter.com. If you are already past that, go to the Tweetchat room set up for TXwine (http://tweetchat.com/room/TXwine) No registration is required; you can login using your Twitter account info.

In the Tweetchat room, participants are invited to follow tweets, add comments, and share thoughts as the participants taste and discuss the wines and beers (the hastag #TXwine will be added automatically). If using TweetDeck or another Twitter application,you can monitor both #TXwine and #TXbeer in multiple columns and add you own hashtags.

See you at TXwine (TXbeer) Twitter Tuesday on October 9th at 7-8 pm central time. Remember to Taste, Tweet, Repeat!

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