Archive for the 'Wine and Food Pairing' Category

Wine Spectator Video on Cheese Pairing

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joanie
on October 5, 2008
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I recently came across a helpful video on Winespectator that presents an explanation on two cheeses that pair nicely with Cabernet Sauvignon. In the video, Harvey Steiman (Editor at Large, Wine Spectator), speaks generally about pairing red wines with cheeses. and then more specifically goes into two cheeses that pair particularly well with a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. These two cheeses are Ossau Iraty (France) and Piave Vecchio (Northern Italy).

“Reds can be tricky with cheese, but they have a certain affinity for some of them,” claims Steiman. It’s best to choose firm, mellow cheeses with lower acidity. The best red wines to pair with cheese should have lots of ripe fruit flavor and lower tannins, which can be made more astringent with the saltiness of cheese. Lower acidity in cheese can soften the tannins in wine. Wines can have tannin, they just need to be “integrated and polished.” Wine Spectator video

These educational snipets on Wine Spectator’s website are great because of the depth of information that they provide in three minute or so periods. They don’t go into too much detail, but have the ability to tap into a vast range of subjects in a substantial manner.

Another recommended video for cheese lovers is posted right now. It is about buying cheese in a cheese shop.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Pinot Noir and Cheese Pairings

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on September 26, 2008
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Another day, another wine dinner in Santa Barbara… Spiritland Bistro’s Wednesday Wine and Dine featured Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir as their designated varietal this week. If you have missed my previous postings about this event, each month a four course meal is paired with a designated varietal of which each guest brings their own bottle. Between each course an expert on the varietal speaks about its characteristics and food pairings.

Lafond was the most popular label of the night, I think there were about 7 bottles of Lafond brought in the mix of 35 wines. I brought two bottles: 2006 Lafond Martin Ray Clone Pinot Noir and 2007 Santa Barbara Winery Pinot Noir. These dinners provide an amazing opportunity to learn about specific areas of wine, particularly pairings of food and wine. It is great to be able to taste wines from the same appellation against each other and see why the wine works with the menu and cheeses.

Food was delicious - delicate mushroom tart to start followed by baked salmon and potatoes au gratin. Dessert was a delicious berry crumble. The stand up cheese course featured three cheeses that matched perfectly with the wine - Cabra al Romero, St. George, and Brie de Nangis. There is always an effort here to collect an assortment of diverse cheeses from around the world while still keeping their flavor profiles in line to complement the pairings.

Cabra al Romero is a pasteurized Spanish gourmet goat cheese from La Mancha. This is an area in central Spain where you can also find the famed Manchego cheese. It is coated with rosemary, which seeps through the outer walls to produce a fragrantly subtle herbal nose. This quality makes it a really nice match with pinot. Its texture is dense and firm with a slightly fruity finish.

St. George is a richly textured, semi-hard, full flavored cow’s milk cheese from Northern California. It is based on a Portuguese recipe, but retains a distinctly American spin. It has a depth of flavor that effortlessly works with pinot and is fantastic when melted in polenta.

Brie de Nangis (bree duh nahn-ZHEE) yields from France and is firmer in texture than its relative Brie de Meaux. It is milder than other Brie cheeses with a hint of earthiness. It is soft ripened (bloomy rind), which gives it a creamy and smooth texture.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Chesapeake Blue Crab

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joanie
on September 9, 2008
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I spent a long weekend visiting Washington DC and got the chance to enjoy the Chesapeake Bay’s signature crustacean, the Blue Crab.  These beautiful crabs are native to the Atlantic, particularly in the area of Maryland and Virginia.  They have electric blue claws and are known for their aggressive sharp pinches when they are alive. The whole crab experience was very unique to the area, especially when I went to the wharf to collect a dozen and a half live shellfish, which after stretching their claws upwards as if to say “pick me!” were tossed into a bag to take home to steam.  

Choosing a wine to serve at a casual dinner like this doesn’t need to be over thought, especially since such a wide variety of whites work well with steamed crab.  Nobody will be paying too much attention to the wine anyways when they are snapping and hammering at the legs and pulling apart the body, digging dutifully for a well worth it bite of meat.  Choose a medium to full bodied white that has balanced fruit and acidity.  Crisp, yet rich, French Chablis is a nice match, as well as white Rhones, Pinot Gris, a dry Riesling, or Chardonnay.  If you like prefer a good amount of melted butter on your crab, California Chardonnay is a good way to good.  These wines can pack that necessary balance of richness and acidity that works really well with the delicate and sweet shellfish.  

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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The Last BBQs of Summer

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joanie
on September 1, 2008
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Wine Spectator’s website is where I go for global updates on the wine world, and there was an article that caught my eye today that I will share.  Perhaps it is because it is a perfectly timed article to contemplate post Labor Day, while the weather is still warm.  While Labor Day marks the “official end of summer,” we are lucky here in Santa Barbara to be able to keep our flip flops out through December.  Unfortunately the shorter days definitely inhibit evening barbeques…  

The WS article was ‘White Wines and Seafood for Labor Day’ (say goodbye to summer).  It highlights California chardonnays and some delicious seafood recipes to pair with your wine.  Host your last summer barbeque with this article in mind.  Three recipes are featured: Herb-Grilled Wild Striped Bass, Grilled Shrimp and Clams, and Emeril Lagasse’s Spicy Butter Poached Shrimp.  Each recipe has wine tips, which are ever so helpful when trying to match flavors and create successful pairings.  

For the Bass, it is recommended to look for a chardonnay with some oak to “complement the smoky char on the vegetables.” For the Shrimp and Clams (which are served in an acidic lime butter sauce), “avoid oak and tannin, and stick to lighter bodied chardonnays with plenty of citrus character” (2006 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay).  Emeril’s butter dish calls for a “full-bodied chardonnay with enough fruit to stand up to the heat of the spicy sauce.”  

Pay attention to the weight of a particular chardonnay by doing your research and finding out the fermentation styles that were used to produce the wine.  This is very important for matching your food and drink.

See the full article and recipes this link:

Joanie Hudson

Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne Cheese Pairings

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on August 28, 2008
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Last night, Spiritland Bistro’s Wednesday Wine and Dine theme was Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne (white wines from France’s Rhone region), and the cheese pairings were so perfect that I must share.  If you haven’t read my previous posts about this event, in short, Spiritland hosts a themed four course dinner on the last Wednesday of each month.  They choose a theme (July’s theme was Rose, September/October’s theme will be SRH Pinot), and during the first hour guests are able to pour themselves a taste of all of the wines that each person brought along.  During this first hour, guests graze on cheese from local shop, C’est Cheese that are meant to complement the wine.  

There were three cheeses last night, all served at a recommended room temperature so that they become almost spreadable on crackers.  First there was the Idiazabal from Spain.  This is a pressed unpasteurized sheep’s milk cheese that comes from the Basque country.  It has a buttery flavor with hints of hazelnut and is slightly acidic.  Nice for cutting through the richness of Rhone varietal white wines.  

Second we had Toma Maccagno from the Valle Cervo in Biella, Italy (Piedmont).  This one was best kept at room temperature because it is semi soft to begin with and was the perfect consistency to spread on a tiny cracker.  Toma is made from cow’s milk.  It is rich and earthy and like the Idiazabal has a buttery texture.  

Last there was my favorite, the Hoch Ybrig (hohk ee-BRIG) from Switzerland.  This is a full flavored cow’s milk that has a firm texture and ripe stone fruit essences, primarily apricot.  This wine would also be nice with a Riesling.  

The wine’s were fantastic, as usual, and I particularly enjoyed the 2006 Tablas Creek Bergeron that I brought.  Bergeron is 100% Roussanne (a French Savoie grape). If you are not familiar with the Tablas Creek wines, they are one of my favorite wineries in California and produce Rhone varietals in Paso Robles.  One reason I love their white wines so much is that their acidity keeps them nice and crisp, never cloying.  Their lean character makes them very food-friendly and balanced.  

Hope to see you at the October 6 SRH Pinot dinner!  See a previous post for the menu.  

Spiritland Bistro, 966-7759

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Indian Cooking Class

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joanie
on August 25, 2008
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Over the weekend, we hosted our final wine club special event prior to Harvest 2008.  Chef Joel Chapman led an Indian cooking class in the barrel room for an intimate group, and it was a blast.  He provided helpful demonstrations while weaving in pieces of the history of the food and culture.  Santa Barbara Winery wines were paired with each of the three delicious courses.  This class was a follow up to the Greek cooking class back in June.  Below is the menu of plates Joel dished out.

Saturday August 23 Chef Joel Chapman:

Vegetarian Samosa with Cilantro Pesto Dipping Sauce
Paired with 2007 Pinot Gris

Lamb Skewers with Three Dipping Sauces and Fragrant Rice
Paired with 2005 Petite Sirah

Shrikhand (an Indian sweet dish made from strained yogurt)
Paired with 2007 Riesling 7.3% R.S.

2007 Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Reserve Chardonnay

Joanie Hudson, assistantTasting Room manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir dinner menu

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joanie
on August 24, 2008
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As I previously mentioned, Santa Barbara’s SpiritLand Bistro hosts a Wednesday Wine and Dine Social on the last Wednesday of each month.  Each dinner has a speaker that is an expert on the night’s designated varietal (either a winemaker, a distributor, etc.).  October 6, our assistant winemaker Ryan will be representing Lafond Winery and Santa Barbara Winery and speaking about Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir.  

This will actually be held on a Monday night because there is such a huge crowd in town interested in attending an SRH Pinot dinner that they will be holding two (one at the end of September).  I received the menu (which we will likely get a paper copy of in the winery if you’re interested in taking another look), and it screams for pinot to pair with it.

First Course: Assorted Gourmet Cheeses (chosen to go with the wines)

Second Course: -Rustic wild mushroom tart

Third Course: -Salmon with balsamic & red wine reduction, potato gratin, & vegetable medley

Fourth Course: -Mixed berry crumble

The mixed berry crumble will likely be paired with a dessert wine that is TBA.  $45 includes tax and tip for four-course organic meal. Bring a bottle to share that matches the theme - no corkage fee! If you are interested, or if you have any questions at all about the event, call Spiritland Bistro at 805-966-7799.

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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