Pairing Rich with Rich: Apricot-Miso Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Roussanne

By Suphada Rom

Last week, I represented Tablas Creek at a wine dinner at TasteVin Wine Bar in San Carlos, California. Glass of rose in hand, I meandered about the room, introducing myself and starting conversations with just about everyone. I love these events because they give me a chance to meet people, answer questions, and honestly, just have good food and wine, paired with great conversation. As I was chatting, one question that was posed several times was, "What is your favorite Tablas Creek wine?" I know what you're thinking and trust me, I was thinking the same thing; how can I pick just ONE wine?! That's absolute crazy talk, since one of the things I love about Tablas is the generous portfolio. As I whittled down options in my mind, I thought back to my early days at the winery, when I was fortunate to take part in a barrel tasting of Roussanne. That day we tasted through several different lots, each one having a different profile due to pick date, fermentation/aging vessel, and whether or not a stirring technique had been used. It was fascinating to see and taste the changes within the variety, whether it was brighter with heightened tropical aromas or deeper, richer and more sumptuous with honey and floral character. The sheer versatility of Roussanne struck a chord within me- I put that wine on a pedestal since then and have enjoyed every moment since tasting it at all points of its wine life.

So, how could I have not yet made a recipe to pair with Roussanne? As I was scanning through my past pairings, I also realized I overlooked pork- for shame! And pork, which can struggle with traditional red meat pairings, is a natural for a richer white like Roussanne. I spent some time researching recipes and found a simple and terrific one for Pork Tenderloin with an Apricot-Miso Glaze, by Bon Appetit. There were only a handful of ingredients needed and prep time was minimal, making it an easy dish for anyone to put together on a moment's notice. I didn't make any real modifications, although I wish I had made a bit more of the reduction not only for the pork during the cooking time, but also to have more to mix around with everything on my plate!

I also made roasted carrots. I didn't use a recipe, but if you'd like to replicate them, they're easy. I simply roasted them at the same temperature as the pork with a generous seasoning of olive oil, salt, and pepper. I flipped them once while cooking, but I mostly left them undisturbed so they would caramelize properly. 20-30 minutes should do it, but feel free to cook them to your liking. Here are the results from today's pairing:

Chopping garlic

Chopping garlic for the apricot-miso glaze

Holding carrots

The freshest bounty of rainbow carrots- almost too pretty to roast... Almost.

Apricot glaze

The formation of the glaze- it thickens quickly, so be sure to keep a close eye on it

Spooning glaze on meat

Spoon. Brush. Coat. Repeat.

Roussanne and plate

The finished product with our 2014 Roussanne

As aromas of sweet roasted carrots and savory tangy pork wafted around the kitchen, I  could not wait to plate this dish and dig in. The carrots, roasted on a high heat with olive oil (from the vineyard, no less!) were slightly caramelized around the edges and just soft enough to the core where they melted in your mouth. The apricot miso glaze was viscous and full of flavor. I love the fermented and oxidized character of miso and its salty, savory profile. Combined with the sweet yet tart apricot preserves, the glaze was so well balanced. In terms of the wine, I loved the underlying savory tones in our Roussanne, which were brought more to life with the miso component of the glaze. Pork is also incredibly rich so pairing it with a wine of Roussanne's concentration and weight made complete sense.

Choosing this dish for our 2014 Roussanne was practically instinctual. I sat down with a glass before I even decided on a recipe, just to get to know it a little better. Delving in, the first notes I caught were floral; jasmine and daffodils came to my mind. Beyond the delicate yet forward floral aromas, I found fresh juicy nectarines and apricots- you know the ones that you eat at an arms length away to keep the juicy fruit syrup from dripping down your face and onto your clothes? I've tried eating fruit like that quickly and in a tidy manner, but alas, it never really works out! On the palate, there is honey and spice. It reminded me of being back home in Vermont. I had a morning routine where I'd make a bowl of tangy yogurt with cut up fruit (whatever was in season), topped with nuts and finished with a drizzle of warm honey. The honey I used was inevitably always warm, since I kept it near the window in my kitchen. Beyond the honey factor, there is a confirmation of stone fruit and and some citrus. And for all these sweet flavor comparisons, the wine is dry and focused, and very, very long- I could not believe how much depth and richness this wine already had at such a young age. The finish was haunting in the best way possible- even without it in front of me now, I can picture it in my mind and on my palate. It was just that good.

If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles - Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources:

  • Recipe for Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot-Miso Glaze can be found here, via Bon Appetit.
  • The 2014 Roussanne is part of our upcoming fall VINsider wine club shipment and we are patiently anticipating its release next month! When it's released, wine club members can re-order this wine at their 20% discount! Not a member yet? Learn more about the VINsider club here.
  • Our 2013 Roussanne is currently available! Purchase by clicking here or by visiting us in the tasting room.

Eat Global, Drink Local

By Evelyne Fodor

[Editor's Note: With this blog, we welcome Evelyne Fodor to the blog. She is a woman of many accomplishments, including a PhD in French (she is a French instructor for the UCLA Extension), a tremendous chef, and a lover of food and wine. Evelyne has become one of Tablas Creek's best-loved wine consultants and made many fans in our tasting room. This is her first blog piece.]

One of the most frequently asked questions at the tasting room is also one of my favorites. “Which food do I pair with this wine?”  At Tablas Creek we take food pairing very seriously. For each of our wines we offer recipes and food pairing suggestions.  Each spring and fall, we invite our members to taste dishes created by local chefs to match our new releases.  We also have a monthly column on our Tablas blog dedicated to this topic.

When one has an eclectic, adventurous palate however, food pairing becomes a very elusive topic. The other day, long-time club members Tom and Karen from Atascadero showed me a picture of an Ethiopian dish they enjoyed and asked me for suggestions on which of our wines to pair with it. If, like Tom and Karen, you love experimenting with regional cuisines such as Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese or Moroccan - cuisines with high flavors but notably not associated with wines - the topic is worth exploring.

Spices

I am by no means a specialist but in our wine and food-centric community we have an in-depth understanding of both spices and wines.  I asked three local experts, Lori Di Ciaccio-Foster the owner of Spice of Life in Paso, Brigit Binns owner of cooking school and B&B Refugio and Neeta Mittal, owner of the boutique winery LXV to explain the complicated relationship between spices and wines.

Fascinated by what she refers to as the “mystery of spices,” Lori brings spices from all over the world and blends them in the back kitchen of her small shop. For her, the fusion between spices and wine is striking:  “Blending and harmonizing spices to create vibrant flavors satisfies the mind as well as the palate.” She explained that “each spice captures unique flavors, aromas, and emotions which can pinpoint a specific region or culture.” Like wines, spices thrive best in very specific regions where natural conditions create a unique terroir.  

Spice of Life

Next door to Spice of Life is Neeta Mittal’s LXV Wine Lounge.  With its deep blue walls, day beds full of vibrant colors and plush pillows, the place is a “sensory experience.” Neeta was born and raised in Kerala, "God's own country," a southern state of India also known as the "Land of Spices."  Besides its famous backwaters, elegant houseboats, ayurveda treatments and wild elephants, Kerala is also famous for delicately spiced, taste-bud-tingling cuisine. When Neeta is not involved with her winery, she explores the principles of Ayurveda, vegetarianism and veganism: “As we become more demanding of flavors and more intuitive about our health, spices once thought to be exotic are making an exciting splash in the culinary world.”

Neeta

My last expert is my friend Brigit Binns, the acclaimed author of multiple cookbooks, including The New Wine Country Cookbook: Recipes from California’s Central Coast, in which every recipe is paired with a Central Coast wine.  Recently I met with several of Tablas Creek's wine club members at her Refugio for a class called “The Rosé Less Travelled," with chef Clark Staub, featuring both our Dianthus and Patelin de Tablas Rosé wines. It's also at Refugio that last May Neeta led a three-part cooking series to explore the flavors of Indian cooking and how they partner with Rhône varieties (beautifully!).  Brigit is currently working on a new book project called “Wine First: A Cookbook for Wine Lovers;” her concept is simple: “First, you choose the wine."

So we did! One evening at home, John Morris, Tablas Creek tasting room manager, Neeta and myself lined up a few Tablas wines and started a discussion on the ideal wine pairing.  We selected five whites:  Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2014, Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2012, Petit Manseng 2014, Vermentino 2015 and Picpoul Blanc 2014.  For the reds, we picked most of our Spring shipment including  Esprit de Tablas 2011, 2012 and 2013.  And at the last minute I added our newest release Terret Noir 2014.  I did not include our two rosés, because they simply are too easy to pair with almost anything.  Our challenge was to find affinities in both Tablas wines and regional dishes to create a perfect flavor pairing. We knew the style of cuisines would differ greatly based on climate and available local ingredients but certain spices such as coriander, cumin, cardamom, star anise and turmeric are common to all them.

Meal

John has a deep knowledge of our wines and he has also become an expert in Thai food, as his wife Christina was born and raised in Thailand. He quickly singled out Vermentino 2015. Vermentino is a white medium-bodied wine that grows mostly on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia as well as in Provence where it is known as Rolle. With its somewhat exotic character, citrusy aromas, minerality and crisp acidity, Vermentino is very much appreciated by our guests.  It also pairs very well with Asian dishes that play with the Star Anise spice such as Asian Style Shrimp.  

If for John the choice was simple and straightforward, it took Neeta more time and a few more tastings to figure out which of our wines would be ideal for her Southern Indian dish. She finally chose Esprit de Tablas 2012 which she described as “having a long and complex palate, with flavors of black raspberry, plum compote and leather.”  The moderate alcohol content and gentle tannins with nice fruit and spicy flavors was, according to Neeta, an ideal marriage with her delicately spiced, taste-bud-tingling Tharavu (Duck Dry Curry).

When it was my turn, my first impulse was to pick Petit Manseng 2012 for its rich sweetness, stonefruit characters and sweet spice, which I thought would pair beautifully with my mom’s Moroccan chicken tagine. The word tagine refers to both the conical-shaped dish and the food that's cooked inside it, which in this case is braised chicken flavored with saffron, turmeric, preserved lemon and olives.  Moroccan cuisine has long been integrated into the French culinary tradition due to its colonial history. There is a natural continuity in choosing a Rhône style wine with a Moroccan dish since they both hail from Mediterranean climates. My mom’s tagine is a dish especially well suited here as Morocco shares the same latitude as Paso Robles.

Instead, I choose the Terret Noir 2014, our newest wine. We know very little about the Terret Noir grape, except that it’s a blending partner used in the southern Rhône Valley for red Châteauneuf du Pape wines. It is praised for its "qualities of lightness, freshness, and bouquet" which reminds me of Beaujolais’ Gamay grape. Like Gamay, Terret Noir is pale in color, low in alcohol with bright fruity flavors and a wonderful distinctive herbal aroma reminiscent of garrigue, the low, scrubby vegetation that grows around the Mediterranean coast. The wine’s relatively high acidity made the natural bitterness of preserved lemons and green olives a bit too aggressive, so I simply added (oh mon dieu!) a bit of crème fraîche.

With that in mind, turn up the heat and drink some of our suggestions with all the wonderful African, Asian, Caribbean and fusion dishes that you like!  This is the great way to learn and make your own decision about which Tablas Creek wine pairs best with your tastes.

Tharavu / Duck Dry Curry
A dish from the South of India

Neeta Mittal, LXV Wine Lounge

Duck leg

A few notes before we begin:

  • Always try to grind spices fresh. Spices sitting on your shelf have probably lost their essence.
  • Use a whole duck, if possible, but you can always substitute duck breasts
  • Curry Leaves can be found in an Indian store. You could use a couple of bay leaves with some lime zest, but it won't be the same as curry leaves. I have cooked this dish WITHOUT curry leaves and still tastes great.
  • Use small Green chilies like Thai chilies.
  • You can always email me for ordering just enough spices for this dish, including the curry leaves ([email protected])
  • Guideline for pairing with Indian food: low alcohol, low tannin, low oak, high acidity, young fruit

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 full duck (skinned and cut into medium pieces and fat removed)
  • For Marinade:
    • Turmeric Powder : 1/2 tsp
    • Red Chili Powder : 3 tsp or to your spice level
    • Coriander Powder : 4 tsp
    • Whole Spices:
    • Cloves: 4 – 5
    • Cardamom: 1
    • Cinnamon stick: 1 inch
    • Bay leaves: 1-2
    • Slightly crushed whole pepper corns: 1/2 tsp
  • For Gravy:
    • Onion: 2 large (finely sliced)
    • Tomatoes:  2 (finely chopped)
    • Dried Whole Red Chilies: 4-5, each broken into two pieces
    • Mustard Seeds: 2 tsp
    • Curry Leaves: few
    • Green Chilies: 8-10 or to your spice level (slit, lengthwise)
    • Coconut Oil: 4 tbsp
    • Ghee: 2 tsp
    • Tamarind: 1 tbsp OR Vinegar: 1 tsp
    • Ginger: 2 tbsp (chopped)
    • Garlic:  2 tbsp (chopped)
    • Coconut milk: 1 cup

DIRECTIONS

  • Marinate the cleaned duck pieces with the marinade for at least 2 hours.
  • Heat coconut oil and ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan.
  • Add mustard seeds and when it starts to splutter, dried red chili, and whole spices. Sauté for a few minutes.
  • Add chopped ginger, garlic, curry leaves, green chilies and chopped onion; sauté till onions turn light brown.
  • Add tomatoes and sauté for a few more minutes, until the oil separates from the tomatoes
  • Add 1/2 cup of water, tamarind (or vinegar), the marinated duck pieces, and salt to taste. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the duck is half-done, stirring once or twice in between. Open and cook for 5 minutes at high heat until the gravy almost dries up, stirring in between so that it won’t stick to the bottom.
  • Pour in the coconut milk into half cooked duck and adjust the salt. Lower heat and simmer gently until the curry changes to a brown color and oil starts floating on top. (The coconut milk should get cooked and release coconut oil).
  • Serve Tharavu curry with hot Basmati Rice
  • Pair with a glass of slightly chilled 2012 Esprit de Tablas 

My Mom’s Tagine

Evelyne Fodor, Tablas Creek Wine Consultant

Chicken tagine in pot

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 chicken legs and 6 chicken thighs
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 to 3 tablespoons of oil
  • 5 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
  • 2 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon saffron threads
  • ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1½ cup chicken stock
  • 6 quarters preserved lemons
  • ½ cup pitted green olives
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoons chopped leaf parsley
  • 2 teaspoons chopped cilantro
  • Generously salt the chicken pieces on all sides. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

DIRECTIONS

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of the fat in the bottom of your Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until they are well browned. Remove browned pieces from the pan and add the next batch, continuing until all the pieces are browned. Remove all chicken pieces to a plate.
  • Add oil and onions and sauté on medium high heat, stirring often and adjusting the heat as necessary, for 15 minutes, or until they are a rich golden brown.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F.  Add the spices and a pinch of salt to the onions and stir constantly for about 2 minutes to lightly toast the spices.  Return the chicken to the pan, pour in the chicken stock, and bring to a boil.
  • Cover the tagine, transfer to the oven, and cook for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and is beginning to pull away from the ends.  Remove the chicken from the pan.
  • Return the tagine to a burner and simmer for about 3 minutes to reduce the sauce. Add the lemons and olives. When they are hot, whisk in the butter, parsley, and cilantro.

A Nostalgic Ligurian Pairing: Clams in White Wine and Strozzapreti al Pesto With Vermentino

By Suphada Rom

One of my most profound food and wine memories takes me back to Italy, specifically the Ligurian coast. The allure of the crooked seaside streets with squeaking restaurant signs, beckoning you with wafts of dinners yet-to-come. Ducking my head (literally, I had to duck since the arched doorway was about five feet high, at best) into a small restaurant revealed half a dozen tables nestled into every nook and cranny. After quickly scanning the menu, I greedily ordered an appetizer of vongole al vino bianco (clams in white wine) and an entrée of trofie al pesto (a hand-made rolled pasta with a rich pesto sauce). I decided to complete the local trifecta with a cheap half bottle of a local white wine.

These were my pre-wine-geek days, where I was more focused on the food than the wine. And yeah, my wine vocabulary may have been no more than white or acidic, but I knew that what I'd ordered was delicious, and a perfect accompaniment to the dishes I ordered. Fast-forward six years later, and here I am working with all the gorgeous wines at Tablas Creek, including the Italian variety I had ordered that night, Vermentino. I may not have known what the grape was, or what its characteristics were, or anything about it, but I loved it then, as I do now.  

Vermentino and Pasta
Strozzapreti al pesto paired with our Vermentino

So, to pair with our recently released 2015 Vermentino, I chose two courses of nostalgia. The recipes I used were fairly simple and straight-forward, as I think some of the best are. I chose to use the recipe from Food52 for pesto alla Genovese. The clams recipe comes from Saveur for their Garlic-Steamed Manila Clams. I had to make a minor modification, as trofie is not a pasta you find at your local supermarket or even your artisanal Italian food shop. The origin of trofie isn’t entirely known, although it could be traced back to the the verb "strofinare", which essentially means to rub, which in turn could refer to the fact that this pasta is made by hand. Wherever its name is derived from, it finds its roots in Liguria and is commonly seen generously coated by fresh basil pesto. I found that using strozzapreti was a good substitute because its elongated structure and and curled crevices would store just enough pesto for every bite. The curled strips resemble a priest's collar (strozzapreti literally means "priest strangler", although there are alternate origin stories). Here are the results from the dual pairing:

Clams Mep
Steamed clams mis en place

Clams up close
The clams resting in their bath of white wine and herbs. Grab some crusty baguette and sop up the sauce. It's well worth it!

Pesto
Fresh pesto alla Genovese 

Strozzapreti on counter
Hand-formed strozzapreti pasta

Vermentino and Clams
Vermentino with the Garlic Steamed Clams (this plate lasted all of 60 seconds but hey, clams are tiny!)

My first bite consisted of a shell-full of clam, followed by a hunk of bread that had been soaking in the herbed broth. The clams were cooked wonderfully, but the broth is what truly made the dish. Before you even cook the clams, you saute shallots and garlic, whose deep, sweet flavor resonates through the broth. Using the white wine, you deglaze the pan, releasing all the little flavorful bits. Adding in fresh herbs at the end gives the broth not only fresh and vibrant flavor, but color too! I could seriously eat a vat of this broth with baguette. I did manage to disengage from the appetizer long enough to dig into the entree. The pesto was mild in flavor and complex in texture. When you're tossing in the pesto in with the warm pasta, the cheese can adhere to each individual pasta, leaving behind the pesto. I added a splash of pasta water to thin out the pesto slightly, garnering a more even coating. 

In between bites of clam and pasta, I managed to take a sip or two of our 2015 Vermentino. I know what you might be thinking- why is Tablas Creek, who is so focused on French (specifically Rhone) varieties producing Vermentino? The answer is at the very heart of Tablas Creek's existence- our importation of vine material from France. When we starting the vineyard, we wanted to import specific clones from France that would produce quality grapes in the limestone rich soils of Paso Robles. Based on the recommendation of the Perrins' French nurseryman, we began with a handful of varieties from the Rhone and a couple outliers, including Vermentino. Vermentino, also known as Rolle, is easy to grow in the vineyard and even easier on the palate. It exudes aromas of lemon and lime- I happened to find a little piece of my childhood in a whiff of cream soda. There is this expression of fresh citrus, with a rich mouthfeel that coats your palate long enough for the acidity to kick in, lending a generous "pick me up" on the finish. In terms of pairing, I like seafood with this wine a whole lot, especially when there's white wine involved in the sauce. There's a certain briny character in Vermentino that suggests the ocean, and the finish of pithy grapefruit provides a foil for the rich flavors of roasted garlic and shallot. And matching up pesto with this wine is a slam dunk. It's a regional pairing that, for so many reasons, is perfect in itself and needs little explanation except for Try It.

Looking back, I see that, even though I didn't realize it then, I was destined for the path I've been paving for myself. This road entangled with food and wine was one I was sure to not only continue down, but make a career out of. 

If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles - Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources:

  • Recipe for Steamed Manilla Clams can be found here, via Saveur.
  • Recipe for Pesto alla Genovese can be found here, via Food52.
  • You can purchase the 2015 Vermentino by clicking here or by visiting us in the tasting room
  • Although this wine was included in the Spring "Whites Only" Shipment, wine club members can re-order this wine at their 20% discount! Not a member yet? Learn more about the VINsider club here.

A Provençal Pairing: Rosé and Caramelized Fennel with Goat Cheese

By Suphada Rom

In the heat of summer, there is nothing quite as palate pleasing and thirst quenching as rosé. It's appealing to wine drinkers across the board, given that it is produced (most of the time!) from red grapes but served at a refreshing chilled temperature. It may be hard to remember, given rosé's current popularity, that less than a decade ago, if you were looking for rosé, your average bartender would have likely poured you a white Zinfandel, scratching his head, and thinking, "seriously?". Thankfully, more and more people are not only learning about what real rosé is, but seeking it out at every wine shop or winery they go to. And it's about time! 

Patelin Rose and Fennel plated

Caramelized fennel with its various accoutrements of goat's cheese, fresh lemon zest, dill, and fennel fronds

One of the best attributes of rosé is its flexibility. It's incredibly versatile, whether you're pouring glasses of it as a party starter with an assortment of appetizers, enjoying it alongside a sushi dinner, or drinking it at a barbeque. So, what to pick as a "signature" pairing? You might remember that some time ago we suggested gazpacho, and that works great. But I decided to pair our Patelin de Tablas Rosé with something a little more French: a delicious caramelized fennel recipe taken from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. This dish is so simple, yet so good! It takes about 10-15 minutes to create from start to finish, which isn't even enough time to break a sweat in the kitchen (but if it does get hot, just grab another stove side glass of chilled rosé and you'll be more than fine). The only suggestion I have to making this in less time is to have a couple of pans going (another set of hands wouldn't be a bad thing, either) with the fennel spread out evenly. It's also important to give the fennel enough space where they can have the opportunity to caramelize (they steam if they're in too-close proximity). That's about as high maintenance as this dish gets, but enough with my critique, here are the results from this afternoon's pairing:

Fennel in Pan
The fennel getting cozy (but not too cozy) in a frothy bath of butter and oil; the only action shot I took due to how quickly the dish came together!

Patelin Rose and Fennel
The finished product with our 2015 Patelin de Tablas Rosé

I had made this recipe only once before but because of its clean flavors and ease in terms of preparation, I couldn't wait to make it again. Fennel is such a amazing base to work with. Raw and as is, it's bright, crunchy, and full of life. I love a good shaved fennel and apple slaw. When fennel is cooked, whether you caramelize it on the stovetop or purée it into a soup, its bright tangy character is replaced with a more sumptuous and mellow flavors of anise and licorice. Caramelizing the fennel creates this gorgeous toasty layer that leads to the creamy and decadent interior. I ended up leaving the fennel in the pan for a few minutes longer than the recipe because honestly, I was prepping the seeds and ingredients for the next step and wasn't really multitasking successfully. Which is a little funny given that I tout the importance of an organized mise en place! One piece of advice I have is when you're caramelizing the seeds, that you do this with unwavering eye. Seriously, just give those caramelizing fennel seeds 30 seconds of your undivided attention and they will coated to perfection. When I finally plated everything, the fennel still held a little residual heat, allowing the goat's cheese to melt ever so slightly into its many crevices.

Pairing the fennel with our 2015 Patelin de Tablas Rosé was a no brainer. I've spent a fair amount of time.. erm... getting to know our rosé, and feel incredibly comfortable throwing all sorts of dishes at it. This wine can be deceptive; it is very pale and light in color, but truly expressive in its aromatics. Right off the bat is this intoxicating smell of perfectly ripe nectarine and apricots, as well as the classic Grenache rosé signature of wild strawberries. But there are non-fruit aromas, too, like jasmine and rose petals. On the palate, there is a confirmation of the stone fruit and berries, with additional notes of ruby red grapefruit and spice. This wine's acidity keeps you wanting another sip, which is good since the dish's flavors will keep you wanting another bite! Have a bite, then a sip, then another bite and sip, and before you know it, you've got a clean plate and empty glass. The tangy quality of the goat's cheese teams up well with the body and acidity of the wine, where the fennel marries the elements on the plate with what's in your glass. The subtle spice from the fennel is accentuated by the spice of the wine. This was a pairing that was simple to make, easy to consume, but hard to forget!

If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles - Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

Caramelized Fennel with Goat Cheese Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 small fennel bulbs
  • 3½ tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to finish
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • coarse sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • ¾ cup roughly chopped dill (leaves and stalks)
  • 5 oz goat's curd or other young and creamy goat cheese
  • grated zest of 1 lemon

Directions

  • Start by preparing the fennel bulbs. First take off the leafy fronds and keep them for the garnish. Then slice off some of the root part and remove any tough or brown outer layers, making sure the base still holds everything together. Cut each bulb lengthwise into ½-inch-thick slices.
  • Melt half the butter with half the oil in a large frying pan placed over high heat. When the butter starts to foam add a layer of sliced fennel. Do not overcrowd the pan and don’t turn the fennel over or stir it around in the pan until one side has become light golden, which will take about 2 minutes. Then turn the slices over using tongs and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. Continue with the rest of the fennel, using up the remaining butter and oil.
  • Once all the fennel has been seared, add the sugar, fennel seeds and plenty of salt and pepper to the pan. Fry for 30 seconds, then return all the fennel slices to the pan and caramelize them gently for 1 to 2 minutes (they need to remain firm inside so just allow them to be coated in the melting sugar and seeds). Remove the fennel from the pan and leave to cool down on a plate.
  • To serve, toss the fennel in a bowl with the garlic and dill. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Arrange on a serving plate and dot with spoonfuls of goat cheese. Finish with a drizzle of oil and a scattering of lemon zest. Garnish with the fennel fronds. Serve at room temperature.

Reprinted with permission from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (Chronicle Books 2011).

A few other resources:

  • Goat's curd, a light cheese made from goat’s milk, is known for its soft and creamy, yet not terribly unctuous, texture and for its wonderful freshness. It’s hard to get, though. You'll want to ask around at your local farmers' market or a good cheese shop. Still, there is no need to despair if you can’t find it. There is an abundance of young and fresh goat cheeses that will do the trick equally well. My favorite is Caprini freschi, from Piedmont in Italy.
  • A little about the 2015 Patelin de Tablas Rosé:
    • Its blend is 68% Grenache Noir, 13% Counoise, 11% Mourvédre, and 8% Syrah
    • It is mostly produced by the direct press method, where the fruit is pressed as soon as it arrives in the cellar, to minimize the skin contact and keep the wine as fresh and bright as possible.
    • You can find Patelin de Tablas Rosé in the market, hopefully poured by the glass at your favorite restaurant. You may even see it on tap -- we kegged up 440 5-gallon kegs this year. Talk about instant summer! 
  • You can purchase the 2015 Patelin de Tablas Rosé by clicking here, visiting us in the tasting room, or by way of distribution throughout the country.
  • This wine is part of our current VINsider shipment! Members can reorder this wine here. Not a member yet? Become a VINsider today by clicking here.

Tablas Creek is a 2016 Wine Blog Awards Finalist

WBA_logoI was excited to learn today that we are a finalist for the 2016 Wine Blog Awards. These awards, created in 2007 by the tireless Tom Wark to honor the growing number and quality of wine bloggers, have been awarded each year since.

This is the tenth year of the awards, and the eighth year where we've been a finalist. Our consistency is the accomplishment I'm proudest of. Blogging can be a slog at times. There is a start-up period where no one much is reading what you're saying. And then, after a few years in a seasonal, cyclical endeavor, it becomes a struggle to feel like you aren't just repeating yourself. In order to keep the blog feeling fresh and relevant, I've tried to bring new voices into the mix, and this past year, we've added two new series, both of which I think add fresh perspectives: the Eat Drink Tablas series featuring food & wine pairings by Suphada Rom, and the Q & A with Tablas series, where Lauren Phelps interviews some of the key members of our team.

Like last year, our category is "Best Winery/Industry Blog". There is one other returning blog from last year's finalists (last year's winning Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, from the venerable UK retailer). The other finalists are all new to the awards, though I was excited to see a personal local favorite (the Wine Lohr blog, from J. Lohr, which should win for its name alone). The other three entries are new to me, and I look forward to getting to know them over the next few days.  And, of course, ours is just one category; there are seven categories in all.  Getting to know the other finalists' work [click here] is always my favorite part of the whole process.  I hope that you will as well.  If, after doing so, you'd care to vote for us, we'd be honored.  The winner will be determined half by the voting of the judges, and half by the votes of the public.  Voting ends June 13th.

I like to celebrate these nominations by looking back at some memorable posts from the last year.  Here are ten of my favorites of the 62 entries we've posted in the last year, with a little about why each has stuck with me:

  • The Early Years of Tablas Creek. Last summer, I received a treasure trove of photographs from Dick Hoenisch, our original nursery and vineyard manager who has since moved on to a career in academia.  These photographs, from when we bought the property in 1989 through the original construction of our winery building in 1997, were like a time capsule that I think anyone who only knows us as a mature winery will find fascinating.
  • On the Rhone: a Post-Cruise Appreciation. My dad helped lead the Tablas Creek Rhone River cruise last August.  When he came back, he wrote up the experience vividly enough that you'll feel like you were there. The amazing photographs provided by Jeffery Clark, a wine club member on the cruise, are the icing on the cake.
  • Coming (Soon) to Fruition. I always love Chelsea Franchi's blogs because of their combination of intimacy and humor. Read this, and you'll know what it's like to anticipate (and dread) the onset of the harvest season. 
  • What's Next for the New Paso Robles AVAs. I was invited late last year to present at a continuing education law seminar, focused on the AVA approval process and prospects for the 11 Paso Robles sub-AVAs. It gave me a chance to look forward at what the future might look like. What these new AVAs mean (and should mean) in the marketplace is a fascinating question, and I enjoyed delving into it in some depth.
  • Customer Service Lessons from an Overcrowded Restaurant. I think this is one anyone can relate to: a favorite place that's just not on its game one night. But in the age of Yelp, the consequences to that place can be lasting. Hopefully, I helped someone, somewhere, avoid this.
  • A 60 Year Career in a Bottle of Delaporte Sancerre. A second piece by my dad, reflecting on opening a bottle of wine he'd first encountered (many vintages earlier) on his first buying trip to France. Even more fun: that same day, the original proprietor's great-grandson had presented the estate's newest wines to Vineyard Brands, the company he founded.
  • Braised Short Ribs: A Cold-Weather Pairing Fit for Rain or Snow. I could have picked any of Suphada's Eat Drink Tablas entries, but this was maybe my favorite: seasonal and delicious, with her super photographs illustrating every stage of the recipe.
  • Why the Future May Look a Lot Like the Crazy 2015 Vintage. This came out of my being invited to give the keynote address to a viticulture conference held here in Paso Robles. The opportunity to go back and look at what made 2015 so unusual was, I think, both instructive and unsettling.
  • The Swarm, the Hive, and Tablas Creek Honey. Viticulturist Jordan Lonborg's first blog was a knockout, taking you inside the quest to catch a wild swarm of bees. The photographs that accompanied the piece were equally amazing.
  • Grenache Blanc's Moment in the Sun. Some blogs take work to write. This was one that sprang onto the keyboard almost fully formed, thanks to conversations I'd had in recent weeks with both the Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. Love seeing the attention for this grape that we introduced into California more than two decades ago.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me and with us: 660 posts in all since we began the blog in November of 2005. As we pass our ten year mark, it's gratifying to know that we're still going strong. And if you're still reading, but haven't checked out the other finalists, go do that now. Wine blogs, at their best, plunge you into the inner workings of a world that is still too often shrouded in mystique. Dive in.


A Briny Pairing, No Ocean Required: Roasted Branzino and Picpoul Blanc

By Suphada Rom

The repertoire of wines that I work with at Tablas Creek are French-centric: Rhone, with a California inflection. This means that I'm surrounded by complex blends.  Still, we've tried to bring to light some of our lesser known varieties, to help people understand what makes them appealing. In fact, one of my favorite things about our tasting room experience is sharing some of the solo bottlings of things normally found in blends. Like Counoise. Or, when I have someone really interested in our white wines, Picpoul Blanc. 

If you've never had Picpoul Blanc before, you're definitely in for a treat. To me, it has acidity and citrus notes like a well balanced Sancerre, with structure similar to that of Muscadet. I am a huge fan of this grape variety, whether it's blended in small portions into our Esprit de Tablas Blanc or on it's own. By itself, it has this beautiful savory quality, and because of its structure and a minerality that is almost briny in character, I chose to pair this with roasted Branzino. Branzino is a Mediterranean white fish that is known under a few different monikers, including the French loup de mer. Known for its firm texture and light/delicate flavor, it's versatile in the kitchen. Roasting whole fish is one of my go-to's in the summer time, and although it's not technically summer yet, the longer days with the stretches of mid-eighty degree weather have got me feeling like it's time to break out some of my favorite summer recipes. Also, I often forget I live in beautiful Paso Robles, California, where there are certainly more days of warm weather and sun than I used to see in Vermont! A favorite recipe of mine is Roasted Branzino with Caper Butter (contributed by Steve Corry to Food & Wine Magazine). I couldn't resist roasting some fennel, onion, and potato additionally to this dish (so that's what I did!) Here are the results from what I consider to be a very successful pairing:

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The fish mise en place- the fish was incredibly fresh, purchased from the local fish monger

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"Food Styling"- Note to self, fennel is not very stylish, just very awkward!

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Stuffed with herbs and lemon, ready for roasting!

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Getting that skin nice and crispy in a well seasoned cast iron pan

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The caper and herb compound butter- the best part was it melting not only all over the crisp fish, but the roasted veggies, as well!

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Just about ready for that compound butter finishing touch!

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The finished product with our 2014 Picpoul Blanc

Picpoul Blanc is a grape variety that is known well in the southern realm of France, specifically in in the Pinet Region in the Languedoc where it is seen bottled in its pure form. Elsewhere in the Rhone Valley, it's typically used as a blending grape. It is one of the 13 grapes permitted in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and one of the nine original varieties Tablas Creek brought over from our sister winery, Chateau de Beaucastel. It had never before been used here in California, and there are still fewer than 50 acres planted in the state.

Wine notes: our 2014 Picpoul Blanc was taken from a vintage where we saw early budbreak (in fact, our earliest to date!) followed by a consistently warm summer, until an unusually cool August slowed things back down. When the fruit did come in in September, we found that the extra hang time gave the fruit focused concentration and lushness along with the grape's typical bright acids. On the nose, the wine shows savory aromas of dried pineapple and light white flower aromatics, along with the slightest underlying smokiness. On the palate, things like pineapple juice and sweeter baking spices come to mind upon taking a sip. There is also this distinct minerality that reflects the limestone soils the vineyard is planted on. Most outstandingly, there is acidity! I love Picpoul's ability to bring such a savory nose to the table, while balancing that with a refreshing and tangy palate.

This wine and the Branzino brought a Mediterranean pairing full circle. Branzino's texture is rich, but subtle in it's flavors. You know that moment where there are so many tasty elements on a dish and you're trying your darndest to get a bit of everything in one bite? It is quite a struggle (and may require using the complete surface area of your fork!) but it's so worth it. The fish is light in texture and delicate in flavor. The skin, which is coated in caper butter, is crisp and crunchy (think about that sound when you squeeze a fresh baguette!). The fennel, potatoes, and onion, roasted simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper, were a great compliment to the dish. Just grab a forkful and don't forget to dredge it around. The caper herb butter was a great finishing piece of this dish, with it's creamy texture and briny taste. I am really looking forward to trying this recipe again in the heat of summer -- maybe I'll even (gasp) vary from the recipe and grill it!

If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles - Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources:

  • The 2014 Picpoul Blanc is our featured wine of the month of May 2016! VINsiders get 30% off this wine, VINdependents get 20%, and retail consumers get 10% off. What are you waiting for? We only made 350 cases. Order it here.
  • The recipe for the Roasted Branzino with Caper Butter can be found here.
  • Looking for another wine to pair this with? Try our Vermentino!

The 2014 vintage was our third consecutive drought year and saw our earliest-ever beginning to the growing season.  The summer was warm but without serious heat spikes, and our coolest August in a decade slowed ripening at a critical period. When it warmed back up in September, the fruit tumbled in, and we finished in mid-October, about two weeks earlier than normal.  The result was a vintage with excellent concentration balanced by good freshness, which should be vibrant and powerful young, but with the balance to age. Our picpoul was harvested between September 17th and October 6th.

The Picpoul grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in a mix of stainless steel and small, mostly neutral, barrels to achieve a balance of freshness and richness. It completed malolactic fermentation in barrel, and was blended in April 2015 and bottled in June 2015.

- See more at: http://www.tablascreek.com/wine/267/2014_Picpoul_Blanc#sthash.X28faPOC.dpuf

The 2014 vintage was our third consecutive drought year and saw our earliest-ever beginning to the growing season.  The summer was warm but without serious heat spikes, and our coolest August in a decade slowed ripening at a critical period. When it warmed back up in September, the fruit tumbled in, and we finished in mid-October, about two weeks earlier than normal.  The result was a vintage with excellent concentration balanced by good freshness, which should be vibrant and powerful young, but with the balance to age. Our picpoul was harvested between September 17th and October 6th.

The Picpoul grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in a mix of stainless steel and small, mostly neutral, barrels to achieve a balance of freshness and richness. It completed malolactic fermentation in barrel, and was blended in April 2015 and bottled in June 2015.

 

- See more at: http://www.tablascreek.com/wine/267/2014_Picpoul_Blanc#sthash.X28faPOC.dpuf

The 2014 vintage was our third consecutive drought year and saw our earliest-ever beginning to the growing season.  The summer was warm but without serious heat spikes, and our coolest August in a decade slowed ripening at a critical period. When it warmed back up in September, the fruit tumbled in, and we finished in mid-October, about two weeks earlier than normal.  The result was a vintage with excellent concentration balanced by good freshness, which should be vibrant and powerful young, but with the balance to age. Our picpoul was harvested between September 17th and October 6th.

The Picpoul grapes were whole cluster pressed, and fermented using native yeasts in a mix of stainless steel and small, mostly neutral, barrels to achieve a balance of freshness and richness. It completed malolactic fermentation in barrel, and was blended in April 2015 and bottled in June 2015.

 

- See more at: http://www.tablascreek.com/wine/267/2014_Picpoul_Blanc#sthash.X28faPOC.dpuf

ROASTED BRANZINO WITH CAPER BUTTER CONTRIBUTED BY STEVE CORRY, PHOTO © JOHN KERNICK, PUBLISHED MARCH 2008, FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE.


A Classic Pairing for a Rich, Dry Rosé: Salmon Niçoise

By Suphada Rom

Rosé is one of those wines that takes me down memory lane. I can clearly remember the first time I tried rosé- I had just finished a crazy Saturday night shift where we saw over 100 covers, but it felt more like 500. Part of the restaurant culture, I was learning, came with the after shift beverage of choice, whether it was a pint of beer or a glass of wine. Absolutely exhausted, I found myself being relatively indecisive and asked our chef what I should have. He reached into the fridge under the bar and grabbed a bottle of this gorgeously deep pink wine. I was slightly confused, as I half expected him to have suggested something like Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc, something I was more familiar with. Without asking if I wanted it, he poured me a glass and slid it across the smooth bar top, and watched me as I took a sip (he was probably making sure I didn't dump it out!). I wasn't quite at the level of "sophistication" that I'm at right now, so I went in for the kill, took a large gulp, and was left surprised beyond measure. The wine was juicy and felt fresh on my palate. I could feel my salivary glands go into overdrive with the kick of acidity. The dehydration I had been feeling was now masked by the cool elixir running down my throat. It may have just been the moment, but that rosé was just what I needed.

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The finished product with our 2015 bottling of Dianthus Rosé

When thinking about food and wine pairings, I try to take as many things as possible into account: the wine’s structure, acidity, the vessel in which its aged, whether it is youthfully bright or deeply mature. For the dish, I try to focus on not only the protein, but consider the sauces, acidity, spiciness, and intensity. If you have a regional tradition to lean on, so much the better.  It's no surprise that classics - think beef bourguignon and a glass of red Burgundy - that have withstood the test of time.

With the release of our beautiful estate Dianthus Rosé, I can't think of a better pairing than with a dish based on salmon. I chose to make Salmon Niçoise (recipe published by Bon Appétit) for a few reasons, the first being that salmon is a bit more sustainable than the traditional tuna for Niçoise. The second reason is because I happen to love Niçoise more than the average person. Each bite is something new, as there are endless combinations of perfect bites balanced between potatoes, olives, haricots verts, boiled egg, and salmon. And the third reason - working a riff on a classic pairing - Niçoise means "in the style of Nice", a historic city which sits on the Mediterranean coast of France, the epicenter of dry rosé.

For this recipe, I had to make a few alterations due to what I could find at my local grocery store. I couldn't find purple potatoes, so I used small golden ones. It was nearly impossible to find frisée or mâche, so I substituted peppery arugula. Here are the results from this afternoon:

  Nicoise Set Up 2
Salmon Niçoise mise en place

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An up close shot of the Niçoise

The release of our estate Dianthus Rosé is always an exciting time of year, and 2015 was no different. The 2015 Dianthus Rosé (49% Mourvèdre, 37% Grenache, 14% Counoise), is the product of a vintage where yields were dramatically reduced due to the four consecutive years of drought. To give you a little perspective, last year we were able to comfortably produce 1600 cases of Dianthus while this year, we only produced 275 cases. Our red yields were so low that in order to preserve reasonable quantities for our red wines, we had to cut somewhere, and even with the reduction in Dianthus things will be scarce when we get to blending the reds next week.

That being said, we think this year's rosé is just top notch. The year's low yields brought forth great concentration, and balanced acidity. The color of the Dianthus alone is a force to be reckoned with- a dark pink with hues of electric orange, it is reminiscent of the deeply hued rosés found in the southern Rhône valley of France. Think Tavel, and you won't be far off (though the composition, and the wine's freshness, are actually closer to that of Bandol). Upon diving into the glass, aroma-wise you'll find just about any red fruit under the sun, from cherries to watermelon to raspberries. In the mouth, all that fruit that you smell is confirmed, even some darker stone fruits like plum. There is some serious structure to this wine, along with vibrant acidity, making it wonderfully balanced in all respects. Pairing this with the Salmon Niçoise was what I considered to be a classic pairing. The richness of the salmon was complimented with the body and texture of the wine, and while there were a lot of components to the dish, no one flavor was truly overpowering. And if you're considering your own springtime mise en place, the Niçoise is served at room temperature, and the rosé slightly chilled, making a pleasant spring/summer pairing.

If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles - Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources:

  • The recipe for the Salmon Niçoise can be found here.
  • VINsider wine club members may order up to 6 bottles of the 2015 Dianthus by clicking here.
  • Not a member?  Learn more about our VINsider wine club here, or try this dish with our food friendly 2015 Patelin de Tablas Rosé. You may order the 2015 Patelin de Tablas Rosé by clicking here.

A Double Pairing for a Wine that Tastes Like Spring: Cotes de Tablas Blanc

By Suphada Rom

Recently, I traveled back to Vermont to spend some time with my family. When I come home, there are a few things that I am absolutely sure about. I will most certainly visit my favorite little coffee shop to sit down with a warm maple latte. I will walk through the front door of my house with quick paced strides of excitement, only to be corralled into the nearest wall by strong paws, wet noses, and wagging tails. I will eat tasty food and drink delicious wine with friends and family. With all of the studying for my upcoming sommelier examination (that will hopefully lead to my certification!), my family has become increasingly interested in what I'm passionate about and I have been trying to share as much wine and food knowledge with them as I can. One night on my recent trip, my mom left me in charge of the menu, so I decided to come at food and wine pairing from a reverse direction: pick out a wine (in this case our 2014 Cotes de Tablas Blanc) and try out a couple of recipes that would show different ways to pair with the wine.

IMG_2114A more gentle rendition of the slobbering- don't let her sweet nature fool you, she will most definitely tackle you for a biscuit or two!

With the onset of warmer weather and the additional hours of daylight, I find myself wanting to spend less time in the kitchen and more time outdoors. This was true even in Vermont, which during my March visit was sunny and 70 degrees without a lick of snow. So, both the appetizer and the main course I chose to pair with our Cotes de Tablas Blanc placed an emphasis on fresh ingredients, simply prepared. For a starter, I chose a great recipe for a Butter Lettuce Salad with Blood Orange, Avocado, and a Citrus Vinaigrette by Rick Bayless. I love this recipe because not only is the prep time minimal, but there is a full utilization of ingredients within the dish. You'll use both the juice and zest of the blood oranges for the vinaigrette, while cutting some into supremes. The small critique I had was my small regret for having too much zest in the vinaigrette (it sticks to the lettuce!). When I make this again, I would possibly infuse the vinaigrette with the zest and strain it through cheesecloth before dressing the salad. Either that or cut the amount of zest in half. For the main course, I decided on a recipe for Seared Scallops with Tropical Salsa by Williams-Sonoma. I substituted halibut for scallops, but you could most certainly use scallops, too! My local fishmonger cut us some fairly thick slices, so I found that searing it on the stove top and finishing it in the oven worked best. Anyways, here are the results from the double food and wine pairing:

Salad Prep
Fresh produce in preparation for the salad- 'tis the season for citrus!

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The finished salad with our Cotes de Tablas Blanc.

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The fruit and vegetable prep for the tropical salsa- there may have been a tropical drink consumed in the making of dish.. hey, I didn't want to waste any of that delicious fruit!

Halibut Cotes Blanc
Pan Seared Halibut over Tropical Salsa with our Cotes de Tablas Blanc

Why the 2014 Cotes de Tablas Blanc (42% Viognier, 30% Grenache Blanc, 23% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne)? The 2014 vintage has been incredibly impressive so far, bringing forth a balance of fresh and lush fruit with a vibrancy that provides a nice counterpoint to their richness. In our Cotes Blanc, there are gorgeous notes of peach pit and almond skin on the nose, with flavors of pear skin, peach juice, and honeydew. (Do make sure to take the wine out of the fridge a half-hour or so before you want to drink it, to get all the wine's complexity.) Despite all these fruit flavors, there is a distinct savory quality about this wine, which I would maybe attribute to the Marsanne. I really love this wine's mouthfeel- it kind of hangs around long enough to let you know it's there, but has a clean acidity to leave you wanting another sip (and another sip I gladly took!). With the salad, the wine was the dominant partner, whereas with the fish, there was more of a conversation between it and the dish. Both were nice in their way, but if I had to choose which pairing I loved more, I'd say that the halibut and tropical salsa took the cake. At one point, I wasn't sure if I was tasting the fruit notes of the salsa or the wine- they were just that interchangeable. And even though my family doesn't know all that much about food and wine pairings, they were left smiling at how well they worked (or even just how good they tasted!).

These recipes are great as a pair, but feel free to have just the salad for a nice light lunch and the halibut for a satisfying dinner (we won't judge you if you have wine with both!). If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles- Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources:

  • The recipe for the Butter Lettuce Salad with Blood Orange, Avocado, and Citrus Vinaigrette can be found here.
  • The recipe for Seared Scallops with Tropical Salsa can be found here.
  • You can order the 2014 Cotes de Tablas Blanc here, or find it in distribution throughout the country.
  • The 2014 Cotes de Tablas Blanc is part of our current (Spring 2016) VINsider wine club shipment, in both the mixed and white-only shipments. Learn more about our VINsider wine club here.

Eat Drink Tablas Hits the Road. First Stop, Vermont for Chicken Sofrito!

By Suphada Rom

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of having (and making!) lunch with two of my dear friends, Rick and Susan Richter. Whenever I go home to Vermont, I am always sure to check in with them, whether it is over a cup of tea or a glass of wine. Rick and Susan are remarkable in a number of ways- they challenge my intellect with inquisitive questions and conversation, while nourishing my stomach with incredible food and wine. I remember the first time I met them- I was their server and it was only after I described a grilled leg of lamb served with a white bean puree and salsa verde did they look at me and say, "Do you like food? Because from the way you talk about it, you've got to be passionate about it!" And we've never looked back! I went further than just being their server by catering a few events out at their home, after which I was brought as a guest to a Tablas Creek tasting, where I met the Haas family. They introduced me to Bob & Jason... and as they say, the rest is history. I sometimes sit back and smile as to how I am now a full-time and vibrant member of the sales and marketing team. It's just too cool!

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A behind-the-scenes look: Rick taking a photo of me taking a photo of the food and wine! By the way, is this really considered work?!

Rick and Susan's home is wonderful, so as much as we like to go out for extensive four hour dinners, I love to cook at their home. They've got a kitchen that chefs dream of- sinks made for prep and cleaning, a spacious island, and any kind of kitchen tool imaginable. Yes, I'm gushing a little, but only because it is a truly special place to both cook and eat. We decided to make a wonderful favorite of mine that I keep in my arsenal of recipes- chicken sofrito. I've always used the recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi. I love his cookbooks for the smart delivery of the recipes (you're never not busy!), the pictures, and the extensive family and cultural stories. This particular recipe takes all of an hour and a half and involves just a small handful of ingredients. It is a simple and comforting meal that will check a lot of boxes, even for the pickiest of eaters- it's essentially chicken and potatoes, taken up a notch.  The use of turmeric and sweet paprika give warm spices, without heat. I should also mention its essential to fry the potatoes and garlic before adding them to the pot- it's crucial that they get a nice crispy exterior. This ensures that the potatoes absorb the braising liquid along with holding their shape for the last 30 minutes of cooking. And finally, I threw in a few handfuls of kale at the end for a bit of color. Here are some photos from our cooking endeavor:

Prep Ingredients
 All of the ingredients you'll need for the dish

Seasoned Chicken 1
Sprinkling turmeric on the paprika coated chicken... I'm getting hungry!

Chopping Onions Closer
Phase 1: Chopping potatoes and garlic, getting them ready for their deep fry!

Frying Potato
Phase 2: Crispy potatoes and garlic... Eater's discretion, you and your home will be intoxicated by the pungent aroma of, well, fried garlic and potatoes!

Adding Potato to Pot
Adding those crispy and crunchy bits to the pot- 30 minutes more until the grand debut!

Add Kale
Handful(s) of kale added to the pot during the last five minutes of cooking- it will wilt down perfectly.

Plate from above
Almost ready to eat- just a spritz of lemon and the wine, of course!

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The final product with our Esprit de Tablas Blanc.

Like I mentioned before, this dish is so wonderfully simple and completely satisfying. After having made this dish several times in the past, I decide to pair it with our 2013 Esprit de Tablas Blanc (71% Roussanne, 21% Grenache Blanc, 8% Picpoul Blanc). Roussanne, the leading grape in this blend, is our primary and most important white grape on both the property here and at our sister winery, Chateau de Beaucastel. A truly beautiful blend that confounds even the primarily red wine drinkers- it's rich and viscous in the mouth with a perk of fresh acidity on the finish. We were all in agreement that the pairing was wonderfully balanced in terms of both structure and acidity, and that the warm spices of turmeric and paprika was accented by the warm notes of the wine. On the nose, there are rich notes of peach pit and highly fragrant honeysuckle, and my favorite, nutmeg. This wine tastes of grilled peaches with those subtle warm spices becoming more evident, along with some perfectly ripe nectarine. I absolutely love this wine with this dish- this will be the third time I've enjoyed it with a Tablas Creek white. The last time I made it, I tried it with a 2008 Roussanne and it was honestly one of the best food and wine pairings I've produced. The acidity was present, but toned, and the years in the bottle had concentrated the flavors of honey and nuts. If you have the patience, try this dish with an older vintage Esprit de Tablas/Beaucastel or Roussanne, but if not, do not fret- it is wonderful with young Roussanne, too, and proof that a single dish can satisfy both picky eaters and sophisticated foodies.

If you recreate this dish (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles- Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources:

  • Our 2013 Esprit de Tablas Blanc is our featured wine of the month- meaning it is offered at 10% off for retail consumers and 30% off for VINsider wine club members! You can order it at the feature price until the end of this month by clicking here. On top of all that, orders that include 6 or more total bottles of Esprit de Tablas Blanc (or Rouge) will enjoy shipping included at no charge! (What are you waiting for?!)
  • Tempted to taste an older vintage Esprit de Tablas/Beaucastel Blanc? Come join us for a Reserve Tasting, where you'll have the opportunity to taste through two vintages of our Esprit de Tablas/Beaucastel Blanc, along with several other vintages of our Esprit de Tablas/Beaucastel. Learn more here or e-mail [email protected]

Recipe for Chicken Sofrito reprinted with permission from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, copyright © 2012. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.


A Valentine's Day truffle recipe... and the perfect wine to drink with them

By Suphada Rom

Prior to working at Tablas Creek, I spent three years working at a small French bistro that was adjacent to a chocolate shop, which was also conveniently co-owned by the owners of the restaurant (pommes frites…check! chocolates…check!). I was in heaven learning not only about our menu, but about the chocolates we produced. As I reflect on my time there, I realized wine and chocolate have really similar foundations. Not unlike a vineyard, cacao farms can vary from plot to plot, and more so from one country to the next. I tasted single origin chocolates from all over South America, each bringing their own exciting aromas and nuances. With both quality wine and chocolate, there is an incredible sense of terroir that is truly amazing to taste. A certain minerality you find in a bottle of wine could be considered equivalent to the nutty nuance you find in a bar of chocolate. You can only imagine our excitement when we decided to pair the two together, creating what may be one of the best wine and dessert pairings I’ve ever had.

Bottle & truffle VertChocolate truffles with our 2003 Sacrérouge.

When I first played around with the idea of pairing wine with chocolate, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Chocolate is such a powerful product to work with, given its rich quality and often overly sweet connotation. Some of my favorite chocolate desserts are the most simple, but made with the highest quality ingredients. This truffle recipe by King Arthur Flour (from my home state of Vermont!) requires only chocolate and heavy cream to make the centers, leaving you free to coat them with just about anything you want. The chocolate ganache is smooth and rich, but not cloyingly sweet. Adding nuts or some sort of a crunchy exterior will also break up the overall smooth texture, however there were no complaints about the traditional chocolate dipped ones! Here are some photos from our truffle efforts:

Coatings prepToppings in preparation of coating every square (okay, maybe round) inch of each truffle

Dirty hands closeAfter about 2 truffles, your hands may look like this. I spy some Rebecca Haas jewelry beneath the layer of chocolate.

Dipped truffleA dipped truffle that we managed to not eat, however due to lack of self control, many truffles were harmed in the making of this blog post.

The wine that we chose to pair the truffles with was our Vin de Paille Sacrérouge. Sacrérouge is a small production dessert wine made from 100% Mourvèdre. It is produced through the meticulous vin de paille process, where the grapes are hand harvested at peak ripeness (but not superripe like a late harvest) and laid out on beds of straw to dehydrate. During this process the grapes concentrate and gather in complexity and character. The results, after a slow oak fermentation, is a sweet wine that brings richness with incredible balance. The 2003 Sacrérouge (which we chose for this pairing) was our first-ever bottling of this dessert wine. We were really thrilled with how this wine was drinking. It had incredibly deep notes of cherry and cassis, with a beautiful mineral quality on the finish. The youthful quality of this wine is what really had everyone talking -- this wine was still vibrant after over a decade in bottle. A bite of truffle and a sip of wine later, we were all relatively speechless. It was a fantastic pairing. That said, these truffles would be excellent with any vintage of our Sacrérouge, young or old. 

Bottle & truffle HorzThe finished product with our 2003 Sacrérouge, and yes, this picture perfect set up lasted all of 10 seconds before we dove in!

If you have a Sacrérouge in your cellar to enjoy with the truffles you'll be whipping up it’s sure to be a pairing you’ll never forget. If you recreate this dessert (or create a TCV wine and food pairing of your own!), be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles- Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

A few other resources: