One of my favorite vacations that I’ve ever taken was a 10 day trip Greg and I spent looping New Zealand’s South Island in a camper van.
The end of 2009 was one of my favorite times of my life, and it’s been a pretty great run on the whole so far. Greg was in business school at UCLA Anderson and we decided to take advantage of their study abroad program. He spent a semester at UNSW in Sydney, and I quit my job and went with him. We had such a beautiful time – the cherry on top was our road trip in NZ. (I wrote the whole trip up on one of my old blogs, you can read about the start of the trip here.)
To be honest, I didn’t know much about NZ at the time other than it was where Lord of the Rings had been filmed – which honestly, is propaganda enough for a nerd like me. Since I didn’t really have many expectations or preconceived notions, I think I felt very open to just taking it all in. And there was soooooo much to take in. The scenery is just jaw-droppingly spectacular everywhere you look and we just fell in love.
Most of the population lives on the North Island, but we actually kept our explorations to the South Island. Since most of the people are on a completely different landmass, I kind of thought of the South Island as one big nature lover’s playground. They also make it very easy to get out and enjoy the spectacular beauty of this place in many different ways. The whole place just seems set up for it. We took the camper van option.
There are lots of companies here that rent vans that are pre-equipped with everything you need to take advantage of the island’s many, many, many camping sites. We used the extremely cheeky Wicked Campers company.
We took this trip before I’d made the switch to working in wine and we actually only stopped at one winery the entire time. (We’ll get to that one, one of these days.) Despite this though, that trip really informed my understanding of the wines from this part of the country. Because we literally covered the terrain, I have a pretty good mental map to refer back to when thinking about the wines . . . and so much about understanding wine once you start to get geeky about it is about geography. Of course, I’d love to go back now and check out the wineries in addition to enjoying the natural beauty.
At the beginning of the year I was invited to attend a seminar and roundtable discussion exploring New Zealand wines in general, that then also focused in on introducing Waipapa Bay Wines. The seminar and discussion were led by Dr. Arabella Woodrow MW and Elaine Chukan Brown and was hosted at theEl Dorado Hotel & Kitchenin Sonoma. I really enjoyed the wines, at the same time, the discussion really brought me back to our trip . . . as discussions on NZ so often do.
Let’s start with a little bit of an outshot. NZ’s wine history actually dates back to 1819 when English missionaries brought vines over. James Busby established the first vineyard in Waitangi on the North Island in 1836. After a period of growth, the pause button basically gets hit on the winemaking industry for a long chunk of time, generally speaking. Most of what was made was for local consumption. The industry starts to re-emerge in the 1970’s. Marlborough has to be the best known wine region in the country, but vines weren’t even planted there until 1973. A late start for sure, but then they found their star grape in Sauvignon Blanc and things skyrocketed from there in the 80’s and 90’s. IMHO, one of the amazing things NZ has been able to do is to simultaneously establish reputations for quality and affordability, and in such a short time frame.
(That’s all a bit of an oversimplification of course.)
Here are a few more quick snippets on NZ and it’s wine in general:
NZ is made up of around 600 islands (I actually didn’t realize it was that many!), but there are 2 big, main ones. I already mentioned them above, but they’re the aptly named North and South Islands.
This is an island nation = most of its regions have a maritime climate. (Central Otago being the notable exception.)
NZ is the world’s southernmost wine-making country, falling between the latitudes of 36°S and 45°S.
NZ is literally closer to the sun than anywhere in the northern hemisphere. As a result UV levels are really high, so even though it’s fairly cool here since the ocean is all around, grapes also get PLENTY of sunshine for ripening.
Most of NZ’s wine
regions are on the eastern side of the country. Mountains run pretty
much straight down the middle of the country on both Islands. On the
South Island, on which I’m focusing today, the range is the Southern
Alps. The mountains cause a rain shadow that keep things fairly dry on
the eastern side, while it’s quite rainy on the western half.
99% of NZ’s wines are under screwcap. A small group of winemakers created The Screwcap Initiative in 2001 and it caught on. If you still need confirmation that high quality wines come in bottles with twist off caps, look no further than NZ.
98% of NZ wines are certified as sustainable.
Today’s wine come from Marlborough and Canterbury, which is on the central east coast of the island, surrounding Christchurch. It was pretty much the first place we hit on our adventure after leaving the city. Canterbury is just south of Marlborough, and is very much still emerging as a wine region. It only recently got its GI (Geographical Indication) status in 2016, so not until quite a few years after we passed through.
Waipapa Bay Wines is owned by Brent and Shirley Rawston. They named their winery for a little spot halfway between Canterbury, where they live, and Rapura, the area of Marlborough where most of their vineyards are. Waipapa is a good spot to see whales and seals, as well as a local surf spot.
We definitely can attest to the seals. We saw these sleeping beauties at Kaikoura, very close to Waipapa Bay.
The couple started with a little bit of land in Canterbury in 1987 and eventually bought more in Marlborough. They work closely with Dr. Arabella Woodrow as part of their winemaking team to ensure the wines offer good quality for the money. The wines are sustainably grown and are just starting to be available in the US, so be on the lookout.
What was particularly interesting about how the tasting I attended was set up, is that the four wines tasted from Waipapa (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Rosé of Pinot Noir) were tasted blind in four flights of four, alongside wines from the same grapes of similar price and quality level. This included wines from some of the best known wines from the country – i.e. a lot of the brands you see everywhere. In each instance, once the wines were revealed, I had the Waipapa Bay wine in the first or second position in my rankings.
After the seminar, we had the chance to experience how the wines worked with food during a delicious lunch at El Dorado Kitchen. You know this is the part I was most interested in! Generally speaking, I found the wines to be very food friendly. I had a Niçoise salad and mussels in a tomato broth with peppers and played around with the wines. I’ll include my favorite pairings below.
I think everyone knows New Zealand is know for it's Sauvignon Blancs. While the Sauvignon Blanc was very classic, and the Chardonnay was quite good, the Pinot Gris and the Rosé were my favorites of the day. I requested samples so I could play around with them at home and share them here. (Note: No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.)
Nose: Notes of green melon, white peach, kiwi, lemon, and freesia.
Palate: More citrus joins in on the palate, alongside starfruit, honeysuckle, touches of sweet green herbs, as well as the white peach, kiwi, and green melon. It has medium but balanced acidity, and is medium bodied. There’s a little beeswax to the texture, which then leads into a light hint of saline minerality on the finish. The texture and tropical fruit notes give the illusion of a kiss of sweetness to the wine, but it’s actually pretty dry.
Alcohol: 13% Residual Sugar: 2.78 g SRP: $14.99
At the lunch at El Dorado, I particularly enjoyed this wine with the Niçoise salad. The wine also made me think of the amazing green-lipped mussels we had at a little roadside stand in Kaikoura, which just happens to be 30 minutes from Waipapa Bay.
In addition, all the beautiful fruit notes, hints of herb, and that creamy, beeswaxy texture made me think this would be a good match for Asian cuisines. I could absolutely be making this up, but I feel like the mussels we had in NZ were in a curry sauce. I decided to pay a little homage to the experience and treat myself to mussels in Green Curry. I basically did everything just as I did in this 8 & $20, but I swapped in mussels for the clams, and I added in carrots and tofu noodles. It was apretty ideal pairing as everything resonated together beautifully.
Nose: Strawberries, raspberries, and pink flower petals.
Palate: Some watermelon and stone fruit notes join the red berry party. The wine is tangy, fresh, and extremely gulpable, with a touch of flinty stone on the finish.
Alcohol: 13% Residual Sugar: 7.29 SRP: $14.99
I particularly enjoyed this wine with the mussels (yeah, I know, mussels everywhere) in the tomato broth at the El Dorado lunch, as it brought out the fruity side of the peppers on the dish as well as the tomatoes. Liking how it worked with those flavors there, I decided to use similar vegetables at home.
The tangy factor made me think it would work well with lightly spicy flavors, so we had this with chicken enchiladas filled with bell peppers, yellow summer squash, tomatoes, and red onions, seasoned with red pepper flakes and cumin (among other things) topped with red enchilada sauce, a mix of cheeses, and green onions. The dish was lightly spicy and the wine held up just fine. Like I said, extremely gulpable.
It’s been a minute since I’ve been on here. Work, travel, outside projects, and computer crashes have all been conspiring to keep me away. Happy to be back today though!
Today we’re taking a quick look at a genuine underdog grape: Pinot Bianco . . . or Pinot Blanc or Weissburgunder, depending on where it’s coming from.
This grape is kind of like the Cinderella of the Pinot family. It’s the white skinned mutation in the group (Noir = black, Gris= gray, Blanc = white, you get the idea), but where it’s siblings often get to play the star, this version is mostly known for being a workhorse, and doesn’t ever really get to stand in the spotlight.
I think that’s actually a great reason to take a second look at it: Underdogs = value. And I love a value. If there are areas that are known for this grape, they’d be Alto Adige in NE Italy and Alsace in France. You can also find it in Germany and Austria. Today we’re going to focus on the Italian versions.
In terms of flavor, Pinot Bianco is most often compared to Chardonnay. It tends to show similar fruit flavors like apples, stone fruits, and citrus. There’s often a little nuttiness to this grape, and even a hint of spice at times. It can be anywhere from light to medium + in body, but there’s often a roundness to the texture even in the lighter versions. Versions from Alto Adige tend to be on the more minerally side of things with more freshness.
Chardonnay haters, don’t let the comparison put you off! Despite the comparisons, I don’t think Pinot Blanc is likely to be as divisive. It’s underdog status might be helping it out here. A lot of people that don’t like Chard are actually reacting to the oak treatments that are common with that grape. Oak is expensive though, and as an underdog, Pinot Blanc is less likely to see extensive amounts of it.
Today’s wines are from Alto Adige. You’ll often see the name combined as part of Trentino-Alto Adige. The two areas are each self-governing provinces, but they’re right next to each other, Alto Adige being just north of Trentino. Alto Adige is smashed right up against the Austrian border and was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was reclaimed by Italy in 1919 after WWI, but is still strongly influenced by its roots and German is often people’s first language.You’ll usually see the German name for the region, Südtirol, proudly listed on wine labels in addition to the Italian name. Südtirol translate to South Tyrol in English, and references the Tyrol region or Austria, and the historical Princely County of Tyrol, to which it belonged in the time Habsburgs.
My sister-in-law Becky’s family comes from the town of Moena. This is admittedly in the Trentino half of the mash-up, but thought I’d share a couple of pics my brother Alex sent me of one of their trips there to give you a general idea of the GORGEOUS landscape. We weren’t able to go the last time they went, but we definitely intend to invite ourselves along on a future trip!
Even though I’m focusing on Pinot Bianco today, I highly recommend exploring the wines of this region in general. In addition to beautiful white wines from several different varieties, they also make delicious light/medium bodied reds that are perfect for summer.
Today’s wines were sent to me as samples, but note that as always, all opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.
Castelfeder Vom Stein Pinot Bianco Südtirol - Alto Adige 2017
(Pictured up top.)
Average Price: Wine Searcher has this listed at $12, but I think $16-$18 is more usual.
Nose: Lemon, white flowers, apples.
Palate: Lemon and little grapefruit pith, apples, and a hint of white pepper. There’s a hint of cheese rind that adds texture and complexity, leading into a minerally finish. The wine is dry and medium bodied.
About the winery: Castelfeder was founded in 1970 by oenologist Alfons Giovanett. His son Günther Giovanett took over in 1989. He expanded the vineyard holdings, bringing in new varieties with the new land. He runs the operation with his wife Alessandra and their two children, Ivan and Ines.
Pairing: Greg and I enjoyed this wine with a classic roast chicken dinner with lots of root vegetables. I spatchcocked the chicken and essentially prepared it the same way as this version I did for 8 & $20, but swapped out the Zahatar for thyme and rosemary. The wine made for a really refreshing pairing. It had enough body to complement the weight and flavors in the food.
For more winemaking details, check out the tech sheet for the 2015 here.
Nose: White flowers, green and gold apples, pears.
Palate: Bruised apples, lemon, stone fruits, green melon, hints of spices, Parmesan cheese, and nuttiness with a light herbs and minerals on the finish. The wine is dry, medium bodied, it starts off with lushness up front but leads into fresh acidity on the finish.
About the winery: The winery was established in 1928, Peter Zemmer, the great uncle of the current Peter Zemmer. Helmut Zemmer took over for his uncle Peter after his early death in 1969. His son now carries on the family tradition.
The winery puts great importance on sustainability. All of the winery’s energy needs are covered by renewable sources, such as solar panels on the roof of the winery, that allow them to produce their wines with zero emissions. Pairing: We had this wine with butternut squash risotto with salmon. The wine struck a nice balance between speaking to the creaminess of the risotto, while refreshing the palate between bites.
For more winemaking details, check out the tech sheet for the 2015 here.
* * * * *
The rest of the Italian Food, Wine, Travel (#ItalianFWT) group is also exploring the wines of Northeast Italy. Check out their posts here:
Friends, I think I’ve made it pretty clear how much I love bubbly.
It’s fun, it’s refreshing, and sparkling wines always make an occasion feel festive. But don’t just save them for special occasions! Pop those corks and get the bubbles flowing. I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Bubblies are among the most food friendly wines around. They’re among my go-to’s for tricky food pairings. If you’re not sure what’s going to work with a meal, chances are a bubbly will do the trick.
I also love a good value, so I don’t think you have to drop a ton of cash to get a good bottle. That doesn’t mean go for the cheapest bottle in the store either. Ok, if I’m making mimosas or a cocktail, I might go for something really inexpensive. The flavor of the wine is going to get masked by the other components anyways. If I’m having a wine on its own though, I actually want to taste it; so then I think it’s worth spending a little bit more. There is a sweet spot, and today’s wine fits right into it
Today’s wine is a Conegliano ValdobbiadeneProsecco Superiore DOCG or Prosecco Superiore DOCG for short . . . or shorter anyways). I’ve covered the basics on Prosecco and the different quality levels available before. If you’re like “What? I thought Prosecco was Prosecco was Prosecco.” Nope. Definitely not. I’d recommend going back and taking a look atthis post to get the lay of the land. Bonus, there a short clip of me sabering a bottle for the very first time.
Quick aside - full
disclosure, I have very recently started working with the Consorzio di
Prosecco Superior DOCG in a PR capacity. However, I received no
compensation for this post, and all opinions are my own. The bottle
shared today was also not a sample. It’s a bottle we often carry at Bay
Grape that I enjoy and keep in fairly regular rotation.
To put it briefly, wines bearing the name Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG come from the original growing region in the Veneto, between the Dolomites and the Adriatic Sea. It’s a hilly region, flanked on either side by the towns included in the name.Grapes in this area tend to be harder to harvest and are usually harvested by hand, where mechanical harvesting is more common in the wider DOC zone. I’ll also drop in a handy infographic courtesy of the Prosecco Superiore DOCG website to serve as a quick recap.
THE WINE & PAIRING
Today I’m sharing the Sorelle Bronca Extra-Dry Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG. The sorelle, or “sisters,” in question are Antonella and Ersiliana. In an area that tends to be run by larger producers, these ladies and their families manage their own estate, growing their own fruit on steep vineyards in the hills of Valdobbiadene.
That’s no easy feat. Valdobbiadene is on the western side of the Prosecco Superiore DOCG zone and it is the steeper area. This quote from Desiderio Bisol, enologist and technical director at Bisol, from an article by Kerin O'Keefe for Wine Enthusiast entitled “The Superiority of Prosecco Superiore” gives a sense of what it means to work in this region:
It takes between 100–250 man hours of maintenance per hectare in the Prosecco DOC, but you need 300–500 hours in Conegliano. This figure goes up to 600–1,000 hours of maintenance for every hectare in Valdobbiadene, where the hills are steeper. And on the vertiginous slopes of Cartizze, where the difficult conditions make grape growing complex, you’ll need 1,000 hours of maintenance per hectare.
The sisters got their love of wine from their father Livio, but it took a lot of grit for them to build their company, particularly in a time and place where they were essentially expected to become housewives. On their website, Antonella describes her and her sister as “genuine hillside women.” Today their main goal is quality with a focus on protecting the land, which has led them to explore and incorporate organic practice.
I admit that I like to think about the tough ladies behind the bottle whenever I purchase this wine, but my main reason for going back to it so often is that I just find the wine itself to charming. It always makes me think of fresh pears and white flowers.
Greg and I opened a bottle recently and in addition to the pears and flowers, also got notes of citrus, particularly white grapefruit, and a touch of white peach on the very finish. It’s round with a lightly creamy mouthfeel and fresh acidity. Greg pronounced the wine “Really Tasty!”
This wine is Extra Dry, which counter-intuitively means that there is some residual sugar left in. Don’t let that scare you off though. Extra Dry is actually quite classic for the region and usually it doesn’t actually taste sweet. That’s certainly true here, and I think that hint of RS actually helps to enhance the fruity factor in a very balanced way. It also makes the Extra Dry versions extremely versatile for food pairing, since that tiny hint of sweetness allows the wine to pair with foods that really Brut wines might struggle with.
Since this is a wine I’ve had quite a few times, I already had ideas brewing in my mind about what I’d like to cook for it. Since it always evokes pears for me, I knew pears were going in the dish. That hint of fruity sweetness also works really well with salty foods, so I added Gorgonzola to play with wine in that way. We ultimately settled on chicken breasts, lightly seared on one side, then poached in white wine and topped with the pears and Gorgonzola.
On the side, I also made roasted potatoes (425°F for about 25 minutes) lightly season with salt and pepper, and tossed with olive oil, then finished with parsley and more green onions.
The whole thing made for a delicious, summery combo. The poached chicken was silky and juicy on the inside –– honestly, I should have sliced it up for the pictures. Greg thought the pear and Gorgonzola topper shined particularly well in the pairing. Delightful!
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
As I mentioned, I’ve had this wine quite a bit, so I can attest to it’s versatility. A week or so before putting together this dinner, we had a bottle with Szechuan take-out, which happens to be Greg’s favorite. Szechuan can be really tricky to pair because of all that spice; both the refreshing bubbles and the hint of residual sweetness help the wine pair really well these soicy dishes.
We’ve also had quite a bit of Extra-Dry Prosecco Superiore DOCG recently with cheese plates and charcuterie. That same fruity quality helped the wines match with everything from the salty meats, funky cheeses, roasted veggies, and sweeter fruits and condiments.
Most Prosecco of all levels is made using the tank method (see my previous post hereto get into that). I think it’s worth noting that these ladies are doing things a little bit differently. The method is described on the Oliver McCrum site:
The vinification is unusual for Prosecco; instead of two seperate fermentations, (grape juice to still wine, then still wine to sparkling wine), the Bronca Sister’s Prosecco grapes are pressed and the juice is held at very low temperatures until it is ready to be made into sparkling wine (done periodically throughout the year to maintain the freshest possible stock) upon which time the must is put into a special fermenter and fermented directly to sparkling wine. This more costly single fermentation process retains more of the classic pear aroma that makes Prosecco distinctive. No sugar is added, all of the sweetness comes from the must. A number of batches are produced during the year to ensure freshness, and we import the wine frequently for the same reason. Prosecco is best drunk as fresh as possible.
A pretty in-depth tech sheet is listed on the Sorelle Bronca website. Here are some highlights:
Grape variety : 100% Glera Vineyards : Guizza, Le Rive, Scandolera, Rolle Exposure : SOUTH. Altitude : from 250 to 320 meters above sea level. Cultivation : Biological - In conversion Harvest : Second decade of September Fermentation tanks : Steel Fermentation temperature : 15 ° C Alcohol content : 11% vol. Total acidity : 5.80 gr / lt Sugar residue : 13.0 gr / l Serving temperature : 4 ° C (or about 39 ° F)
MONEY TALK
I bought this bottle for $20 at Bay Grape. I think that’s a really Solid Value for a really pretty bubbly. It’s also a happy price point that means this bottle can be a go-to for dinners in, as well as for dinner parties and evenings with friends.
Yield: 4
Author: Nicole Ruiz Hudson
Chicken Poached in White Wine with Pears and Gorgonzola
prep time: 20 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 40 M
ingredients:
3 to 4 chicken breasts, cut in half or portioned as desired
3 to 4 garlic cloves
White wine, about half a bottle (amount may vary depending on the size of cooking pan)
1 Tbsp butter
1 pear, cut into small cubes
Olive oil
Approximately 4 to 5 green onions, cut into small rounds
⅓ to ½ cup of gorgonzola, crumbled (or to taste)
Salt
Pepper
instructions:
How to cook Chicken Poached in White Wine with Pears and Gorgonzola
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Place in a bowl or other large container, along with the garlic cloves. Pour enough white wine on top to cover. Set aside to marinate for about 20 minutes.
Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the pears and cook until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pears to another plate.
Add olive oil to the pan. Pat chicken dry, then add to the pan once the oil is hot and starting to shimmer. Sear chicken on one side until lightly browned. Flip the chicken over, then add the marinade to the pan so that white wine comes up about 3/4 the way up the side of the chicken breasts. Add more wine as needed. Bring the liquid to boil, then immediately reduce heat to low and cover. The chicken will be done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F – about 10 to 12 minutes total. When the chicken is nearly ready, add the green onions during the last minute or so of cooking. Remove chicken from the pan.
Serve the chicken with a little bit of the cooking liquid poured on top with some of the green onions. Garnish each plate with some of the pear and crumbles of gorgonzola on top.
Right now is an extra celebratory moment to be drinking Prosecco Superiore DOCG as this year is the 50th anniversary of the region, and the 10th anniversary of their elevation to DOCG status.
Even better, they're actually having an Instgram contest and the Grand Prize is a trip to Italy. Check out the details here:
When you think of South Africa and wine, you probably think of really warm areas with grapes getting PLENTY of sunshine. At the very tip of the continent though, there are areas where the climate is cool enough for those grapes that prefer sweater weather, like Pinot Noir.
Located where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, the Cape South Coast region within the larger Western Capearea, is South Africa’s coolest region. Greg and I recently sat down to a dinner exploring two wines from this area – one from Hamilton Russell Vineyards and one from Tesselaarsdal. Both wineries are in the small region of Hemel-en-Aarde, which means “heaven and earth in the Afrikaans language. These two wines don’t just share a region, though; they’re each part of a continuing story.
(Note: Both of these wines were sent as samples. No other compensation was received, and as always, all opinions are my own.)
Tim Hamilton Russell purchased his estate in 1975, after searching extensively for the ideal spot to grow cool climate grape varieties. His son, Anthony, took over in 1991 (and purchased the property in 1994) and decided to focus only on estate grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Today, he and his wife Olive, their winemaker Emul Ross, and viticulturist John Montgomery continue to make elegant wines from the tiny yields of their estate vines.
Berene Sauls grew up in a small village called Tesselaarsdal not far from Hamilton Russell. When she was 19 she went to work for the family as an au pair at in 2001. Not long after, she went to work in the wine business in an administrative position, and worked her way up from there. She eventually got curious about the winemaking process. Fifteen years into her journey, Anthony Hamilton Russell offered to help get her started in establishing her own wine business. Along with that came the expertise and assistance the Hamilton Russell team. Her first wine was a 2015 Pinot Noir made with Emul Ross as the winemaker.
Berne named her winery for the village she grew up, which has a very interesting history. It’s named for Johannes Tesselaar. He’d been a East India Company settler, and he left his land to his freed slaves to farm upon his death in 1810. Berne is a descendent of these freed slaves. She named the winery Tesselaardal to honor this history and her family’s legacy in the region. She’s breaking down barriers with wines that have been gaining great acclaim in a very short time.
We really enjoyed both of these wines. We’ll get into specifics in a moment, but both had elegance while showing plenty of fruit flavor. Speaking in broad generalities of major Pinot styles around the world, for me these two had more concentration of fruit than Willamette, but was less fruity and extracted than a Russian River Pinot.
I adapted a recipe from Evan Goldstein’s Perfect Pairings for Pork Loin Glazed with Pomegranate and Orange, which is recommended for “ripe, fruit-forward Pinot Noirs (New World style).” I’m a big fan of using what you have around the house rather than getting hung up when you’re missing an ingredient or two. I didn’t have pomegranate syrup or molasses or syrup as called for, so I worked in raspberry preserves instead. I also LOVE what a sous vide circulator can do for pork loin, so I adapted the recipe that follows for sous vide cooking. I also roasted some sweet potatoes to have alongside. (Potatoes were roastes for 35 minutes at 425°F. I tossed them with a little sauce from the pork recipe below for the last 5 minutes of cooking, then put them under the broiler with the pork for about a minute to caramelize them a bit more.)
Now let’s finally get to the wines and how they worked.
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Pinot Noir Hemel-en-Aarde Valley South Africa 2017
Hamilton Russell Vineyards works only with grapes from their terroir. They initiated extensive soil research in 1994 identified 130 acres of stony, clay-rich, shale-derived soil, which they find to be optimal for their style. They’ve limited all of their plantings to the areas that have this soil type.
Geeky Details:
(Taken from the tech sheet. Check it out for more info on the vintage and additional details, as they provide a lot of information.)
Alcohol: 13.31% Acid: 5.47 g/l PH: 3.55 Residual Sugar: 1.6 g/l Barrel Maturation: 100% Barrel Ageing : 10 Months. 100% 228 liter French Oak Barrels of various ages and toasts. (37% new, 35% 2nd use, 28% 3rd use) Malolactic: 100% Yield: 3.46 tons/ha, 23.90 hl/ha Production: 3909 cases of 12 bottles equivalent Average Price: $41
Tasting Notes & Pairing
Nose: Cherry and red berries surrounded by light curls of smoke give way to clove and black pepper, and black tea. Palate: Savory, rustic herbs join the party, along with the red fruits and spices. Medium bodied with medium+ acidity, and fine-grained tannins.
The wine became more savory with the food, but it also became a little bitter in bites that had a lot of the sauce, which had a little sweetness. It wasn’t bad with the food, but we thought it would work better with a preparation that spoke more to the wine’s savory character. A pork tenderloin flavored with black pepper and herbs would suit this wine more.
Tesselaarsdal Pinot Noir Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge South Africa 2017
Grapes are currently sourced until Tesselaarsdal’s own vineyards are secured and ready for harvest. Pinot Noir is the winery’s sole focus at the moment, as it suits the climate and soil types.
Geeky Details:
(Taken from the tech sheet. Again, see the sheet for more info, as it’s quite detailed.)
Alcohol: 13.8% Acid: 5.61 pH: 3.44 Residual Sugar: 1.85 Barrel Ageing: 9.5 months Maturation: 100% 228L French oak barrels. (30% New, 23% 2nd use, 30% 3rd use, 17% 4th use.) Yield: 6 tons / ha Production: 322.58 cases Fruit origin: Hemel-en-aarde Ridge 100%, Unirrigated La Vierge Vineyards Average Price:$42
Tasting Notes & Pairing
Nose: Savory herbs, cranberry, red plums, white pepper. Palate: Lots of red fruits on the palate with a hint of orange peel and light spices. The wine had mouth-watering acidity and fine tannins. This wine had a little more fruit on the palate and a little more body than the previous wine.
This wine fared better against the food thanks to that extra fruit on the palate, which turned more towards cranberry and pomegranate with a hint of tobacco.
These wines definitely sparked my interest to further explore Pinots from this region!
sous vide, pork, dinner, easy
dinner
Yield: 4 to 6
Author: Nicole Ruiz Hudson
Pork Loin Glazed with Raspberry and Orange
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 65 Mtotal time: 75 M
An glazed pork loin recipe to pair with a fruity Pinot Noir adapted from Perfect Pairings by Evan Goldstein for sous vide cooking.
ingredients:
1 3-lb boneless pork roast or 2 1½-lb pork tenderloins
For the Marinade
¼ cup orange juice
2 T soy sauce
2 T grated fresh ginger
1 T raspberry preserves
1 T maple syrup
2 T spicy mustard
4 garlic cloves
For the Sauce:
⅓ orange juice
2 T syrup
1 T raspberry preserves
1 T mustard
2 T soy sauce
At least 2 T reserved marinade
instructions:
How to cook Pork Loin Glazed with Raspberry and Orange
Preheat sous vide circulator to 133°F (or to desired temperature).
Stir together all the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Make sure reserve at least 2 tablespoons for the sauce. Place the pork in a sous vide appropriate plastic bag. Pour the marinade into the bag with the pork. (If you have more than needed, feel free to add more to the sauce.) Let pork marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight in the fridge. (Pull the pork from the fridge about 30 minutes before cooking.)
Remove the air from the bag via vacuum seal or by slowly submerging the bag into water to displace the air, then sealing the bag. Cook for 1 hour.
While the pork is cooking, mix the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan, along with any extra marinade. Simmer and reduce until the sauce coats the bag of a spoon. (When the pork is done cooking, you can also add the cooking liquid and reduce again if you have the time.)
Once the pork has cooked for at least an hour, remove it from the water and the bag. Pat the pork dry and brush on some of the sauce. Finish the pork by placing it on a baking sheet and putting it under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes, or until nicely caramelized. (Alternatively, you can also sear the pork in a pan.)
Slice the pork and serve with extra sauce on the side.
