Central Coast Wine Blogs

My New Business Cards are Chocolate!

My new business cards are solid chocolate!  The name of my PR business is "Solid Communications" and what better way to communicate than with solid chocolate?  This is my card in a box of truffles. 

My cellphone photos are a little blurry, but the printing on the cards is crystal clear!

Dessert Wines

Dessert wines - Many people just pour them over high-quality vanilla bean ice cream with fresh berries or shaved dark chocolate atop. But a quality dessert wine is so much more than just a sweet pick-me-up or a syrup for frozen milch. During the holidays you should have a few bottles on hand.  Don't be shy about using them as after-dinner digestifs enjoyed in a tiny glass, as the basis for meat marinades and vinaigrettes, to splash into Spanish cava or champagne for a festive flair, and to accompany holiday desserts.  At the end of a meal, a complex, layered dessert wine is both dessert and digestif, particularly if you serve it with some crisp fruit and mellow cheeses. Some dessert wines, particularly whites, are mellow enough to be served with roasted quail and other savory treats. During the holidays, a good dessert wine makes an instant course for a quickly pulled together dinner, and can even be used as part of the preparation.

Some easy pairings for late harvest and port-style reds:

• Dates stuffed with cream cheese and topped with a raspberry
• Small puff pastry circlets topped with cream fraiche, berries, and shaved chocolate
• Sesame glazed walnuts
• Slices of pear and apple
• Savory cheeses—Gorgonzola, Stilton, Manchego

Quick pairings for white late harvest and dessert wines:

• White chocolate brownies
• Puff pastry cups with fresh peaches, crème fraiche and toasted almonds
• Baklava
• Fruit and cheese quiche
• Tapioca or pudding topped with fruit and crème fraiche

While most people instinctively pair a sweet with a sweet, the oils and sugar in chocolate and dessert dishes coat the palate and subdue the layered flavors of a great dessert wine. When I want the wine to star, I serve nuts, cheese, and savory bites.   

Try basting a quail with a dessert white or red while roasting, and prepare a long-grain rice stuffing with fruits that have been steeped in a cup of the wine—dark fruits for a red dessert wine, white fruits like apricots and blood oranges in white dessert wine. The savory elements of the fowl and rice are a great marriage with dessert wines. Look for dessert wines that are not too rich and pruney—they should have lifted acidity and clearly definable varietal flavors.

The Deck Party Cookbook - Available Now!

 

There’s just nothing more fun than having a deck party. Fire up the grill, prepare a big salad, open some wine, and put out some appetizers. Let the party begin!

The Deck Party Cookbook is a collection of easy dishes that you can prepare at home for guests and family, and every recipe has a suggested wine pairing.

(View the entire table of contents here.  Just click on 'Preview' under the cover image.)

Learn how to grill lamb ribs with a lavender rub, smoke a duck, and make vodka gravlax. It's easier than you think!  Having friends overnight?  Start the party with grilled appetizers and dinner on the deck, and continue the next morning with our brunch ideas and creative Bloody Marias. Every recipe uses easy-to-find ingredients, so no matter where you live, you can cook, dine and wine as if you are in wine country!

There are 3 easy ways to order:

Order a paperback copy direct from Lulu.com and get 5% off

Get an autographed copy from me ($18 + $5 shipping):  [email protected]

Or download a digital copy now for only $12.95 and prepare an easy recipe tonight!

Pork Tenderloin and Basil Carnitas

 

I use fresh herbs, tomatoes, and peppers from the garden to make this easy and succulent dish during harvest season, when guests are many and time is limited.

Photos are courtesy of Brian Grafstrom, who is making this dish while traveling in London, England!

Order your own copy of The Deck Party Cookbook!  Choose from paperback and easy-print digital versions.

• 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 cup white Worcestershire sauce
• Fresh garlic chives, bay leaves, thyme and oregano
• 1-2 cups fresh basil leaves, julienned or sliced
• 2 cups chopped vine-ripened tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
• 4 flour tortillas

Serves 4

Place the pork tenderloin in a one gallon sealable bag with the olive oil, wine, white Worcestershire sauce, half of the julienned basil, and plenty of chopped fresh herbs.  (Strip the tiny leaves off the thyme stems, and gently crush the bay leaves.) 

Marinate for 2-3 hours.  Grill the tenderloin over medium-hot coals until faintly pink inside, about 10-15 minutes on each side.  You can also sear the tenderloin on the stove over medium heat, and then roast it at 400º for 10-15 minutes, or at 300º for 25-30 minutes.  Check the tenderloin after 15 minutes, because pork cooks quickly.  If you have a meat thermometer, interior temperature should be about 150º, and the center should be hot, yet still pink and juicy. 

Chop the tenderloin into bite-size chunks, and serve on warmed flour tortillas with the fresh basil, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion and peppers.

Wine suggestion: 

Pinot noir, sangiovese, or zinfandel.

 

Abalone's Revenge: The Cayucos Abalone Farm

 
 
A while back, I arranged a fundraising dinner and some tours of local food producers as a fundraiser for a culinary association.  We started the day at the Cayucos Abalone Farm with a personally guided tour conducted by Brad Buckley. Perched on small bluff overlooking the ocean, the farm produces almost 500,000 abalone a year. They culture only red abalone, under the brand name Ocean Rose.

Our first abalone epiphany was that abalone are not bi-valves like clams or oysters. They are snails. Gross, yet cool. Various strains of abalone also have their own particular flavor.

Bread Machine Recipe: Saffron-Coriander

  

I recently received compliments on my favorite homemade bread loaf, which I brought to a winery gathering, so I thought I'd share it here.  It's great with hearty grilled foods and red wine.  Enjoy with friends, family and customers.

I prefer an upright-style bread machine for even rising and baking.  If you haven't tried using a bread machine yet, inexpensive models are available used on eBay and similar sites for around $30. 

I prefer the upright model to the horizontal pan machines because it consistently produces a thoroughly mixed, fluffier, and uniform loaf.  The basic recipe is for a large 2 pound loaf of white bread, but I add two secret ingredients:  coriander seed and a saffron mix.  Coriander seed gives the bread cubes a citrusy crunch, and the saffron blend gives it a deep yellow color and a toasty, almost tobacco-like aroma which is great with red wine.  For another variation, you can also add dried safflower petals, which are frequently available in your grocer's Mexican spice section.

Here's the recipe, which you may want to adjust depending on your basic bread machine recipe . . .

Templeton Farmers Market and Farmstand 46

 
I enjoy going to the Templeton Farmers Market every other Saturday morning. I have a rolling sport cart, which I fill to overflowing with sweet onions, asparagus, and artichokes.

If you are planning to spend a Saturday wine tasting in Paso Robles, there is simply no finer way to start the day than by strolling through the farmer’s market.   And for lunch, a stop at Farmstand 46 is an absolute must.  Enjoy lunch on the outdoor patio with a glass of wine, or pack it up and take it with you for a leisurely wine tasting trip down Vineyard Drive.

In today’s haul I have a seed-strewn flatbread from a local bakery, sold with small, ready-to-serve tubs of orange hummus, and garnished with fresh herbs. My other selections today were bacon avocados, asparagus, red and yellow beets, basil, tomatoes, strawberries, sugar pod peas, and garlic.

Every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Templeton Community Park is the host for the Farmers Market. Come by and enjoy the selection of locally grown fruits, vegetables, organic produce, dried nuts and herbs, and homemade crafts and gifts. For more information call (805) 239-6535.

Winemakers: Stocking Up the 'Dream 'Fridge'

 

"With harvest approaching, what is your dream fridge stocked with? I'm guessing hoagie ingredients, potato salad, steaks, hard-boiled eggs, beer, gallons of iced tea, and bottled water, for a start ... what else?"

To those of who are wondering how to pamper your hard-working enologists during harvest, here are the comments and shopping lists we received from men and women winemakers around the world.  What would you add to the list?

Beer, chips & salsa, beer, burger fixins and more beer

Scott Klann, Twisted Oak, Calaveras County, CA

 

Pecan pie, pork chops, wine

Bob Bell, Vancouver, BC

 

Vitamin water, jerky, big hunks of cheese and beer. You know what they say about making wine and beer.

Patrick Carrico, Medford, OR

 

Lots of bubbles, pretzels (honey whole wheat from TJs), bananas, nuts, diet red bull, sandwiches and pretty much anything I can eat while driving forklift...beer is soo overrated. yep, i said it!

Derby Wine Estates, Paso Robles

 

It can get cool quickly here, especially for the night shift, so fridge: good cheeses, and a crock pot filled with hearty soups, stews and chili.

Firesteed Cellars, Willamette Valley, OR

 

A perpetual giant casserole of real macaroni and cheese made with cream and full of chunks of feta, sharp cheddar and whatever other cheese sounds good -- baked with a crust on top. Some italian sausage and fresh spinach in there too maybe. Butter lettuce salad with sugar snap peas, chevre, pine nuts and raw grated beets. Beer. MEXICAN FOOD! A little plate of grilled scallops, garlic thyme sauteed summer squash and quinoa ready to be microwaved and consumed with a glass of rose'. Mashed potatoes -- again, real ones made with cream, and more beer. Real Dim Sum like you can't get around here. Sheesh, I can't stop! Forget about dried snacks -- its gotta be fresh real food.

Glenna Thompson, Paso Robles, CA

 

Bear Republic Racer 5.

John Holdredge, Napa, CA

 

Bread, beer, cheese, coffee, meat and hope.

Brian Morrison, London and France

 

Beer, beer and more ice cold beer (locally brewed, of course!)

Amy Lillard, France