This Sunday, January 31 at 5 pm, Cork Works wine company will be featuring organic and sustainable wines from around the world at Biga Pizza. These wines will be paired with a 5-course meal, featuring locally produced foods. The cost of the event is $50 per person. This collaboration and event is a fundraiser for the Missoula Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and will be a great opportunity to learn about sustainability and organic food/wine production.

Below is the menu and featured local products. To attend contact Zander Ault zandaman16@aol.com at the SBC. If you are unable to attend the event, then visit my blog next week to read all about it as I will be taking notes.

Cheers.

Bodegas Fernandez Rivera Dehesa La Granja Tempranillo from Spain

Met up with Kurt Winegardner, owner of Winegardner’s Distributing in Bozeman last night for a tasting of Elderton Australian wines (which I will review in another post). After the tasting we headed over to the Silk Road for a bite to eat with Chris Niswanger of Wordens and Lacey Marquesen who also works for Winegardners. Kurt ordered a bottle of the Bodegas Fernandez Rivera Dehesa La Granja Tempranillo from Spain. I hadn’t tasted this wine in a long time and after tasting all those juicy/jammy wines of Australia, this little Spanish number was a welcome change.

Aromas of smoke, mocha, raspberry and coffee permeate the glass. The palate is dark, ripe berries with tannic structure, velvety tannins and just a hint of earthy funk, licorice and vanilla on the finish. Kurt compared it to it being more like Penelope Cruz rather than a Jennifer Aniston. An interesting comparison but revealing.

We paired this wine with some of the great tapas at The Silk Road, including the tenderloin in Togarashi sauce, the Cassoulaet which was fantastic and lamb chops, which looked delicious but Kurt ate them all! The La Granja was $32 at Silk Road and went well with all the food, so check it out when you’re there next. Also, Tempranillo makes the best Sangria. I am posting my own Sangria recipe below… I have to admit is the best one I have tasted and was a huge hit over the holidays. Would be a great drink to serve at a Valentine’s Day or Superbowl party.

2 bottles Tempranillo
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pommegrante juice
1 cup of brandy
6 cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
1/3 cup of honey
4 oranges sliced thin
2 lemons sliced thin
2 limes sliced thin
1 cup of pomegranate seeds
1 cup of blueberries

On January 8th, 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition concluded the annual week of judging at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in Sonoma County, California. Over five days, 63 professional wine experts tasted and evaluated a world-record breaking 4,913 entries.
Trapper Peak Winery in Darby Montana took home two silver medals. Winemaker Keith Smith won for his Sittin’ Bull Petite Syrah in the “up to $19.99 price point category” and a the other for the Rodeo Red Cabernet Sauvignon in the “up to 14.99 price point category.”

A vertical wine tasting is the technical tasting of one specific wine from a producer across several vintage years. There is nothing quite like a vertical tasting to truly experience and understand the collaborative effort that takes between the winemaker, Mother Nature and Father Time. It also provides a real, albeit rare, opportunity to discover the unique characteristics of a wine from year to year.

Missoula is very fortunate to welcome renowned Italian winemaker Francesco Mazzei, who will be leading us through an exceptional vertical tasting of four vintages of the Castello di Fonterutoli’s “Siepi,” which is the super Tuscan blend of Merlot and Sangiovese. Francesco is visiting the West Coast while his brother Filippo is on the East Coast. They are only making twelve stops in the U.S. and Missoula has made the list and the Ranch Club is hosting the event.

The Mazzei family is one of the oldest wine-making families in Italy, with production dating all the way back to 1465. As Americans, we can even trace some our own viticulture history back to a Mazzei ancestor who turned Thomas Jefferson into an oenophile. Jefferson invited the Mazzei family to come over from Italy and plant some of the first European vines in America at his estate in Monticello, Virginia in 1773.

Today, Francesco is the twenty-fourth generation to make wine at the family’s Tuscan estate, and you can be sure he takes care to preserve the traditions of his ancestors while adopting modern innovations. The result is a collection of wines that are revered around the world. Each wine being poured during the vertical tasting has received the Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glass”) award, the highest honor a wine can receive in Italy. This is equivalent to receiving a 92-95 point rating from leading wine critic, Robert Parker.

The stellar quality of the 2006 vintage will be poured, and, as it is best appreciated when compared to other excellent vintages, we’ll also enjoy the 1996, 2003 and 2005 vintages as well. The new vintage of the Belgvardo Rosé will also be poured. This tasting will be followed by a Tuscan-inspired five-course wine dinner created by Ranch Club chef Jason Lovell. The tasting is Monday, October 19 at 6 p.m. The cost is $75 per person. Seating is very limited so I suggest you reserve a spot immediately for this rare and special opportunity to taste Siepi and meet its maker – not to mention enjoying the flavors and stunning views of the Ranch Club. There will also be an opportunity to purchase the vertical at the event. For reservations, call 406-532-1005.  See the tasting notes for the Castello di Fonterutoli’s “Siepi” below.

Fourth Annual Western Montana Wine Festival Set For October 30

The “social event of the year” is coming soon. The 4^th Annual Western Montana Wine Festival is scheduled for Friday, October 30, at the Hilton Garden Inn.  The event will run from 7-10 p.m.

The festival consists of fine wine and beer tasting with food samples from some of Missoula’s top restaurants and caterers. In addition, Montana artists will be on site displaying and selling art. A silent auction consisting of limited edition originals and a variety of collector’s wine items will be a part of the evening festivities. New this year will be the sale of select packages of wine. All proceeds from this event benefit the GSA.

Tickets are $50 per person and you must be 21 or older to attend.

Tickets are available at the GSA office in the Adams Center, Worden’s Market or online at www.gogriz.com. To order by phone call 243-6481.

GO GRIZ!

Klinker Brick winery president, Lynne Whyte Barnard is hosting a wine dinner at Blue Canyon Saturday evening at 6:30 pm. The dinner will showcase the Klinker Brick wines, accompanied by what promises to be a delicious five course meal created by Chef Larry Coffman. The cost is $55 per person, not including gratuity. Call 406-541-2583 to reserve a spot.

Klinkerbrink Wine Dinner
Saturday September 26th at Blue Canyon, 6:30 pm

Herb Crusted Alaskan Halibut, Bacon-Shrimp-Potato Hash
Blue Canyon Chardonnay

Seared Duck Breast, Amalethia Goat Cheese Strudel, Fugi Apple, Fig Compote
Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel

Smoked Buffalo Brisket Spring Roll, Braised Leeks, Root Beer Glaze, Tomato Oil
Klinker Brick Farrah Sarah

Braised Beef Short Ribs, Point Reyes Blue Cheese Perogies
Old Ghost Zinfandel

Chocolate Almond Torte, Passion Fruit Crème Chiboust, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Raspberries, Passionberry “Paper”
Saracco, Moscato D’Asti

If you are unable to attend the dinner, be sure to check out the Klinker Brick wines; they are some of my favorites. Old Ghost in particular is a very special bottle that I just can’t resist whenever I come across it.

Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel is produced from fourteen different vineyard blocks, ranging in age from 37 to 112 years old. Cedar, plum, black cherry, aromatic spices with just a nuance of mint and clove are present on the nose. Ripe black fruit of cherry, plum and berry, anise and spice on the palate are followed by a soft cedary finish, creating a long, silky smooth texture. Drink this with a burger piled high with bleu cheese and bacon.

 Klinker Brick Farrah Syrah exhibits a nose of cassis, cherry, orange peel, vanilla and campfire smoke. The palate surprises with a blast of chocolate-covered-cherry cordial along with the vanilla and cassis found in the aromas. The finish is rich and smoky with enough tannins to stand up to grilled lamb or barbecue.

Just in time for the Halloween season, Old Ghost Zinfandel is harvested from 90 year old blocks that produce smaller berry size, thus yielding more intense sugars, color and concentration of flavors. Aromas of dark, rich berry with hints of toasted espresso and spice permeate the nose, while the palate exhibits flavors of intense black berry, vanilla, plum and white pepper. This wine saturates the palate with good minerality, pliable tannins and a concentrated structure that loves grilled, braised and slow-roasted meats.

Outstanding in the Field comes to Missoula for a feast at the farm.

Outstanding in the Field, a California-based band of culinary gypsies who stage white-tablecloth dinners in farm fields across North America, will be doing its first-ever event in Montana as the group crosses the country for its 2009 National Tour.  

On Saturday, July 25, Outstanding in the Field will set its long communal table at Blue Willow Farm in Stevensville, where host farmers Kevin and Kimberly Stevenson-Yorke will welcome guests. Working out of an al fresco kitchen, Chef Scott Gill of Scotty’s Table here in Missoula will prepare a five-course feast for participants. Scott is thrilled to be a part of the inaugural event and working closely with the Willow Farm and Outstanding in the Field to secure ingredients and wine. Andy Sponseller and Connie Poten of Ten Spoon Winery will also be collaborating by contributing some of their wines created by the grapes grown here in the Rattlesnake Valley for the feast – to make it truly a local farm-to-table event.  

Outstanding in the Field’s mission is to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it. This year marks their 10th year of shining the spotlight on the people who work hard to produce our good food. A pioneer of farm-to-table dining, founding chef Jim Denevan did his first farm dinner in 1999 in his hometown of Santa Cruz, California, and took the dinners on the road in 2003. “Even in the midst of economic difficulty, or perhaps because of it, people are more eager than ever to get out to the farm, see where their food comes from, and sit down at the table with the farmers and food artisans who cultivated it,” said Denevan.  

Outstanding in the Field dinners begin with a tour of the host farm. Guests then take their seats at Denevan’s signature table — a long, linen-draped expanse set between the soil and the sky. During dinner, the host farmer and other local food producers who provided ingredients for the meal share the table with guests and talk about where the food on the plate came from and what it takes to get it there. 

Cost of the Outstanding in the Field dinner is $180, all inclusive, with wines paired to each course throughout the five-course meal. Start time is 4pm.  

For more information and to make reservations, visit www.outstandinginthefield.com

Just got back from vacation, spent a week on the east coast with good friends vacationing at Fenwick Island/Bethany Beach in Delaware. It is one of my favorite places to spend my time. Of course I did some wine drinking there and will be sharing some of those bottles with you this week on the blog.

Fenwick Island/Bethany Beach Delaware

You can’t spend time on the east coast beaches and not take pleasure in dining on Blue Crabs and wine. I have to admit being a west coast girl I was not always a fan of blue crabs, being spoiled by the luxurious Dungeness crab. However, I have found a special place in my heart for the little crabs; slurping, picking and dipping those juicy morsels of meat.

  
Blue Crab

It is an awe-inspiring experience when a bag of steamed crabs smothered in Old Bay seasoning are dumped unceremoniously onto the table covered in Washington Post Newspaper! You have to really work at finding the tiny pieces of meat in this eastern crab – but when you do it is all worth it. The meat is sweet and the Old Bay spices they are steamed in make your lips and tongue all tingly, but most of all — it’s the experience. Cracking open crab after crab, arguing with your tablemates over who got the biggest piece of backfin lump crabmeat is yummy, messy, and so much fun!

The best part of this experience is chasing these guys in all their spices with some crisp, cold wine. Most people drink brewskies but for me it was all about the Adelsheim Rosé.

Adelsheim Pinot Noir Rosé comes from certified organic fruit grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and is made through a combination of styles. Some of the juice is saignée, which means it’s free run juice “bled” of the grapes and, in this case, it receives very little skin contact. For depth, winemaker Dave Paige adds a little Pinot Noir and ferments just 5% in neutral French oak. Darker pink in color, the nose is quite perfumed, with aromas of sweet cherry, strawberry cream, raspberry and rhubarb. These flavors continue onto the palate accompanied by bright acidity and a lingering finish of watermelon, peach, apricot and grapefruit. This is a clean and crisp wine that paired perfectly with the crabs. You could also pair this with Dungeness crab as well or better yet a crab cakes seasoned with Old Bay. You can find this wine in Missoula at your local wine shops for around $13.

For us West Coast natives – if you drink enough wine or beer with the blue crabs, you may find that you enjoy them better than the Dungeness. For me I may have crossed to the dark side as the traditions and the experience of eating these little Crustaceans is just so much more fun. Plus that apple cider sauce they dip the crab meat into is D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S. Note… this sauce may also be a good replacement for Clamato when making a red beer – which people don’t know about on the East Coast. Weird.

Below is a friend’s secret family recipe of the special sauce.

McLaughlin Crab Sauce
(I eyeball everything but here is a good guess)
3/4 cup of ketchup
1 cup of beer (domestic lager)
4 TBsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
1 Teaspoon of hot sauce

Ten Spoon Winery, located in Missoula’s Rattlesnake Valley has added a few more accolades to its growing list of awards. They captured a gold medal, a Best of Region award, a silver medal and three bronze medals for five of its wines from the 2009 Northwest Wine Summit Competition, the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in New York and the National Women’s Wine Competition.

The North West Wine Summit had more than 1,000 wines entered into the competition this year, while the National Women’s Wine Competition had over 2,500 entries. At the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition there are more than 500 wineries, who submitted 2,663 entries to the competition in blind-judged competition.

The winning Ten Spoon wines were:

Range Rider–Gold Medal and Best of Region Granite Peak Award,
2009 Northwest Wine Summit

Prairie Thunder–Silver Medal,
2009 New York Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

Paradise Pear–Bronze Medal,
2009 Northwest Wine Summit

Big Sky Raspberry Dry–Bronze Medal,
2009 New York Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

Flathead Cherry Dry–Bronze Medal,
National Women’s Wine Competition

St. Pepin–Bronze Medal,
Northwest Wine Summit

Congratulations Andy and Connie!

For more information on Ten Spoon Winery, visit www.tenspoonwinery.com

Party season is here – graduations, reunions, showers, weddings, barbecues, Uncle Arthur’s retirement … you name it, we’re celebrating it.

I am often asked for wine recommendations and advice for these gatherings. Generally people are looking for simple, crowd-pleasing wines that are both readily available and inexpensive. While it is difficult to give a one-size-fits-all answer, I have put together a few recommendations that I would give my own mother.

How much wine should you plan for each guest? Too much. It’s better to have wine left over than not have enough. A good estimate is a half-bottle per guest, which equals about three glasses. Taking into account that you won’t know what people will drink, it’s also wise to have plenty of both white and red on hand. Doing so also helps in case you do run out of one; Aunt Martha will just have to deal with what is left.

While you won’t be able to please everyone, such as your wine snob neighbor, it’s always a good idea to try your wine selections before purchasing to make sure you like them yourself. Not only will you be able to explain why you chose what you did, you’ll also have wine you actually drink in the event that you have any left over.

I suggest meeting with your favorite wine merchant as soon as possible so you have plenty of time prior to the celebration, just in case they do not have enough on hand and need to order it for you.

There are many good choices available from around the world that can range from $8 to $15. When making your selection, be sure to ask the wine purveyor about case discounts and sales – you may get a much better deal when buying in large quantities. If you have a wine merchant you trust, his or her advice will be invaluable.

Below are some of my picks for easy-drinking, easy-to-find wines that I’ve found to be well-received by a wide range of party guests.
Champagne or sparkling wine is commonly associated with celebrations, but like all wines, these can vary greatly in price, appearance and taste. Try to stick to a brut (dry), that doesn’t feel too heavy on the palate. A well-chosen sparkling wine can pair well with a variety of foods and desserts and doesn’t have to break the bank. Look for Segura Viudas Cava from Spain ($7), Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noirs from California ($9), Zardetto Prosecco from Italy ($14), or Crémant de Limoux from Gérard Bertrand from France ($20).

When choosing a white wine, look for a wine that is light and crisp on the palate and has little to no oak. Oaked wines can overpower food and tend to be more pricey. Try Twin Vines Vihno Verde from Portugal ($7), Doña Paula Los Cardos Sauvignon Blanc from Chile ($9), Santa Rita Chardonnay from Chile ($10), Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris from Oregon ($13), or Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand ($13).

For reds, focus on a lighter wine from recent vintages. Try Montes Alpha Classic Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile ($10), Bogle Petite Sirah from California ($9), Mezzacorona Pinot Noir from Italy ($10), Reserve Perin & Fils Cotes du Rhone from France ($10), Il Poggio Sangiovese from Italy ($11), or Bouchard Ainé & Fils Bourgogne from France ($15).

My final piece of advice is to consider having an assortment of wines available, which will encourage your guests to explore on their own and find something to their liking. Second, any leftovers make great gifts for special guests or anyone who helped you put the party together. Of course, they can also be used to stock your own cellar. And finally, keep in mind that the most important element of enjoying your party wine is not so much the vintage, varietal or the vineyard from which it comes from, but rather the occasion on which it is enjoyed.

Cheers to your upcoming celebrations!