Seasons I

Mid fall season, to the South are the lights

Leaves are expressing brilliant hues

Warm days and chilly nights

Which wine do you choose?

It’s the perfect time of the year for layering. Warm days demand t shirts and sandals while night time chills down to flannel pajamas and an extra blanket on the bed. A period as small as the sliver of a moon this time is welcomed with pleasure. We are layering wines this time of year, moving from whites to reds, overlapping, exchanging acidity for tannins, and experiencing the chill of a white and the warmth from a gorgeous red. This season too is fleeting but best to be celebrated at Thanksgiving. It’s with thanks, pleasure, and gratitude that we can enjoy this layering of wines at our holiday table. The choices from thermals or vest, jacket or boots to who is coming to our holiday table? What wines should we serve? What flavors will we enjoy? The season of layering is upon us and choice is abundant. This is a wonderful time to appreciate the flavors of the season and pair them with a diversity of wines. Festivity invites a great selection of wines. For Turkey, I love to experiment with Grenache and its blends. Grenache has a wonderful way of accentuating the flavors of the bird. Grenache loves savory. Grenache also loves pepper spice. Any herb, vegetable, or spice with a peppery flavor will do well with Grenache. With Duck, Ham, and Pork we can layer whites of Viognier, Chardonnay, and Fumé Blanc. (When I refer to Fumé Blanc, it’s in the nature of the style of Sauvignon Blanc aged in oak barrels that has a round almost sweetness to it.) Rosé is the most festive beverage. Depending on the grapes used to make this wine blush it can be paired with a variety of dishes including Turkey. It also looks beautiful on the table and surprises guests. A beautiful Cabernet is always welcomed and often paired with beef, try pairings with lamb and cheesy wine risotto too. I like to layer a variety of wines at the holiday table where guests can pour a wine with each flavor and move seamlessly from whites to reds and back to whites. With so much abundance during the holidays, it’s nice to complete the meal with something light. Using the fruits of the season, try poaching pears, apple and lemon tarts, and cranberry crumbles with orange zest garnished with pomegranate seeds. These flavors are refreshing and will be beautiful with medium to light bodied reds, Rosé, Sparkling, and whites with a touch of tropical fruit and creaminess. Experience this pleasurable season of friends and family layered with flavors.

Food

Food is just as often the inspiration for wine pairings as wine. I have been enjoying wonderful summer dishes that create a thirst for wine. Recently, I attended a winemaker dinner with Il Fornio Restaurant. There was one pairing that I especially enjoyed. It was Prosciutto di Parma e Pere. Prosciutto di Parma topped with thinly sliced Red Bartlett pears, watercress, shaved parmesan; drizzled with a lemon infused extra virgin olive oil.  It was the best pairing that I have yet enjoyed with my 2008 Viognier from David Girard Vineyards. But, what makes it such a great pairing? A deconstruction will allow me to share how this worked so well.

First the primary flavor, Prosciutto. It's salty and has a flavor that resembles the parent pig. It's thinly sliced, translucent, so it doesn't conflict with the body of wine. It's also usually served at room temperature which is how I enjoy most pairings. The saltiness in the ham will enhance the flavors of minerality in the wine, while the touch of sliced pear will accompany the aromatic lift enjoyed in the Viognier. A slight sweetness to the pear compliments the dry style of wine. A hint of slightly bitter watercress provides a relief to the wine that allows it to be full and expand in the mouth. And cheese....yum. The Parmesan cheese actually enhanced the saltiness and added some earthy flavors that accentuated the floral aromas of the Viognier. The cheese also being fairly pH neutral, allowed the acidity of the wine to come forward. Lastly, the touch of lemon infused olive oil provided a punctuation that paired will with the citrus components in the wine.

When you can break down each step of the pairing in this way, it can help to understand how to build it up  and create the next pairing.

Wine in Food and Wine Pairing

Before I get to the good stuff, the meat of food and wine pairing, I would like to make some notes on wine. The thought of food and wine pairing is often an after thought or a convenience. Commonly it’s what we have on hand that will go best with what we are serving. Like wine and cheese, such a classic pairing, but as I’ve learned when I dive into wine and cheese pairing some wines and cheeses really don’t do each other justice. However, thoughtful pairings will melodically draw out subtle nuances in the other. As we discuss pairing food and wine we must think about both. I am a bit biased about the wine, given my livelihood. There are so many choices with wine and so many experiences that involve wine that make it difficult to begin. I have chosen to start with what seems natural to me, The Season. During the late summer I choose wines that will pair well with what is fresh in the garden, ripe at the farmers market, and too beautiful to resist.  For, it’s my love of food that has really made me fall in love with wine. Much of what I am drinking now in late summer season are beautiful whites, some Rose and very fresh reds. I have been enjoying Viognier on a hot weekend after a long day of chores around the house and I’ve been drinking Pinot Noir as the cool air begins to fall to the evening ground around me enjoying dinner near the lawn. I think choosing wines that will go well with fresh food that takes minimal time out of our busy summer day to prepare is the best place to start this time of year. I recommend that you find a few wines that you enjoy with fresh salads, grilled burgers and meats, and other fresh ingredients. Wines that I’m thinking about pairing this month: Rhone whites and blends, Rhone Rose, Sauvignon blanc, Grenache and Grenache based blends, Mourvedre, and Pinot Noir.

Wine at the Table

Much of what I love about my table is the grounded sense of the elements. I love the stoneware and stainless utensils, glasses of water, a linen napkin or addition of a cotton table dressing, the wax supporting the candle flame, fresh food from local sources and the aromas that accompany them, and most of all, a tall bottle of wine. I love the way that it stands proud at the table raising the eye to the small opening at the top of the smooth glass where it can be poured for friends and family. The addition of wine to the table is a gesture expressing friendship, love, and warmth. For rarely do we share a glass of wine with anyone outside our friends and kin. The history of wine at the table was introduced by the Phoenicians who enjoyed wine to relax and promote conversation. As a winemaker each bottle of wine represents many choices and techniques but, behind all of the technical equations and logistics lays eternal romance. This romance is created with your heart, soul, and hands. However, it can only be expressed by taste and smell. Like an envelope, a story is wrapped around these senses. These stories connect soil, climate, and culture to the experience of each bottle of wine. As we enjoy endless summer nights under a growing blanket of stars, candlelight flickering, crickets chirping, fireflies dancing, and coyotes howling at the moon, the only thing more enjoyable than the bottle of wine itself is the intricate interaction of food that is paired with it. This where I will begin to share my favorite pairings that are elemental to The Winemaker’s Table.

Intent

The intent of this blog is to offer a glimpse upon agricultural beauty as it changes with each season continuing, year after year, to engage the winemaker. It is here that I will shine a light on what is occuring at my table through the seasons. While it may be scarce at times, other times I may simply have a lot on my plate.

Cheers!