TASTING IN ARROYO GRANDE - Phantom Rivers Wine

 

TASTING IN ARROYO GRANDE

Phantom Rivers Wine

Our friends, Candace and Craig, own a beautiful, “weekend” cottage in Arroyo Grande (translation: large creek) California, complete with a crackling creek (un poco not grande) running through the back of their property.   

Recently, Candace invited us there for the weekend (hence the “weekend” cottage moniker).

In the evening, sitting on the deck sipping wine many feet above the crackling creek, is like sitting in a beautifully landscaped tree house.   

 

Amid the tall trees, sloping hillside and lower decks...

...Craig has created a little Garden of Eden.  I definitely could live there.

When we did leave the cottage, we strolled Branch Street (Arroyo Grande’s charming “Main Street”), walked the trails to Pismo beach and winery hopped, sipping the wines fantastic.  Yup, the area’s filled w/ some great wineries.  I told you I could live there.

Our first winery stop was Phantom Rivers Wine right on Branch and a stone’s throw from the cottage.   

 

It was cool early in the early evening so we grabbed sweaters and walked to town.

The tasting room is a charming blue bungalow that was built in 1905 w/ a front porch, a small back deck and three rooms to sit and sip.   

We opted for the front room and sidled up to the bar.  Our barista, Debbie Rau, the tasting room manager, told us that the winery was created in 2004 by The Nipomo Wine Group, four couples who love wine and love living in California’s central coast.  They named their winery Phantom Rivers after the rivers of fog that fill the central coast valleys, keeping the vineyards cool at night and early morning, then evaporating into the air like a… phantom.

We started w/ the 2008 Chardonnay, Edna Ranch ($22).  I’m a chardonnay fan, and I loved this wine which was aged in a combination of French oak and stainless steel.  Crisp, yet those hints of vanilla and spices were there to tantalize my tongue.

Next was the 2009 Luna Rosa, a Paso Robles blush wine ($14) made from 100% zinfandel grapes.  Yes, the winery calls it “blush,” not rose, but it’s a fine rose to me (a rose by any other name…) and the perfect wine to sip on a summer’s evening while sitting on Candace & Craig’s deck musing over the flora and fauna and that crackling creek.

One of my favorite Phantom Rivers wines was the 2009 Grenache, Santa Barbara Highlands ($24), aged for 16 months in light American oak.  It had the aroma of a candied apple and tastes of vanilla and butterscotch.  I kid you not.  I could smell and drink this wine in a closet and be totally happy in the dark.  Does this make me a closet Grenache lover?

The 2007 Pinot Noir, Wolff Vineyard ($26) was aged in a combination of new and neutral oak barrels for 15 months.  A bit of cherry, strawberry and spice – I wondered if it was the new oak or the old that added the spice?  Did the new add the cherry or was that the old?  What about that strawberry?  I may never understand the complexities of winemaking – but I know what I like and I liked this pinot.

Onto the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Still Waters Vineyard ($22), a full-bodied wine.  Aged for 15 months in American oak, this wine w/ its hints of currants and cherries made me think grilled sirloin.  Of course, almost any full-bodied red makes me think of steak.  Red meat, red wine – no blushing here!

Another favorite of mine was the 2006 Syrah, Central Coast ($20).  This wine was aged in American and French oak barrels for 18 months and its flavors of rich red fruit, pepper and spice make this a great wine for the price.  Again which country’s barrels did what – I didn’t care, I just wanted to keep sipping…

The 2006 Paso del Sol – 65% syrah, 20% cab & 15% mourvedre ($30) was created as a tribute to the local Santa Maria style tri-tip.  I’ve never had this particular tri-tip, but this wine is certainly worth trying w/ tri-tips from anywhere.

You know how fashion shows always end w/ a bridal gown?   The crème de la crème of the runway?  Well, most good wine tastings end w/ the dessert wine and the Paso Robles 2009 Zin Port put the crème in the de la crème.  So deelish, in fact, that Candace bought two bottles.

So if you’re passing through town, park your car and walk up the front porch steps and into a fine wine experience.   

 

Or go online and check out the wine club.  You’ll be happy you did.

Phantom Rivers Wine

211 E. Branch Street

Arroyo Grande, CA 93420

805-481-9463

http://www.phantomrivers.com/

TASTING IN ARROYO GRANDE - Phantom Rivers Wine

TASTING IN ARROYO GRANDE

Phantom Rivers Wine

Our friends, Candace and Craig, own a beautiful, “weekend” cottage in Arroyo Grande (translation: large creek) California, complete with a crackling creek (un poco not grande) running through the back of their property.  Recently, Candace invited us there for the weekend (hence the “weekend” cottage moniker).

In the evening, sitting on the deck sipping wine many feet above the crackling creek, is like sitting in a beautifully landscaped tree house.  Amid the tall trees, sloping hillside and lower decks, Craig has created a little Garden of Eden.  I definitely could live there.

When we did leave the cottage, we strolled Branch Street (Arroyo Grande’s charming “Main Street”), walked the trails to Pismo beach and winery hopped, sipping the wines fantastic.  Yup, the area’s filled w/ some great wineries.  I told you I could live there.

Our first winery stop was Phantom Rivers Wine right on Branch and a stone’s throw from the cottage. 

 

It was cool early in the early evening so we grabbed sweaters and walked to town.

The tasting room is a charming blue bungalow that was built in 1905...

 

...w/ a front porch, a small back deck and three rooms to sit and sip.  We opted for the front room and sidled up to the bar.  Our barista, Debbie Rau, the tasting room manager, told us that the winery was created in 2004 by The Nipomo Wine Group, four couples who love wine and love living in California’s central coast.  They named their winery Phantom Rivers after the rivers of fog that fill the central coast valleys, keeping the vineyards cool at night and early morning, then evaporating into the air like a… phantom.

We started w/ the 2008 Chardonnay, Edna Ranch ($22).  I’m a chardonnay fan, and I loved this wine which was aged in a combination of French oak and stainless steel.  Crisp, yet those hints of vanilla and spices were there to tantalize my tongue.

Next was the 2009 Luna Rosa, a Paso Robles blush wine ($14) made from 100% zinfandel grapes.  Yes, the winery calls it “blush,” not rose, but it’s a fine rose to me (a rose by any other name…) and the perfect wine to sip on a summer’s evening while sitting on Candace & Craig’s deck musing over the flora and fauna and that crackling creek.

One of my favorite Phantom Rivers wines was the 2009 Grenache, Santa Barbara Highlands ($24), aged for 16 months in light American oak.  It had the aroma of a candied apple and tastes of vanilla and butterscotch.  I kid you not.  I could smell and drink this wine in a closet and be totally happy in the dark.  Does this make me a closet Grenache lover?

The 2007 Pinot Noir, Wolff Vineyard ($26) was aged in a combination of new and neutral oak barrels for 15 months.  A bit of cherry, strawberry and spice – I wondered if it was the new oak or the old that added the spice?  Did the new add the cherry or was that the old?  What about that strawberry?  I may never understand the complexities of winemaking – but I know what I like and I liked this pinot.

Onto the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Still Waters Vineyard ($22), a full-bodied wine.  Aged for 15 months in American oak, this wine w/ its hints of currants and cherries made me think grilled sirloin.  Of course, almost any full-bodied red makes me think of steak.  Red meat, red wine – no blushing here!

Another favorite of mine was the 2006 Syrah, Central Coast ($20).  This wine was aged in American and French oak barrels for 18 months and its flavors of rich red fruit, pepper and spice make this a great wine for the price.  Again which country’s barrels did what – I didn’t care, I just wanted to keep sipping…

The 2006 Paso del Sol – 65% syrah, 20% cab & 15% mourvedre ($30) was created as a tribute to the local Santa Maria style tri-tip.  I’ve never had this particular tri-tip, but this wine is certainly worth trying w/ tri-tips from anywhere.

You know how fashion shows always end w/ a bridal gown?   The crème de la crème of the runway?  Well, most good wine tastings end w/ the dessert wine and the Paso Robles 2009 Zin Port put the crème in the de la crème.  So deelish, in fact, that Candace bought two bottles.

So if you’re passing through town, park your car and walk up the front porch steps and into a fine wine experience.   

 

Or go online and check out the wine club.  You’ll be happy you did.

Phantom Rivers Wine

211 E. Branch Street

Arroyo Grande, CA 93420

805-481-9463

http://www.phantomrivers.com/

ATKINS - RAW PESTO "PASTA"

ATKINS - RAW PESTO “PASTA”

Does anyone like to diet?  I mean really, what’s to like about depriving yourself of some of your favorite foods…the very foods that caused you to have to go on a diet in the first place?  Well, I’m dieting and I’m bitching about it everyday even though I find Atkins a ‘livable’ diet (I’m a protein girl)…

The other night, however, I stopped bitching.  Richard grilled some salmon and made pasta.  Raw pesto pasta.  I know.  I know.  No pasta on Atkins.  But like South Beach Diet’s mashed cauliflower recipe to dim the craving for mashed potatoes – this dish was conceived to dim the craving for spaghetti… or linguini…  or …  you get the picture.  It’s actually zucchini cut into julienne strips that “impersonate” noodles.  It’s a visual.

Does this dish taste like pasta?  No.  But, since we eat w/ our eyes as well as our mouths – your eyes can trick you into believing it does.  I don’t know if my eyes fooled me or not, but I loved this raw pesto pasta “invented” by vegan chef Mark Reinfeld, the founding chef of Blossoming Lotus in Portland, Oregon.   Not being a vegan (not even close) this dish was perfect w/ the salmon and would be perfect w/ a steak off the grill.

RAW PESTO PASTA

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into ‘noodles’ (approximately 4 cups)

Pesto sauce ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil, firmly packed

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts

1 medium/large clove garlic

2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice

¾ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, optional

1 teaspoon seeded and diced jalapeno pepper, optional

Garnish:

12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

8 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

4 teaspoons pine nuts, optional

Directions:

To make the ‘noodles,’ cut the zucchini into ¼-inch-thick slices, and then lay each slice on its side and cut into ¼-inch-thick julienne strips.  Place in a mixing bowl.  Alternatively, use a mandolin

on the small julienne setting.

 

To make the pesto, in a blender or food processor, combine the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast (if using – Richard didn’t) and jalapeno (if using – Richard didn’t) and blend until smooth.  Be careful not to over blend.  Depending upon the strength of the blender motor, you may need to add a little more olive oil to process smoothly.

Add the pesto to the zucchini ‘noodles’ and toss gently but thoroughly.  Let sit for 10 minutes so the zucchini softens.

To serve, divide the mixture into four bowls or plates, and top each serving w/ 6 cherry tomato quarters, 2 olive halves and 1 teaspoon of pine nuts, if desired.

Variations: pesto made w/ walnuts or macadamia nuts instead of pine nuts.

4 servings

9g total carbs – 7g net carbs – 2g fiber – 4 g protein – 21g fat --- 220 calories

AN ODE TO THE TOMATO - Provencal Tomatoes

AN ODE TO THE TOMATO

Provencal Tomatoes

Growing up on Long Island, one of my many summer food ‘joys’ (besides sweet corn, fried clams, crab cakes, steamers, homemade ice cream cones, watermelon...) was ripe, juicy, freshly picked tomatoes.  Not just any tomato – but sweet New Jersey tomatoes.   I’d slice them in half, sprinkle w/ a little salt and eat them as I would an apple.  Didn’t want them in a salad – why would anyone want to mix this delectable flavor w/ greens or a dressing?  Certainly not I.

Living in Los Angeles a zillion years later, I miss those tomatoes of my youth…  LA has great heirloom tomatoes and friends have grown some pretty tasty ‘regular’ ones…  but a delicious, big, bright red, beefy beefsteak just isn’t happening in Southern California (can’t speak for the north).  To me, those California impostors are tasteless.  So I’m always looking for a new way to serve them when Richard brings them home… I’ve cut them up, salted them and tossed them w/ a balsamic vinegar dressing… I’ve diced and sautéed them to toss in pasta… and I’ve even roasted them.  All delicious dishes, but still not the same as biting into a slightly salted, ripe, New Jersey tomato.

I still haven’t found that elusive tomato here on the left coast, but I recently discovered a really wonderful tomato dish while flipping through the TV channels on route to HGTV and accidentally landing on the Food Network.  That itself made Richard laugh.  Me watching the Food Network!   I love to write about food, but he knows I don’t like to watch people actually prepare the food… but Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) was talking tomatoes.  Provencal tomatoes.  I stopped.  I listened.  I copied down the recipe (for Richard, of course).  So, the next time he bought those big, ripe, California tomatoes, he made the dish.  Was it as good as my tomato memory?  Well, no.  But really, not much can compete w/ a beloved, childhood memory.   Have to admit, though, Ina’s tomatoes were definitely tomato-licious.

 

PROVENCAL TOMATOES

(Inspired by Julia Child –

Barefoot Contessa Family Style)

Ingredients:

6 ripe tomatoes (2-1/2 to 3-inches in diameter)

1-1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

¼ cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)

¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup grated Gruyere cheese

Good olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Cut the cores from the tomatoes, removing as little as possible.  Cut them in half crosswise and, w/ your fingers, remove the seeds and juice.  Place the tomato halves in a baking dish.

In a bowl, combine the bread crumbs, scallions, basil, parsley, garlic, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt.  Sprinkle the tomato halves generously w/ salt and pepper.  With you hands, fill the cavities and cover the tops of the tomatoes w/ the bread crumb mixture.  Bake the tomatoes for 15 minutes or until they’re tender.  Sprinkle w/ the cheese, drizzle w/ olive oil, and bake for 30 seconds more. 

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Serves 8

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/provencal-tomatoes-recipe/index.html

ON THE ROAD TO MOROCCO - Moroccan Chicken That Is

ON THE ROAD TO

MOROCCO –

Moroccan Chicken That Is

My love affair w/ chicken continued the other night when Richard made chicken, Moroccan style. 

Sadly, we didn’t eat this divine dish at Rick’s Place in Casablanca… but, sitting outside by our pool on a warm summer’s eve, we clicked our glasses and toasted “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

With Preserved Lemons

And Green Olives

(from Ruth Reichl’s “The Gourmet Cookbook”)

Ingredients:

4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 lbs), rinsed & patted dry

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 medium onions, sliced ¼ inch thick

2 garlic cloves thinly sliced

½ teaspoon turmeric

8 pieces Moroccan-style preserved lemon

½ cup chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium broth

¼ cup dry white wine

16 green olives, pitted and halved

Garnish:  2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Season chicken w/ salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking.  Brown chicken, turning over once, about 6 minutes total.  Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm, covered.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to skillet, reduce heat to moderate, and add onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 8-10 minutes.  Add turmeric and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, scrape pulp from preserved lemon (reserve for another use, if desired).  Cut rind into thin strips.

Add preserved lemon rind to onions, along w/ stock, wine, and olives.  Return chicken, with any juices accumulated on plate, to skillet.  Simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes.

Serve sprinkled w/ cilantro.

Serves 4

MOROCCAN-STYLE

Preserved Lemons

(from Ruth Reichl’s “The Gourmet Cookbook”)

Ingredients:

2-1/2 – 3 lbs lemons (10-12) – Meyer lemons if you have them

2/3 cup kosher salt

¼ cup olive oil

Special Equipment:  a 6-cup jar w/ a tight-fitting lid

Directions:

Blanch 6 lemons in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain.  When cool enough to handle, cut each lemon into 8 wedges and discard seeds.  Toss w/ kosher salt in a bowl, then pack, along w/ salt, into jar.

Squeeze enough juice from remaining lemons to measure 1 cup.  Add enough juice to jar to cover lemons and screw on lid tightly.  Let lemons stand at room temperature, shaking gently once a day, for 5 days.

Add oil to lemons and refrigerate.

Cookbook’s note:  Preserved lemons keep, refrigerated, for up to one year.

Or, if you’re lucky, you’ll have Kyle as a friend who’ll give you a jar of preserved lemons she made.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN IN SONOMA-Pt. 9-Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards-The Final Chaper

ON THE ROAD AGAIN IN SONOMA

Part Nine

Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards

The Final Chapter

You know that old saying:  All good things must come to an end?  Well, I hate that it’s true.  Our Sonoma winery road adventure was over and waking up in our condo on our final morning was bittersweet.  Richard and I love the beauty of the towns and the landscape of valley as much as we love venturing from tasting to tasting at winery after winery.  We could live there… really.  So, before we left the region, we decided to have one last ‘hurrah.’

We followed a long, rural, winding back road in Windsor past cows grazing in pastures and bees buzzing in grapevines to Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards.  The winery’s modern structure...

...is nestled on beautiful acreage which includes a pond...

...and a ‘front lawn’ world-class croquet court – so world class, in fact, the world croquet championships are played there on that very lawn.

 

Sonoma-Cutrer was established as a vineyard in 1973, and Richard and I have often enjoyed their chardonnays at home or at a restaurant so we were looking forward to sipping them ‘on-site.’

The tasting room, opened only last July, is a modern glass and stone room w/ simple wine displays...

...a cork wreath...

 

...blond furniture and a ‘modern-art’ wine barrel sculpture...

 

...giving it a cool (as in temperature), sophisticated feel…  but the service was old-world warm and friendly.

Scott Mansfield was our knowledgeable barista, who told us that when the winery began the owners decided to focus on one wine:  chardonnay (the reigning queen of California whites) produced exclusively from its own vineyards, all of which are fermented and aged in French oak and crafted using traditional Burgundian methods.

Our first pour was the 2009 Russian River Ranches Chardonnay ($23) – a taste of honey w/ a touch of caramel… those vineyard bees would have swarmed to this honey of a wine.

Next came the 2006 “The Cutrer” Chardonnay ($35) – crisp, yet creamy and full-bodied.  I liked the aroma of honeysuckle and the slight fig and nut taste.

The 2006 Les Pierres Chardonnay ($32) was like biting into fermented fruit mixed w/ a bit of butterscotch and nuts.  A nut and butterscotch candied apple of a wine.

A limited release, the 2006 Founders Reserve Chardonnay ($50) had a gorgeous golden color and offered flavors of lemon custard, apples and honey.  Unfortunately, it’s sold out.   So why did Scott give us a taste?  Perhaps, so I could let you know how delicious it was – or maybe he just needed to finish up the last bottle and we were happy to oblige.

Our last taste was the vineyard’s first step into ‘red’ country w/ its 2007 Pinot Noir-Russian River Valley ($34) – a nice wine w/ scents of berries accented w/ cinnamon and sweet pipe tobacco.   Yup, pipe tobacco that I remember from my youth when my dad sat in a big easy chair in our living room and packed the sweet, fragrant tobacco into his pipe as he readied to read the evening newspaper.  I think he’d like sipping this wine as he checked out the front page.

Our tasting was done and it was only 11:30 in the morning!  But, no more – we had miles to go before we sipped… Yes, miles to go before we sipped.

 

Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards

4401 Slusser Road

Windsor CA 95492

707-237-3489

http://www.sonomacutrer.com/

ON THE ROAD AGAIN IN SONOMA-Pt. 8-The Last Supper-Barndiva

 

ON THE ROAD AGAIN IN SONOMA

Part Eight

Barndiva

The Last Supper

The first thing that comes to my mind when someone mentions a last supper is the painting by DiVinci depicting Jesus sitting at the center of a long dinner table celebrating Passover w/ his disciples.  Putting the whole wafer and wine thing aside, have you ever wondered what they had at that last supper?  Matzo ball soup?  Brisket?

Well, our last supper in Sonoma was at Barndiva.  There were no wafers (though some very tasty, crusty bread w/ tart raspberry jam)...

 

...no matzo ball soup and no brisket… but it was an absolutely religious experience.

The ‘backstory:’

Barndiva – barn*diva – proper noun - is a nickname that legend says was invented to commemorate the restaurant’s owner Jil Hales’ love of dancing to music in her family barn, but Jil, along w/ her husband and co-owner Geoffrey, chose the name because of their desire to elevate the farmer to “diva” status.   A ‘sustainable’ restaurant, Barndiva uses only ingredients from local farms within a 30 mile radius.  This, of course, also reduces its carbon footprint, always a good thing.  To further help the environment, used cooking oil is recycled to run farm tractors, and organic trims from the kitchen feed the chickens who lay the restaurant’s eggs.  Barndiva is also a member of the Fork & Shovel, a farmers’ collaborative including 30 restaurants that support each other in this quest to deliver great food using local produce, meats and products.  Barndiva even dry-farms apples, figs and chestnuts.  That’s very cool, especially since being environmentally conscious doesn’t keep them from serving incredibly good food.

The ambience:

To get to Barndiva’s front door, we walked past an outdoor patio

 

down a lush hedge-covered arched nave alongside the barn-like building.  

After entering the restaurant...

 

...the first thing I noticed was a room divider made up of old wooden cobbler shoe molds separating the long dining room.   

 

The high ceilings gave the space a cathedral-like feeling, as the cream colored walls w/ wainscoting and the dark wood bar w/ its interesting art deco-ish back wall beckoned us in. 

 

Adorning the walls were wire fish/animal sculptures that cast web-like shadows as the sun set and the lights were turned on. 

One whole wall consisted of banquette seating w/ black pinstriped seat cushions and light gray back pillows fronted by bare wood tables.  And then there was the back-lit wine wall that faced our table which looked like a stained glass window...

 

...enhancing our feeling that this was going to be a divine evening.

The food:

Head chef Ryan Fancher worked w/ Thomas Keller (the Pope of American cuisine) at the French Laundry, then helped him open up Per Se in New York before coming to Barndiva.  Richard and I had one of our most memorable meals EVAH at the French Laundry so we truly were looking forward to this last supper in Sonoma.

As we sipped our drinks (a martini for me), the evening’s service began with…

tomato goat cheese puffs w/ lavender honey… 

brie w/ honeycomb & sliced radishes… 

 

heirloom beet & endive, avocado, apple, candied walnuts & warm chevre… 

 

and crispy pork belly, w/ a quail egg, arugula pesto & kumquat (my favorite!).

  

All directly from the gods!  Hallelujah!

Then came the entrees – a veritable communion of flavors…

Bob and Richard had the caramelized sea scallops w/ peas, bacon, roasted romaine, Kendal Farms crème fraiche, and sorrel nage.  I’m not sure what ‘nage’ is, but after tasting this dish, I’m very sure it was heavenly.

 

Nguyen opted for the seared Alaskan halibut, artichoke ravioli, spring onion soubise, avocado and fennel.  I had a bite.  The blend of flavors – divine…

 

I had the Creekstone Farms’ beef ribeye w/ marble potatoes, pearl onion, carrot, garlic confit and horseradish bavoroise.  Wow! This was the rapture for me!

So, my final judgment on this last supper?   Manna from heaven! 

As I said, a religious experience.

Barndiva Restaurant & Lounge

231 Center Street

Healdsburg CA

7170431-0100

barndiva.com

info.barndiva.com

Open table