Hello and Welcome,
It’s spring lamb season somewhere. And thanks to the invention of vacuum
packaging and cold chain logistics, it can be spring lamb season, right here,
right now! This is the fourth segment in our Culinary Inclinations Series:
Rhône Inspires with Black Cod Palmiers and Rack of Spring Lamb. A FLOG communication
(Farming bLOG) from Dena & Ernie @AmalieRobert Estate.
Willamette Valley Oregon Pinot Noir.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the lower 48 in particular, we have just had
an election. And pretty soon they are going to tell us who won. Not all of the
races everywhere of course, but most of them. Enough to get an idea of what the
next couple of years might look like. The judiciary is engaged as is “de rigueur”
and the electorate is warming up for January 5th. If you live
in Georgia, you don’t need us to tell you that the circus has come to town.
They are all there, with lawyers in tow.
To celebrate the holidays, some choose to bring the great outdoors indoors. This
often takes the form of a fir, pine or spruce tree. And depending on where said
tree is in its lifecycle, it could be a beautifully adorned festive tree with
lights and ornaments, or a more practical yuletide log. Either way, it is nice
to curl up next to your implementation of the holiday tree with a glass of wine
and a nice book or FLOG post as the case may be today.
He who travels fastest, travels alone. And that is how Santa gets everything
delivered in one night. Of course, he has several time zones strategically
mapped out and works both sides of the equator at the same time. By now, you
would have to believe Rudolph has the route down cold. You can even track him
on Google while they track you! And check out all of the cool games.
This would seem to be the perfect segue to delve into Viognier. That
beautifully textured, heady white wine from the Northern Rhône Valley that
Ernie grows right here in block 12, all 297 vines worth. Block 12, as you might
imagine is planted east of, and adjacent to, the Syrah block, which is lucky
block 13.
All told this is 1,485 vines, about 1.02 acres worth of Northern Rhône inspired
viticulture. These vines are surrounded by the most coveted Wadenswil clone
Pinot Noir to the north in block 21 and to the east in block 10. Covering the
southern flank is Dijon clone 115 and looking to the west, it is Pommard clone
that provides cover from the late afternoon sun.
We didn’t have to dig up that many vines, but that is how you “move” a vineyard
block. Once that chore was completed, Ernie promptly invested in a new thinking
cap. Dena picked it out. It has a nice pattern but not too flashy. It fits
pretty snug and has a side binder to lock it in place. That’s just in case it
were to slip off as we approach a critical decision point. Farming thinking
caps are different. They just are…
This is a sheet of thawed puff pastry shmeared with herbed goat cheese and then
topped with smoked black cod. Alternatively, you could use lox style smoked
salmon on one side. You then roll the opposing sides to the center, much like
an ancient scroll. A quick brush of egg wash, slice them about 3/8” of an inch
thick, then a run through the oven with a fresh sprig of rosemary at the very
end, and out they come just as pretty as you please.
A note on serving Viognier. We often find Viogner to have a very narrow serving
temperature range. Slightly cooler than Pinot Noir, but not so cool as to lose
the scintillating aromas that only Viognier can provide. We suggest starting
off cool and letting the wine warm in your glass until you achieve maximum
olfactory and frontal lobe satisfaction. You will know it when you find it.
“Oh, did I say that out loud?” Yeah, that happens…
One of your first decisions
in approaching this culinary inclination is whether to decant the wine, and if
so when to do it? Whether you are contemplating our Satisfaction or Top Barrel
Syrah, we encourage decanting this wine before serving. And more importantly,
here is why.
Wine decanting and whole cluster fermentation. The decision to decant a wine is
really all about exposing the wine to air to allow it to evolve into a more
enjoyable experience. In most dining situations, air is defined as 78%
nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% of the stuff that is most likely going to get us
all. Let’s concern ourselves with the 21%.
That means your bottle of Amalie Robert Syrah has had very little air exposure.
In fact, the only air exposure would have come through that wee little piece of
tree bark we use as the cork. And that is by design, we use natural corks
precisely because we want that air exchange. While each cork is unique in its
air exchange properties, we do know that some oxygen is getting through the
cork and interacting with the wine. As air interacts with the wine, its first
target is tannin. Oxygen degrades (softens) tannin.
Here is where it gets interesting. Whole cluster fermentations add tannins to
the wines from the stems. Stem tannin is different from skin tannin and that’s
the only way to get stem tannin - from the stems. And we ferment Syrah with
whole clusters. A whole lot of whole clusters, about half the fruit in the
fermenter is still attached to the stem. Add about five to seven years in the
bottle and that little bit of air that has been slowly softening those stem
tannins, has evolved them into spice and texture and length of finish. No other
winemaking technique can provide such pleasure, but you have to wait for it to
happen in the bottle.
So we say: Hell yes, decant that wine! But do it gently. We recommend sitting
the bottle upright for at least 24 hours in a slightly cool area. Pour the wine
from the bottle down the side of the decanter trying not to splash the wine.
Toward the end of the pour look down through the neck of the bottle for
sediment and stop pouring if it becomes excessive. It is harmless, but will
make the wine appear cloudy in your glass.
Now you must wait, or plan ahead and decant so the wine is ready when the crown
roast and dressing are ready. A good place to start is about an hour before
serving time. You can stopper the decanter or use cling wrap to close off the
top. There is plenty of air in the decanter to achieve the desired result. They
design them that way. Of course, periodic sampling is in order. Be diligent as
time permits.
Roast winter squash, garlic braised broccolini and sautéed Chanterelle or Morel
mushrooms are at the ready. The cheese course should be out of the refrigerator
and prepared for service.
Final Note: We have taken up the practice of washing the dishes and rinsing the
stemware the night of, and then washing the stemware the following morning. We
find we get more uses from the stemware this way.
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
