We have a love story in honor of Valentine's Day, paired with a delicious Pinot Grigio from Longevity Wines and Crab Cakes.
The wine included in today's post was provided as a sample. Please note that all opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
To celebrate, today we have a love story. Longevity Wines’ story can’t help but pull at your heartstrings. But beware –it’s a tearjerker.
Phil and Debra Long opened Longevity Wines together in 2008. Neither had a background in wine but fell in love with it after moving to the Bay Area from Southern California. They began experimenting with making their own in their garage in Livermore in 2003, and eventually, their hobby outgrew the space and became a full-time business.
Debra came up with the name ‘Longevity’ as a play on their last name, as well as their love for each other. The intricate heart-shaped design Phil created for their logo was inspired by Debra’s love of hearts –– Phil would buy her an artisan glass heart every Valentine’s Day. Within the heart design, there are more hearts entwined with grapes and vines.
Unfortunately, just as Longevity was taking off, Debra was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016. She passed away in 2019, just a few days after it was announced that Longevity had won 2018 Livermore Valley Winery of the Year. She continues to be a major inspiration behind the winery.
Today, Phil continues to run the urban winery with his son and assistant winemaker, Phil Long Jr. The brand has continued to grow and expand, partly through a partnership with Bronco Wine Company that has allowed for their California Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines to be available on a much wider scale.
THE WINE & PAIRING: LONGEVITY WINES VINTNER SELECT PINOT GRIGIO 2019 WITH CRAB CAKES TOPPED WITH SPICY PLUM MAYO
Longevity’s Pinot Grigio ($26) is a skin-contact style, so it’s a pretty copper pink color – yet another reason it’s a perfect choice for a romantic evening like Valentine’s Day. (In Italy this style is referred to as “ramato” – you can find out more about the style here.)
On the day we opened the bottle, pretty aromas of peaches and orange blossoms greeted us on the nose. On the palate, the wine was fruit-forward with lots of tropical and stone fruit flavors like peaches, apricots, and melons, as well as gold apples. The fruit is balanced with notes of ginger, as well as a light undercurrent of savory, umami notes, white pepper, and a pinch of baking spice. All of that fruit gave this wine a luscious quality, but it had enough zing to keep it vibrant. This seemed like a joyful wine to me – like a warm, late-afternoon, spring breeze.
Longevity’s website shares several delicious-looking recipes to pair with their wines, including one for Low Country Crab Cakes with She Crab Sauce & Lemon Aioli meant to pair with their Pinot Grigio. That sounded fantastic, but I thought I would take their recipe and adapt it just a bit for another spin. All the ripe fruit notes in this wine, mixed with the hints of ginger and light umami made me think this wine would work well with Asian flavors, even a bit of spice.
I gave everything just a little twist to incorporate those flavors. I thought plum sauce would work well the stone fruit notes, but I didn’t want the sauce to be so sweet that it would compete with the wine, so I mixed mayo, a bit of soy sauce, and a hint of sriracha to create a dipping sauce for the crab cakes. In addition, I roasted some acorn squash to serve alongside and flavored it with Chinese Five Spice and chili powder.
The crab cakes with the spicy mayo paired beautifully, bringing out a bit more of the wine’s savory side. The acorn squash also made a solid match, and the flavor of the Five Spice worked well, although the heat of the chili powder challenged the wine a bit, so I would recommend keeping it to just a light pinch.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES
The winery also recommends this wine with “fresh cheeses, roast turkey, seafood, or sushi.” I can also see this working nicely with duck, Indian and Thai food as well. This wine is also lovely on its own.
The rest of the Wine Pairing Weekend Blogging Group is exploring wines from black winemakers in honor of Black History Month. Check out the rest of their posts here:
Last year we spent Thanksgiving weekend with our good friends and Corona-pod buddies Lucy and Drew. The feasting was not limited to just one day. We were only four people, but we collectively cooked for a full house as this group tends to go a little over the top. This meant LOTS of leftovers and many opportunities for leftover makeovers. PLUS, lots of wines pairing to go with it all.
Last year I started an intended tradition of sharing the previous year’s feast and pairings. Given the copious amount of food last year, I’ll also be sharing all of those ideas to use up your leftovers as well!
Domaine Ostertag Pinot Gris Alsace 2012 was our bridge wine leading into dinner as it also works easily with most of the dishes on the table, but particularly dishes with a hint of sweetness like the butternut squash, and the the bit of age on this one only helped align the flavors. I think it also matches nicely with slightly richer dishes.
Pinot Noir is a Thanksgiving classic because of its ability to match with many dishes in the feast. New World version, in particular, have the fruit to work with a lot of those tricky, slightly sweet dishes too, but they also tend to have a savory, herbal quality that works with those flavors as well. Our selection was from Melville Winery Estate Pinot Santa Rita Hills 2010.Scribe Winery’s St. Laurent Carneros 2017 played a similar role, but from an unexpected grape, so it’s a fun choice for those who want to try something a little different.
We all enjoyed a little L. Garnier Chartreuse as a digestif to make it all go down easier.
Makeover 1 -Turkey Sandwiches
Well, obviously. They’re always a must after Thanksgiving. . . However, these might’ve been a little bit extra. Drew torched the slices of rolled turkey stuffed with sausage, layered on lardo, and piled it all on slices of challah bread. These were particularly delightful with a little mustard. Given that this was a pretty indulgent sandwich, a simple green salad on the side was definitely called for.
We took a break from vino for lunch.
Makeover 2 – Steak, Potatoes, and Veggie Gratin
We took a little break from turkey with dry-aged steak which Drew prepared sous vide finished with herbs and butter. On the side, we had a second round of Potatoes Gregoire, because they're just awesome as is.
The actual leftover makeover came into play with the veggies. I turned the Brussels sprouts and butternut squash into a gratin.
You can easily turn most leftover veggies into a gratin with this non-recipe formula: Make a bechamel, melt in cheese, pour it all over veggies in a baking dish, sprinkle a little more cheese on top along with some bread crumbs, then bake it all at 350° F until its all bubbly and browning on top.
We this round of feasting we enjoyed Thee & Thou El Rucio Grenache and Syrah Santa Ynez 2017 while cooking and to start. It’s medium-bodied, with both ripe fruit and freshness, and very versatile. It’s great on its own and with food, particularly the gratin in this case.
This group has a longstanding tradition of making "Hangover Hash" for brunch at least once during every multi-day gathering. Despite the name, no hangover is actually required and non was involved this time around.
We also had a side of holiday fruit and yogurt to go along with our hash, since at this point something lighter was definitely needed! I mixed baking spices and a little maple syrup in the yogurt, then added a pinch of ground clove to orange slices and raspberries to give them a holiday feel. It was super yummy and definitely brought the lighter element needed.
Drink up any remnant from bottles, or switch things up in favor of a beer or bloody mary, or just give your liver a break. All good, no judgments.
Makeover 4 - Turkey Pot Pie
Turkey Pot Pie is always a contender for my favorite Thanksgiving leftover makeover. So comforting!
Here’s the non-recipe: Sweat a diced-up onion or shallot until translucent. Add in a couple of diced up cloves of garlic if you want once the onions are nearly cooked, then add in your turkey and any leftover veggies you want to use up that you think will work. I used mushrooms and butternut squash here, and you can also bulk it up with additions like frozen peas. Pour in your leftover gravy, plus a little more chicken or turkey stock or water to dilute it down to a soupy consistency. Feel free to season with herbs and spice. Allow everything to simmer. Pour it all into an oven-safe dish if it isn't already in one. Put your crust on top. I made a biscuit topping to put on top, but to make this even easier use store-bought pie dough or flaky pastry dough. Bake it all at 350°F until everything is bubbly and the topping is golden, and serve.
If you prefer more of a recipe, find one here. (Plus, you'll find a couple of extra leftover makeovers.)
We were pretty sure that this Caprili Brunello di Montalcino 2008 was going to be a good pairing, but it turned out even better than we’d expected. AMAZING combo. I was sure it would work with the mushrooms, but the wine had gained sweet-savory notes in its age that were absolutely beautiful with the squash and sauce as well.
Makeover 5 – Dueling Croquettes
Things got a little competitive for this round of leftover makeovers. Drew and I went head to head in a duel to use up more leftovers.
I made stuffing croquettes out of the cornbread stuffing with chiles and green onions. Here’s the non-recipe: This stuffing was super flavorful, so I didn't feel like I had to do much in terms of flavoring. I added a little shredded cheese plus an egg for binding, then formed the mixture into balls. I rolled the formed balls around in flour, whisked egg, and bread crumbs, then fried them up until crispy. I served them with cheese sauce and hot sauce.
Drew made arancini with a bit of an Asian spin. These were rice balls with turkey/sausage fried up until crispy – kind of similar to Japanese Spam Musubi, but with the leftover meats instead. He then topped them with seared lardo and a spicy sauce. (I can’t give you a non-recipe since this one wasn’t mine.)
It might've been a dual, but there were no losers here since it was all delicious! (Plus, I think we each think we won.)
We had these with Symington Altano Branco Douro 2019(sample), which made a lovely pairing for both croquettes. Afterward, we also tried a Quinta da Foz Douro 2017 and it was also delicious. Both of these wines have a balance of richness and brightness to match both the texture of the food and liven up the palate.
Pinot Grigio/Gris is a grape with many faces. In the guise of Pinot Grigio, you might know it as a crisp, light (sometimes boring) Italian guzzler, most particularly associated with the northern part of the country. Or perhaps you know it as Pinot Gris, its French alias, which is richer and rounder. This version is most typically associated with Alsace, and it can be used to make anything from full-bodied dry wines to dessert wines of incredible depth in complexity. You’ll also find versions made all over the world choosing one name or the other to indicate the style to which they wish to pay homage. Friuli-Venezia Giulia, tucked up in the northeastern corner of Italy, however, is known for yet another style of Pinot Grigio called Ramato, and this one boasts beautiful copper tones you might not have ever associated with wine. It’s kind of like the grape moved to the Italian coast and got itself a fabulous tan.
Ramati get their color from leaving the grape juice in contact with the skins, and it can range in color from light salmon to deep rosy copper. The wine gets its name from the color, as rame means ‘copper’ in Italian. These wines tend to be generally grouped in with orange wines, and as you’ll find with those, more structure and deeper flavors go along with the intensified color. You’re likely to find a bit of tannin, deep citrus, ripe stone fruits, tropical fruit, herbs, and spice notes mixed in. I personally often get dried flower notes as well. The intensity of the color, structure, and flavors will vary widely depending on how long the grapes were left in contact with the skins. Flavors can also range from pretty and bright to more rustic and funky depending on the producer.
The style is very traditional for Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It was made in this way here, as well as other parts of northern Italy, until Santa Margherita started exporting the light, colorless style in the 1960s that became so popular in the US, according to an article inDecanter Nonetheless, some producers in Friuli continued to Pinot Grigio in the ramato style. These have once again been gaining in popularity in recent years right along with orange wines, so much so that more and more producers beyond Italy have started emulating the style.
In recent years, I’ve seen more and more ramato-style wines from producers in the US, particularly those that are known to enjoy experimenting. Today, we’ll take a look at a traditional Old World version from Friuli by Scarbolo, and New World skin-contact Pinot Gris from J. Brix and see how they each worked with several dishes over two dinners.
In addition to these though, among others I’ve really enjoyed have been a ramato by Vie de Romansin Friuli, as well as ramato-style wines from Forlorn Hope and Two Shepherds here in California.
THE WINES
The two wines we have representing the category today do a nice job of representing the range of flavors you can expect to find in ramato wines, particularly as regards an Old World vs. New World comparissons. Both are also sustainably made. The first, from Scarbolo, is from Friuli and has less skin-contact, so it showed a more delicate touch with more savory minerality. J. Brix’s wine is representing the New World and also has more skin contact, both of which result in a richer style with riper fruit expression. I found these both to be quite pretty and clean, but for lovers of natty flavors, you can definitely find funkier versions out there.
While I didn’t choose them for this reason, the names of both of today’s wines dedicate them to love. Perhaps Ramato is the wine of summer love . . .
The Scarbolos have been winegrowers for three generations. Valter Scarbolo, the current winemaker, initially learned from his father Gino, a hardworking member of a tenant-farming family, who had a talent for winemaking and eventually purchased his own fields. Valter then went on to study viticulture and oenology to continue the family business and improve the quality. When he planted vineyards he narrowed the plant density and lowered the yields, and began selling the wine in bottles rather than in bulk. His children Lara and Mattia are also now part of the family business, with Lara dedicating herself to viticulture and oenology, and Mattia overseeing business and brand communication.
While Friuli is known for its hilly and mountainous vineyard areas, the Scarbolos’ land is located on flatlands, “where (they) discovered underappreciated terroirs with an exceptional potential” and aim to “highlight Friuli’s Grave appellation.”
They make four different expressions of Pinot Grigio, and they see their il ramato as a modern interpretation of the traditional style. They harvest the clusters of Pinot Grigion at their peak ripeness, destem the grapes, and then macerate them at a low temperature so as to extract the copper color and texture from the grapes while maintaining the fresh aromas and brightness.
The name “il ramato” is a wordplay between ramato meaning “copper”, and amato which stands for “loved one”.
Tasting Notes: On the nose there are notes of oranges, tangerines, peaches, and flowers. All of these return on the palate, along with orange skin, persimmon, and strawberries with a hint of green still showing. A soft bouquet of wildflowers and herbs with a hint of spice add complexity, along with white tea notes that evolve into a hint of tannic grip on the savory finish. There’s texture here, but also delicacy and liveliness from the wine’s freshness.
Pairings: The winery notes that a standout chef pairing for this wine is Gricia ramen, with sun noodles, white miso, peppercorns, and crispy duck prosciutto by Ryan Sims of Donna Chang’s. They also note that it’s perfect with pizza, crustaceans, pasta, and richly seasoned salads. SommSelect.com adds that it’s good paired with richer seafood preparations, cured meats, or roast chicken, and call out Tagliolini al Prosciutto di San Daniele with Poppy Seeds as a particularly good pairing. I think this is a wine that would easily work in many situations but would largely favor savory dishes. In addition to the pairings below, I’m thinking I might need to try this with a pizza topped with prosciutto, mozzarella, garlic, and crispy sage – take your pick between white sauce or tomato sauce.
The winery also "encouraged experimentation in pairing" this wine in a selection of cocktails, which you can find here. Such a fun idea.
Alcohol: 13.9%Price:$29 at Minimo in Oakland’s Jack London Square
Jody Brix Towe and Emily Towe are the couple behind J. Brix. They got their start in winemaking after tasting a bottle of Pinot Noir grown in the Santa Maria Valley. They jumped in and volunteered as harvest interns, liked working in the dirt, and decided to try making their own wines. Jody had a college and career background in horticulture that lent themselves well to working with grapes. Emily enjoys telling the stories of the wine as a writer and designer. They take an experimental approach to winemaking and make small quantities from many different varieties and vineyards and in various styles. They use neutral vessels, native-yeast fermentations, and add nothing but small amounts of sulfur dioxide as necessary. They do not fine, filter, or cold-stabilize their wines.
Their motto in winemaking and life is “Only Love,” and the name of this wine is keeping with that motto as Nomine Amoris means “in the name of love” in Latin. The grapes for their Skin-Contact Pinot Gris are destemmed, then fermented on the skins for 13 days. The wine is pressed to neutral French Oak barrels, where it spends 3.5 months before being bottled.
Tasting Notes: Blood orange and nectarines with a touch of cherry greet you on the nose. The same notes continue on the palate, where they’re joined by guava, raspberries, and a few rose petals, especially as the wine warms up. The wine is round and textured with lush spiced fruit up front, and then becomes more savory as a bit of tannin begins to grip on the finish.
Pairings: On the J. Brix website, they say, “We're pairing it with ham & Gruyere grilled cheese; fava bean-za'atar hummus; eggplant & red-pepper tart.” I can absolutely see this working with all of those, as well as with pork and turkey. I also think this would be a great accompaniment to cuisines that have a lot of bold flavors, such as Indian food, with moderate heat.
Something about both of these wines makes me think of golden summer days, but the Scarbolo’s comparatively lighter style makes me think of a breezy summer morning before the sun gets too hot, while the more decadent texture and ripeness of the J. Brix make me think of late afternoon and evening as the light starts to turn golden and morphs into a brilliant sunset.
Now let’s take a look at how the wines worked at the table!
For this post though, I thought I’d take inspiration from the cuisine of Friuli. This region is right up against the border with Slovenia, and during its history, it was fought over by the Romans, Slavs, Venetians, and Austrians, all of whom left their mark, blending together to create a culture, language, and cuisine that is an amalgam of them all, as well as uniquely its own thing.
In addition, while this region is very small, it has really varied terrain. It has both the Carnic and Julian Alps, as well as a coastline on the Adriatic Sea, plus plains, rivers, and lagoons. As such, there is a mixture of mountain and coastal cuisines, mixed with Mediterranean, Slavic, and Germanic influences. While I couldn’t get any in time for this post, I learned that our favorite type of prosciutto, Prosciutto di San Daniele, is from this area. They also have a strong cheese tradition, with the principal of them being Montasio, a seasoned cow’s milk cheese. You’ll also find many dishes and pastries that clearly show the various influences on the region. (See articles here, here, and here for more on the cuisine.)
We had the wines over two nights and enjoyed them with different dishes to see how they worked in different contexts. As it’s summer now, I was in the mood for lighter fare, but I think both wines could have certainly handled some heavier dishes.
Dinner One: Scallop Zoodle Gratin with Ajvar
Capesante gratinate, a simple dish of scallops baked in breadcrumbs and parsley butter, is popular all over Italy, but I learned that it originally came from Trieste. It’s a delicious dish, but it’s typically served as an appetizer, and I wanted to have something we could enjoy as a main dish for dinner. So I took it as an inspiration but then combined it with zoodles that I baked along with the scallops. It resulted in a lovely, light dinner that came together quickly.
These are simple – albeit delicious – flavors though, and I thought these wines would welcome some more intensity. I learned ajvar, a condiment made of roasted red peppers and eggplant that originated in the Balkans, is also commonly enjoyed in this area. I love this stuff and we often have it at home, so I decided to serve it up with my scallop zoodles. Purists will certainly be offended by this combination (and with the whole dish, really), but I think it worked beautifully with the wines. The scallop zoodle gratin was delicious on its own, but in that case, I’d serve it with a light, fresh white wine – a non-skin contact Pinot Grigio for example. However, the flavor intensity of the ramati loved the intensity boost from the ajvar.
While both wines worked solidly well, the Scarbolo il ramato's more delicate style (for a ramato) struck just the right balance in juggling the simple yet rich flavors of the buttery scallops, the lightness of the zoodles, and the bolder flavor of the ajvar. The J. Brix wasn’t bad, but it wanted food with a bit more intensity and weight. It worked best with bites that had a lot of ajvar, as the weight and intensity of the wine and the sauce mirrored each other nicely.
Dinner Two: Liptauer Crostini with a Chicken, Veggie, and Bean Bowl
I wanted to try the wines with a more typical for us on our second night, and nothing is more typical around here than leftovers. I always have bits and pieces of things taking up room in our fridge. One common “clean out” dish I like to make is to make a bowl with whatever protein is hanging out, beans or a grain, leftover veggies, and greens. In this case, I had shredded roasted chicken, cannellini beans that I warmed up with garlic, herbs, and olive oil, leftover veggies, and arugula. I tossed these all together for what is essentially a warm salad. You could let the chicken and beans cool down a bit, but I get impatient and I like how arugula or baby spinach wilts into the mixture.
But why stop there? I flipped through Colman Andrews’ The Country Cooking of Italy looking for pairing inspiration for these wines and came across a recipe for Liptauer, a spiced cheese spread of Slovakian origin, that is also served in Trieste thanks to its history in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
I happened to have at least a version of all the ingredients on hand, so decided to make it as a way to liven up our dinner of leftover. To simplify an already simple recipe, I just tossed everything in the blender and gave it a whirl, then served it with grilled crostini on the side. This is a very flavorful spread and super easy to make, so I will definitely be returning to it again, although I might play with the balance of the spices in the future. As a bonus, the color of the cheese spread was a perfect complement to the color of the wines.
For a final flourish, I crisped up chicken skin that I’d saved after roasting the bird and now shredded it up and sprinkled it over the salad and the crostini. It kind of acts like bacon adding texture and flavor.
Both wines worked very well with the salad, each speaking to different components. The Scarbolo played up the more delicate and herbal notes, cranking up the peppery flavors in the arugula for example. The J. Brix, on the other hand,liked the texture of the beans and the crispy chicken.
The two wines also both worked well with the Liptauer, but for me the J.Brix had the edge in this case, as it really liked the bold spices and the char on the crostini.
I so enjoyed both of these wines that I’m already mentally creating more pairings for them and craving more bottles of ramato!
*****
wine pairing, scallops, seafood, zoodles, one pot, low carb
Dinner, seafood
Italian
Servings: 4
By: Nicole Ruiz Hudson
Scallop Zoodle Gratin
Prep Time: 25 MinCooking Time: 25 MinTotal Time: 50 Min
This is lovely and light meal on its own, however, I served it here with Ajvar for bolder flavors to match our Ramato wines.
Ingredients
24 to 32 scallops, depending on size (plan on 6 to 8 scallops per person), cleaned and dried with paper towels
4 zucchini, spiralized (you can also often find zucchini pre-cut into zoodles at the grocery store)
1 lemon, juice and zest divided
4 Tbsp butter, at room temperature, or as needed
⅓ to ½ finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 to 6 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup dried breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Pour a generous glug of olive oil (2 to 3 tablespoons) in a large baking dish. Place the zoodles in the baking dish, then sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, pepper and toss to combine. Add more olive oil if needed. Distribute the scallops evenly on top. Set aside.
Mix together the butter, parsley, garlic, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper in a small bowl. (If you’d like to mix some Parmesan in with the mixture, absolutely feel free.) Sprinkle the mixture over the scallops and zoodles –– adding extra butter, olive oil, or bread crumbs as desired to ensure there’s a light dusting over the whole dish.
Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the scallops are cooked through (they should no longer be translucent, but still slightly soft) and the breadcrumbs are have toasted to a golden brown. If you’d like a little more browning on top, switch the oven to the broiler setting, place the baking dish on the top rack, and broil for 1 to 2 minutes until you’ve reached the color you’d like.
Serve immediately with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Accompany with ajvar for bolder flavor if desired.
Notes:
I used several recipes as references in creating this version, including these from Great Italian Chefs, SBS, and Food 52.
Prep Time: 5 MinCooking Time: 5 MinTotal Time: 10 Min
Ingredients
4 to 5 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup ricotta
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon mustard, seeds or ground, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 anchovy fillets
Green onions or chives, 2 white sections, plus 6 to 8 green spears, minced
Salt
Pepper
Toasted/grilled bread or crackers for serving
Instructions
Place all ingredients, except for the green onion/ chive spears, in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the minced green onions/ chives and pulse to combine.
The rest of the Italian Food, Wine, Travel blogging group is exploring Ramati and Pinot Grigio from NE Italy this month, hosted by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla, you can read her invitation post here. Check out the rest of their posts:
