Today I poured wine at a benefit for a wonderful local non-profit organization called Girls Inc. The event was held at a beautiful estate in Montecito which was surrounded by an incredible garden full of interesting succulents and other unusual plants. After this event my husband and I attended an industry-only wine tasting at Carr Winery in downtown Santa Barbara on the “urban wine trail”. This is a fun way to enjoy limited production wine, mix and mingle with other industry people and taste some great appetizers from area restaurants. We loved the portabella mushroom wrapped around goat cheese from Blush. We also loved all the wonderful cheeses by the folks from C’est Cheese. By the way, Carr is open late (5pm-11pm) on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – so if you are looking for a fun place with great wine (by-the-glass and bottle service) check it out! They even have live music on Fridays!
It was way too hot to cook tonight so my husband and I headed downtown in search of a casual dinner. We found ourselves on State Street next to the Arlington theater at Jane. If you’ve ever eaten at the Montecito Café you’ll notice that there are some of the same menu items found on Jane’s menu. This is because both restaurants are owned by the same people and so they chose the menu “favorites” from Montecito Café and included them on the menu for Jane.
Jason and I were seated upstairs and dove into the wine list. The by-the-glass list seemed a bit small to me, I wanted more choices. With that said, there were some lovely wines on the list from Consilience, so we were happy. It was too warm outside to drink red wine so I went with a perfectly chilled glass of Consilience Viognier (a nose of honeysuckle and orange blossom with a taste of crisp apple and pear). I love this wine – the florals on the nose are absolutely heady – and yet it is dry on the palate. Yum! It went perfectly with my salad of fresh greens, grilled shrimp, smoked salmon with tarragon dressing. Jason had the Greek salad with lamb sausage that went well with the Consilience Zinfandel (a big wine with flavors of black raspberry, plum and spices). This restaurant has an appealing menu with enough options to make anyone happy. I love all the entrée salads and the portabella mushroom sandwich. Jason likes the burgers and the pasilla chili appetizer stuffed with Emmentaler cheese – seriously, do NOT pass that one up! The pasilla chili has a spicy smoky character that is mellowed by the cheese – it is truly a match made in heaven!
Tom Stolpman celebrating his 60th with friends in his vineyard.
As my friends know, I am a huge fan of Stolpman wines. Way back before Stolpman had its own label and was just a grower, my boyfriend Jason (now husband) and I would look for the name of the vineyard on wine. Smart winemakers were buying up the outstanding fruit and turning it into exquisite wine. When Stolpman started bottling its own wine, we immediately joined the wine club and started attending special events. We even purchased all the red and rosé wine for our wedding from Stolpman. Last year we shared a private dinner with Tom and were entertained all evening listening to his stories. Suffice it to say this wine and winery are very special to me. Fast forward to 2009 – Jason and I are thrilled to attend Tom’s 60th birthday party in the vineyard. Tom & wife Marilyn’s son, Peter, put together a birthday bash for Tom complete with live music, wonderful food, bottles and bottles of outstanding wine and friends to share it all.
Peter Stolpman hamming it up for the camera
Jason and I made our way to the vineyard admiring the gorgeous vines along the dusty road to the clearing where party was happening. As you might imagine Tom’s friends enjoy great wine and food. After getting a glass of the Stolpman La Coppa Blanc (a blend of Roussanne and Viognier) we struck up a conversation at the cheese table with John from Palos Verdes. He introduced us to an unbelievably buttery French cheese that he brought up from the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop. As always our conversation turned to wine and then John said he had a Rafanelli in the car – and we “have to” try it. I love it when people say things like this to me! This bottle, a lovely Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon made by a 4th generation winemaking family, was a good indicator of what was in store for us that evening. John invited us to sit at his table that evening where he proceeded to introduce us to some wonderful wines. We tasted a 2004 Williams Selyem Bucher Vineyard Pinot Noir (flavors of white pepper, black cherries and cola) and the 1997 Forman Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (nose of violets and anise with flavors of dark plum and spice).
Some of the wines that John pulled from his cellar for the party.
Then John opened up an old bottle from his cellar. It was a 1970 Chateau Latour (Bordeaux – blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot).
1970 Chateau Latour
I’ve tasted a handful of wines from the 70’s but they’ve always been disappointing – this wine was a wonderful surprise. In spite of its age (nearly 40 years old) the wine was well balanced with flavors of cedar, spice and leather and a soft mouth feel.
After the 1970 Chateau Latour, John opened up a 2001 Chateau de Malle Sauternes.
2001 Chateau de Malle Sauternes
The wine was the color of honey and sunshine. With flavors of pineapple, honey and custard it was sweet, but not that cloying, viscous sweetness that is found with many dessert wines.
9 liter bottle of 1997 Tonto Cuvee (one of a kind)
John wasn’t the only one who was opening up fabulous wines! Tom Stolpman brought a one of a kind, salmanazar bottle of 1997 Tonto Cuvee. A salmanazar is 9 liters – that is equivalent to 12 standard sized bottles. The Tonto Cuvee (50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah) was made specifically to be auctioned off at the Central Coast Wine Classic. This wine was a cooperative effort between McKeon-Phillips winery utilizing Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from Rusack Vineyard and Jaffurs Wine Cellars with Syrah fruit from the Stolpman Vineyard. This wasn’t the only large format bottle – Peter Stolpman managed to open – with help from his father and a couple friends) a large format bottle of of sparkling wine – perfect for toasting Tom
and a picture perfect day in his vineyard.
Waiting for the sparkling wine to be opened...
Can Tom pop the cork?
Maybe if all three of us try?
Peter and Tom Stolpman were eventually able to pop the cork.
Jason, Tom & Marilyn share a final toast of the evening
Jason and I had a wonderful dining experience at the picturesque Ballard Inn restaurant last night. We were seated immediately at a romantic two person table near the fireplace. We took a look at the wine-by-the-glass list and were impressed with the carefully chosen list of fabulous –mostly local- wines. I ordered a glass of the 2007 Ampelos Rosé of Syrah (gorgeous deep pink color, bright taste –no oak, no malolactic fermentation, nose of citrus, watermelon, florals, mineral qualities, soft tannins). Ashley, our young but very well informed and professional server, recommended a wine for Jason – the Kaena Hapa (a mouth filling, fruit/spice bonanza of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre – nothing short of WOW). Kaena (which means “potential for greatness” in Hawaiian) is the personal label made by Mikael Sigouin whose day job is head winemaker at Beckmen. This talented and hardworking young winemaker is officially on my radar as one to watch! Potential for greatness, indeed! But, I digress. Getting back to the food, we started off with two beautifully presented appetizers. First, room temperature short rib meat with truffle oil served on a bed of watercress, garnished with small dollops of aioli and four purple potato crisps. I’ve never thought of making a salad out of short rib meat, but this was amazing – moist, flavorful and rich, but not too heavy to eat in the summertime. And who knew potato chips could be so decorative – and pretty? Our second appetizer was crispy sweetbreads served with mizuna salad and arugula with macadamia nut pesto. All the different textures and tastes in this dish blended harmoniously together. Wow! Ashley surprised us with a hamachi sashimi appetizer with soy-yuzu vinaigrette which paired beautifully with the Ampelos rosé. Our entrées arrived soon after we finished the hamachi. Jason’s entrée was the crispy skin barramundi with chive risotto and soy mushroom broth. Barramundi is a white fish, though not as delicate in taste or texture as halibut. Its firm texture and rich taste was complemented well by the chive risotto. Jason ordered the 2007 Kaena Hapa Blanc (a white Rhone-style blend of Grenache Blanc and Roussanne – well balanced, elegant, tropical fruit notes, luscious mouth feel and a long finish- only 170 cases made) to go with his fish.
Duck entree at the Ballard Inn
I ordered the pan seared duck breast with sweet potato purée and balsamic reduction. I decided that the Kaena Hapa (red) that we had with our appetizers would be wonderful with the duck – and it was! Dessert was almond panna cotta with strawberries and coconut tuile, and a bottle of 2005 Cold Heaven Late Harvest Viognier (wonderful florals on the nose, rich on the palate with peach, apricot and honey). Chef Budi Kazali, who was recently won the 2009 Ultimate Chef competition, came out of the kitchen for a few moments to greet diners. Jason and I were happy to thank Chef Kazali in person for all the amazing food we enjoyed tonight!
2006 Ethan Sangiovese
I was in Los Olivos today, so I stopped by the Qupé tasting room to see what Ethan Lindquist was up to. In addition to the Qupé wines, he was pouring a few wines from his own label, Ethan. His 2006 Sangiovese is wonderful. It was so wonderful that I bought a few bottles to take home – as though I need more wine. I guess I am working out the difference between “need” and “want”. Well, I clearly wanted the Sangiovese – it is such a good summertime wine. Plus it is so food friendly you can pair it with practically anything! The fruit for this wine was grown at the Hearthstone Vineyard in Paso Robles on the west side. It was aged for 30 months in neutral French oak barrels. The neutral oak really allows the bright red fruit and spice flavors to shine. I also bought each of Ethan’s vineyard designate Syrahs. The first one was the 2006 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah. The fruit for this wine is from Beckmen’s outstanding, biodynamically grown Purisima Mountain Vineyard block 6. Ethan went “old school” on this one – the whole clusters of grapes were foot stomped and fermented with native yeast in small open top fermenters. In order to add many layers of flavors, complexity and a solid tannin structure, the skins and stems were left in contact wine for 4 weeks. This was made to age – I’d let it sit at least four years. The second vineyard designate Syrah was the 2006 Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard Syrah. The fruit was grown in the cool Sta. Rita Hills appellation in Santa Barbara County. Typical of a cool-climate Syrah, it has notes of white pepper, leather and earth. Ethan says it is one of the “softest and most elegant Syrahs I have ever made”. This one can be aged for many years as well…but if you get impatient and open it soon be sure to give it plenty of time to breathe. For best results decant it AND give it a good hour to open up. Thankfully the Sangiovese doesn’t require any additional aging. On my way home, I picked up an authentic, super thin crust, Italian style pizza topped with prosciutto and asparagus from Via Vai. Jason and I shared it with the Sangiovese. What a wonderful way to end the day! My only regret is that Ethan made a really small number of cases – only 100 cases of the Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard,75 cases of the Sangiovese and 75 cases of the Purisima Vineyard Syrah. Get it while you still can!
Tre Anelli tasting room in Los Olivos (photo credit: Michael Wilsker pixillusion.com)
Tonight is the official debut of Tre Anelli’s two new releases, the 2007 Centellinare (a Super Tuscan style red blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel) and the 2007 Lagrein (a little known varietal that deserves its time in the spotlight). For more details on these wines, please see this earlier post. Wine club members gathered in the tasting room to try out these new wines. Winemaker Brett Escalera was there mingling and answering lots of questions about wine. Great wine tastes even better with fabulous food and guests were treated to an array of tasty foods from Louise’s Kitchen Table including Carolina-style pork sliders (tender slow-cooked pork shoulder, tangy secret sauce served on dinner roll sized buns with a hint of sweetness – these were soooo good), crab shooters (crab avocado, and tiny heirloom tomatoes served in shot glasses – colorful, tasty and fun to eat), assorted cheeses, salami, and hummus (flavorful and rich with tahini and garlic). What a wonderful evening – great wine, fabulous food and friends to share it with!
We invited some friends, Shannon and Norene, over for dinner tonight. Since it was a weeknight, we didn’t have all day to cook – so we used some of our tried and true, easy and fast recipes! We started with a really colorful and fast raw ahi tuna appetizer. Simply finely dice sushi-grade ahi tuna and then mix it with a little bit of sesame oil, fresh scallions and sesame seeds. Serve it with rice crackers. My husband and I have this as a light dinner with a green salad on summer nights when it is too hot to cook. If you want to make this dish into something with a more formal presentation (as we did for our guests tonight) then simply add a few more steps. Thinly slice shallots into half rings and lightly flour and fry until crispy, and then set them aside. Next chop an avocado into small cubes. Get a small bowl with high sides (we used a ramekin that was about 2.5 inches across) and lightly oil it with sesame oil. Then spoon in a layer of avocado followed by a layer of ahi – gently press it all into place and then flip the bowl over onto a plate and gently tap until the fish/avocado comes out in pretty dome shape. Garnish with the fried shallots and serve with rice crackers. This was lovely with the 2007 Ampelos Rosé of Syrah (my current favorite rosé). Another easy and fast appetizer that we served was blanched asparagus (thin spears work best) with goat cheese and prosciutto. Blanch the asparagus and then pat it dry. Then lay out slice of prosciutto and spread some softened goat cheese on it. Lay a piece of asparagus on top the prosciutto and roll it all up. This tasted really good with the lightly oaked 2005 Domaine Alfred Estate Chardonnay that Norene brought.
2005 Domaine Alfred Chardonnay
Dinner was grilled swordfish steaks in a puttanesca sauce with roasted root vegetables. All the fish we served tonight was from Kanaloa – a great source for fresh fish here in Santa Barbara. Here is the recipe for the tangy, spicy puttanesca sauce (it is great on pasta too):
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
5 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons capers (drained)
1 can crushed tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
20 Greek (kalamata) olives (in a pinch I’ve substituted green Spanish olives)
6-8 fresh basil leaves
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Using medium heat, sauté garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes. Next add the chopped anchovies, capers, tomatoes, chopped olives, oregano and cook until the flavors meld – about 10 to 15 minutes. If your sauce seems too thin, turn up the heat for a few minutes and allow the liquid from the canned tomatoes to cook off. Add salt and pepper to taste. Buon Appetito!
Prosecco -Italian Sparkling wine
The Sundowner winds are blowing warm, dry air tonight. With a warm night like this, it seems apropos to take a break and enjoy a glass of cool sparkling wine. Tonight Jason and I popped open a bottle of Prosecco. Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) is festive and refreshing. Plus it is an easy to find and economical alternative to its pricier EU cousin, Champagne. In fact, our local Trader Joe’s has a nice Prosecco for under $10.00. Do your part for America’s Economic Stimulus Plan – go buy some Prosecco. Arrivederci!
Jason and I visited Omaha, Nebraska a few times in the past few years for business. Just before our first trip, a friend (an Omaha native) recommended that we visit a part of the city called the “Old Market”. The Old Market is a lively area rich with art studios, restaurants, wine bars and loft apartments. Back in the mid 1960’s, the Mercer family, owners of many disused warehouses decided to revive the area by turning creating an district of shops, art studios, and restaurants. This brought a lively and creative community to the area – and the Old Market was born. Each year we look forward to visiting the Old Market and eating at La Buvette a Mercer-owned restaurant and wine store– which looks and feels like a Parisian café complete with the chalkboard menu. With well priced wines from around the world and an ever-changing menu of seasonal foods, La Buvette is a happening spot all day and well into the night. My idea of a perfect day in Omaha’s Old Market would be lunch at La Buvette at an outside table. I’d choose a bottle of wine and then linger over my lunch – savoring every bite. Then I’d head over to Jackson Street Booksellers and spend some time browsing through the amazing selection amassed by Amanda, the proprietor. Then in the evening, I’d make sure to go to The Boiler Room restaurant.
The Boiler Room
I did just that on a recent trip to Omaha. Thankfully, I made a reservation because all the tables were full when we arrived. The space is literally a former boiler room (hence the name) with raw brick walls and an industrial feel. The walls are decorated with large photographs that have been modified to look like paintings. Chef Paul Kulik, cooked in Europe for many years and also did a stint at the renowned Avec in Chicago. After years abroad, Kulik an Omaha native, wanted to bring his culinary skills home to the Old Market and open his own restaurant. I can attest to the fact that Kulik’s dream is a diner’s delight! His staff is very attentive – but not overbearing – how refreshing! The Boiler Room even has its own Master Sommelier (one of only about 120 in North America), Jesse Becker. We enlisted Becker’s help in choosing a Prosecco that would pair well with our appetizers. Our first course started with luscious celeriac potage with verjus and sorrel. We also had a plate that combined lamb bacon, a poached egg, braised rhubarb, and parsley salad topped with crème fraiche. I cannot even express how wonderful this was, the tastes and different textures made eating pure joy! The entrees were just as impressive. My tender veal shoulder with cippolini onions and creamy risotto was beautifully presented and tasted wonderful! We also tried the short rib steak served with rapini – also delightful. Becker chose a luscious Châteauneuf Du Pape a 2001 La Crau de Ma Mére (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre blend – with red berry and white pepper flavors) for our entrees. Becker’s wine choice was spot on – and so was EVERYTHING about the Boiler Room. Go there – it is SO worth a trip to Omaha!
Recent Comments