Fifty Shades of Rosé

            It’s all I asked for as a Mother’s Day gift.  It’s all I wanted.  I longed for a unique experience.  I desired what I had seen elsewhere.  I wanted—I needed—fifty shades of…rosé!

            In my travels the past year, I’ve been collecting bottles for this rosé extravaganza.  I purchased bottles from Texas and Oregon, found examples from Sonoma to Chile. 

            I’ve already started my tasting of these beautiful bottles, in shades of barely-there to deep-dark pink.  Here is my list of rosés I will be drinking this summer.  Many price points are represented, as are many styles.  However, all are worth a sip on a summer patio. 

            Enjoy these fifty shades of rosé, in no particular order…oh wait, they are in an order—from light to dark.  No judgements here, just good wines for the warm weather.

 

Rosé of Pinot Noir—Sokol Blosser, Willamette Valley:  barely-there pink from Willamette Valley pinot noir grapes makes this the prettiest sip of the year. 

Tatum Rosé—William Chris, Texas Hill Country:  what a beautiful baby-pink color this bottle is.  Named for the assistant winemaker’s daughter, Tatum, from grenache and mourvedre grapes.

Rosé of Pinot Noir—Cartograph Wines, North Coast:  just a shade darker here, this pinot noir pink is produced in Sonoma County and longs for a Sonoma summer evening.

Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé—LaPlaya, Colchagua Valley:  this pink is given an undertone of orange from the cabernet grape.  Add in the small amount of viognier, and this Chilean wine stands out.

Pinot Noir Rosé—Ponzi Vineyards, Willamette Valley:  moving to a gorgeous salmon color, this pink is made from Oregon’s premier region’s premier grape.

Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir—Toad Hollow, Sonoma County:  a darker Sonoma County example, the Toad Hollow tasted was 2014, but look for the newest vintage to enjoy this season.

Pinot Noir Rosé—Firesteed Cellars, Willamette Valley:  still a deep salmon, Firesteed’s rosé of pinot noir is another example of what this state can do with its favorite grape.

P

Roséo—Penner Ash, Oregon:  this wine moves to the fuchsia shade with pinot noir grapes sourced from Oregon and produced in Penner Ash’s beautiful Willamette Valley facility.

Texas Dry Rosè—Pedernales Cellars, Texas Hill Country:  the deepest shade of fuchsia—almost red—this is a blend of Texas grapes produced in the picturesque Texas Hill Country.    

            Use this list to begin your summer experimentation...with fifty shades of rosé.  They will not disappoint!   

Size Matters: The Journey to a New Frontier--Cartograph Wines

The third installment in my series on microwineries features Alan Baker and Serena Lourie of Cartograph Wines, perfect examples to illustrate the path to making wine is rarely a straight and simple journey.  Cheers to another great wine story!

Size Matters:  The Journey to a New Frontier--Cartograph Wines

Surrounded by the silent woods on a lake in northern Wisconsin, Alan Baker opened a bottle of 1998 Riesling from the Alsace region of France, a wine that had traveled well over 4,500 miles to be poured.

Alan still remembers the wine’s flavor as a “cacophony of citrus blossom, pear, black tea, and petrol.” He was also acutely aware of how much that one wine “engaged his senses.”  It spoke to him and intrigued him.

His official wine journey had started.

At this time, Alan was working in Minnesota Public Radio, after being a vocal music major in college.  His radio job found him working with many orchestras and composers, including two projects that earned Alan prestigious awards.  Though he found much gratification and success in this work, he still was nagged by the fact that wine needed to be a part of his future. 

 

In 2005, he changed courses by selling his home in Minnesota and moving to Healdsburg, California.

He was able to take this step after meshing his radio career with the wine career he was trying to pursue.  As a way to finance his interest in wine and get hands-on learning, he created cellarrat.org.  Part of his web site was a blog while the other part was a podcast, a then-new concept.

Alan’s goal was to offer his services as a “cellar rat” to wineries.  In addition to the work, Alan gave publicity through his blog and podcast.  Sonoma producers Peterson and Unti were first to give Alan a chance.

Alan never expected to make a great deal of money on this leg of his journey; he just wanted to learn everything he could about the industry.  He was still so good at his public radio job that NPR picked up the podcast, which turned into a lucky break for his wine-making career.

 

At this point, Alan knew he wanted to make wine full time; however, he could no longer do both radio and wine.  He would have to commit to one completely.  He took yet another giant leap and asked his online audience for help.  His supporters purchased wine futures, basically paying for his first vintage of wine before it was made, enabling the production to be completed.

Alan used this early form of crowd sourcing to produce his first vintage at Crushpad.  About 100 of those who purchased futures—called The Rat Pack—helped do cellar work to make the vintage, all documented in a video podcast called Pinot 2.0.  The Cellar Rat Cellars label production was 100 cases of Wentzel Vineyard’s pinot noir.

 

Immediately following, Alan became the director of Crushnet, a web site that virtualized “the winemaking process so anyone across the globe could create their own customized barrel of wine.” This kept him at Crushpad for three years and introduced him to another wine lover, a meeting that would forever change his course.

Serena Lourie’s wine journey started an ocean away, as a child in France.  Having a grandmother that lived in Brittany, Serena’s family spent four months every year there.  Serena’s French experience with food and wine would follow her home and to adulthood. 

 

In Washington D.C., Serena found her interests in health care, specifically adolescent psychiatry, a field in which she worked for fifteen years.  At 18, her first job was in an adolescent unit.  She finished her degree at Georgetown, then later went on to get an MBA.  This led her to be in charge of programs for teenagers, often creating these programs herself.

D.C. was also home to Serena’s wine aha! moment.  At a table of friends overlooking the beautiful city harbor, she ordered a bottle of Shafer Cabernet from Napa to celebrate her graduation.  The taste and smell was amazing, but she still recollects how the finish lasted two full minutes—an amazing wine.  The ultimate irony came years later when a Napa cab was the first wine she made.

 

In order to take a break from her high-stress job, Serena traveled cross country to Crushpad, getting her hands dirty while enjoying her wine passion.  She and Alan found themselves working together and noticed all they had in common:  a zest for life, a love for wine, and a palate for pinot noir.

After a long day of wine work in 2009, Alan and Serena mapped out their plan to launch a label together, focusing on Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.  They knew they wanted their wines to tell a story—not just any story—but the story of the paths they took to end up in Healdsburg making wine.

Their first vintage consisted of “two barrels, 50 cases, of pinot noir…which would become the inaugural release under the Cartograph label. The logo on the front of each bottle is a visual encapsulation of the winding road that brought the two of them together and how they joined forces to launch the new brand.”

Cartograph’s primary focus is pinot noir; it is the reason they produce in the heart of Sonoma and from the Russian River Valley.  Alan and Serena both love the versatility of these wines.  They also love the challenge of producing wines from such a finicky—and prestigious—grape.

Alan uses his musical background to explain:  “Making Pinot noir is the winemaking equivalent of a composer writing a string quartet. Any composer who decides to write a string quartet is instantly putting their work up against some of the greatest composers who have ever put pen to paper: Beethoven, Bartok, Mozart, Schubert, Debussy, Haydn, Brahms.”

Cartograph’s pinot noirs are wonderful works.  The Mariah Vineyard (my personal favorite because my sister’s name is Mariah) is wonderfully delicate and complex.  The Choate Vineyard and Perli Vineyard are also excellent examples of terroir-driven wines.  The Russian River Valley pinot is yet another quality wine.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Cartograph also makes an amazing riesling.  In true Alsatian style, the wine is bone dry and elegant with a hint of petrol and wet rock, a wine both novices and experts will enjoy.

A sangiovese from Upton Vineyard (my husband’s hometown name) brings the Cartograph story back to the beginning, as the first wine Alan and Serena made together at Crushpad was from sangiovese grapes. 

 

The Cartograph journey continues its course with the recent purchase of an estate vineyard.  Alan and Serena will be growing their own fruit on just under ten acres in western Sonoma County, fourteen miles from the coast.  In addition to the four clones of pinot noir, there are also 180 olive trees.  (Yes, there will also be Cartograph olive oil!)

This vineyard will continue to help Alan and Serena reach their wine-making goals:  “to produce wines of quality that can be called great, unique, memorable and meaningful…it is the most important element of our winemaking at Cartograph.”

The journey of a thousand miles literally started in different locations for Alan and Serena.  Their lives were on a direct course to collide, over the most exceptional of topics—wine.  Together, they have traveled far and wide on a winding path to get to where they are today: making beautiful wines in a beautiful place. 

See another great look at Cartograph Wine's story by watching American Wine Story.

It Only Means One Thing…Venison Bourguignon

The days are getting shorter (barely light by 7:00 a.m. and dark not long after 6:00 p.m.), and a chill is permeating the air; this only means one thing:  autumn is here! 

Though we haven’t had to deal with snow yet—knock on wood—winter is quickly rounding the corner to descend on Black Hills area residents.  And when winter hits, it does so with a vengeance.  It grips the region and doesn’t let go.  It holds on, absolutely for dear life, for months…and months…and months.

These sure signs not only mean winter is very close, it also means something else in the Black Hills.  Something even more important to many.  Falls means hunting!  (Add celebratory dance from outdoors men and women who live for this time of year.)

These early autumn days, as I have been writing about much lately, are absolutely beautiful.  The temperatures are superb.  The colors are delightful.  And seasonal food from this time of year is delicious.

I don’t hunt; I hike…and cook.  So these cooler days when my hunting husband and son work to fill my freezer, I look for ways to use the game meat.  The falling temps mean I can take my time in the kitchen, letting the oven warm my house and heart, to slowly make a great meal.

 

I channeled my rural, inner Julia Child and modified a recipe found in a Cabela’s catalogue.  Yes, the same place you can buy camouflage clothes for hunting has some great recipes, especially when I add my add twist.  Here is my Venison Bourguignon.

Venison Bourguignon

1 ½ to 2 pounds venison loin, cut into chunks (elk or moose would also be delicious)

3 strips thick-cut bacon, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

½ to 1 pound mushrooms, sliced

3 gloves garlic, minced

Flour

½ cup port (sherry, Madeira, or brandy would also work)

2 bottles pinot noir (any region, U.S., France, or other—the second bottle is to drink with the meal; I   used Cartograph’s Sonoma County Pinot Noir for the bourguignon and their Leonardo Julio Pinot Noir for the meal)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 tablespoons butter

Olive oil

Salt and pepper (to taste)

1.     Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.     On the stove top, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven; I used La Creuset cookware. Heat to medium.  Add bacon and sauté until bacon begins to brown. Remove and set aside.

3.      Dry the cubed venison on paper towels.

4.      Brown the meat in small batches in the olive oil/bacon drippings.  Remove and set aside with bacon.

5.      Cook chopped onion, celery, and carrots in the drippings until soft, about ten minutes.  Will not caramelize.  Add the garlic.  Sauté another few minutes.

6.      Add the port.  With a spatula, rub the bottom of the pan so drippings blend into the port and veggies.  Stir well to coat all the veggies.  

7.      Flambé port in pan by tipping up to pool port in the corner of the pan.  Light to burn off the alcohol.

8.      Lightly dust venison with flour.  Return meat to the vegetable mixture in the Dutch oven. Also return bacon.

9.      Add salt and pepper.  The sauce will reduce, so go lighter on the salt.

10.  Add one entire bottle of pinot noir.  If liquid doesn’t cover the meat and veggie mixture, add up to one more cup from the second bottle of wine.  (There should still be plenty of the second bottle to have with the meal.  If worried, grab a third bottle!  Can also add water or beef stock for extra liquid.)

11.  Turn the oven down to 300 degrees.  Cover the stew.  Simmer in the oven for two to three hours.  The wine/port sauce should be reduced and thickened.  If too much sauce reduced, add more wine, beef stock, or water at any point, remembering water may dilute the flavor more than wine or stock.

12.  After the two to three hours, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan on the stove top.  Sauté the mushrooms until begin to caramelize.  Add to the stew.

13.  Melt the last 2 tablespoons of butter.  Add up to 2 teaspoons of cornstarch; stir into a paste.  If reduction sauce is very thick, use less cornstarch.  Add paste into stew. 

14.  Cook in oven ten more minutes. 

15.  Serve!  Can serve with corn bread (which is what I did because I loved the oven going all day) or use the stove top to make a creamy polenta.  Could also boil or mash potatoes for side dish, as well.

16.  Pour a glass of the wine used in the recipe for a natural marriage pairing…and enjoy!

Fall may mean cooler temperatures and beautiful scenery, but in my household, and for many where I live, it means hunting!  Using game meat is a special treat that can be enjoyed on days when much time and joy can be given to the cooking process.

Put on that wool sweater and turn on the oven.  Connect with your inner chef using autumn’s recipes, which are great well into winter. Enjoy the comfort food all season long.