To get the ball rolling . . . this cool blog site, Wine4.Me, features my pick Argentina, with a wine pairing, to go all the way to the final round at the World Cup. Turns out they did!
For the 5th year in a row, St. Francis Winery in Sonoma Valley and yours truly will be hosting the amazing “Stars Under the Stars” Film 
Festival each Thursday night throughout the month of July.
This year’s sizzling lineup includes BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961) on July 10; A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988) on July 17; THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) on July 24; and FARGO (1996) on July 31. I’ll be pairing each film with the magnificent wines from the St. Francis Artisan Collection.
These special boutique production wines will be sold by the glass and tangy delectables from Sonoma Valley’s favorite Taco Truck, Londera Emely, will be available onsite, too. As an extra bonus, the fantastic opening bands will kick the festivities off in style at 7 pm each night.
For more information:
http://www.stfranciswinery.com/events-weddings/upcoming-events/summer-film-festival/
Hope to be seeing you under the stars in July too!
Christopher
The minute I first saw it, I knew it was only a matter of time until someone I knew would make it happen over #4thofJuly Weekend. Of course, I’m talking about making the ultimate Ice Cream Flag Cake featured in the July/August issue of Food Network Magazine. Imagine a dazzling red, white and blue cake made with raspberry sorbet, vanilla ice cream, 28 drops of blue gel food coloring, unsweetened cocoa powder, confectioner’s sugar, and plenty of other goodies. It’s a recipe for a holiday cake that makes you want to cut it out and eat it.
So it wasn’t a surprise that my great friend Ilene Rapkin, President of I Openers in NYC, and her family completed the honorable task of making this magnificent culinary gem during their 4th of July Weekend activities in upstate New York.
So when Ilene sent me photos of the cake, she asked me what I would recommend for a wine pairing. My first instinct was to break open a bottle of the Gloria Ferrer NV Va de Vi Sparkling Wine, Sonoma County.
SawyerSomm notes: As a departure from the magnificently dry styles of elegant sparkling wines made at Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards near Sonoma, California since 1982; the Va de Vi is young, perky style of bubbly with a hint of sweetness on the finish. Composed of 89% Pinot Noir, 8% Chardonnay and 3% Muscat, the wine features lively flavors of Bing cherries, fresh berries, Meyer lemon, vanilla and creamy texture. In essence, it’s a melting pot of deliciousness.
In addition to pairing extremely well with the ingredients used in the Ice Cream Flag Cake and more semi-sweet desserts; this sparkling gem can also easy be served as a fresh aperitif or as a compliment to spicy Indian or Thai cuisine.
Later this month, Va di Vi will be one of the featured sparkling wines paired with flavorful domestic interpretations of Spanish tapas at the 22nd Annual Catalan Festival at Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards, July 19-20. For more information, visit www.GloriaFerrer.com
This fall, the Va de Vi and other sensational sparklers and still wines from Gloria Ferrer will also be featured at the Food Network in Concert at the Ravinia theater in Highland Park near Chicago on September 20th, including at the spicy “Hot, Hot, Hot” luncheon hosted by star chefs and wine seminars hosted by yours truly before the headliner John Maher takes the stage in the evening. In short, the Va de Vi is a fun and stimulating sparkling wine that’s definitely worth getting to know in 2014!
Cheers, Christopher
SawyerSomm Savory Suggestion: Lamb Sliders with Syrah
As an alternative to hamburgers, one of my favorite options is to make Lamb Sliders topped with melted Vermont white cheddar, spicy aioli, arugula and grilled peppers served on a sweet baguette. But if you don’t have enough time to gather all these ingredients, I love the tasty style that Chef Giada de Laurentiis, star of Food Network’s Giada at Home, made on the episode Backyard Campout.
As a rule, lamb works extremely well with Syrah. Granted, there are plenty of young, vibrant styles of wine out in the marketplace. But for a celebration holiday like July 4th, it’s a good excuse to break open one of the a more limited release, reserve-style bottles of Syrah modeled after the famous wines made in the northern Rhone Valley region of France. A magnificent domestic version is the Chalk Hill 2009 Syrah, Estate Grown, Chalk Hill ($60). Made with fruit grown on the cooler-climate western side of the Estate Vineyard east of Windsor, the wine features inviting aromas of dark fruit, black olives, smoked meats, layers of spice and cedar. The flavors are deep and rich, with notes of ripe blackberry, red currant, roasted fig, black pepper, sea salt, dark chocolate, and a long, rewarding finish. Rich, focused, and oh so rewarding!
SawyerSomm Savory Suggestion: BBQ Pork Spareribs with Zinfandel
Let’s face it, all barbeque sauces are not created equal. Some are sweet and tangy, while others can be much more bold and spicy. To celebrate July 4th, a classic American tradition to follow is Patrick and Gina Neely’s recipe for Pork Ribs, which melds together the sweet and tangy flavors of brown sugar, molasses and apple cider vinegar with spicy notes of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika to create a tasty sensation with a lingering finish. Typically, these ribs are easy to serve with baked beans and coleslaw.
To match up with this wide range of flavors, I tend to lean towards serving a balanced Zinfandel with ripe fruity flavors, layers of spice, balance, and a restrained level of alcohol. Among the flavorful new releases to meet my criteria is the DeLoach Vineyards 2012 Zinfandel, Russian River Valley ($20).
Known as California’s “sweetheart grape,” Zinfandel has been grown in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley since the early 1880s. While many of the older vineyards are “field blends” interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mourvedre (Mataro) other red grape varieties, the new DeLoach wine is more focused on purity and the fresh fruit flavors from younger vines planted at the Becnel and Slusser vineyards in northern Russian River Valley and a smaller portion of more concentrated fruit from old vine Zinfandel planted closer to the Deloach Estate Vineyards western of Santa Rosa. As a result, the wine features lively aromas of ripe blue fruits, violets, cinnamon and clove; concentrated flavors of boysenberry, blueberry, black raspberry, dark plum, fresh cracked pepper, layers of savory spice; a sexy rustic texture; and a long, lingering finish without too much heat or alcohol.
As an extra July 4th tip, I would recommend pairing the BBQ Pork Spareribs and DeLoach Zinfandel with the movie Top Gun starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Tim Robbins and Val Kilmer. Ironically, several scenes from the movie were filmed at the Kansas City Barbeque, a bar and restaurant located in the harbor district of San Diego, which opened to the public in 1983, the same year Russian River Valley became recognized as an American Viticultural Area. On its own merits, that patriotic fact of American wine history takes my breath away!
SawyerSomm Savory Suggestion: Grilled Prawns with Dry Pink Wines
Beyond the American flag, if you add red plus white, the outcome isn’t blue. Instead it’s usually a distinctive pink hue. But for many wine consumers the thought of pink wine immediately sparks childhood memories of grandma’s passion for the sweet Portuguese brands like Mateus and Lancers in the 1970s or the white zinfandels and other styles of domestic blush wines that were served in households across America in the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, when you add all these factors together, it is easy to see why pink wines are often pooh-poohed, ridiculed, and vastly misunderstood through the years.
But over the past decade a quiet rosé revolution has been taking place as a growing number of well-respected wineries have started producing sexy European-style pink wines featuring complex aromas, rich fruity mouthfeel, zippy acidity and a lingering bone-dry finishes.
I bring this subject up because the Fourth of July is an all-day affair highlighted by picnics, barbeques, tailgate parties, parades, and other culinary events leading up to the fireworks finale at night. For that reason, eating a lot but eating lite is a great option. So instead of relying solely on meats and poultry, another healthy and refreshing option is to serve grilled prawns with a nice dry style of pink wine.
One of my favorite starters is Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s Roasted Shrimp Cocktail. a dazzling appetizer with smoky flavors and a tangy dipping sauce made with ketchup, chili spice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and a squeeze of lemon. As an alternative to roasting on the Fourth, the prawns can easily be done on the barbeque by wiping the grill with an oiled paper towel to create a nonstick surface.
As a classy compliment to the dish, try the Etude 2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Estate Grown, Grace Benoit Ranch, Carneros ($26-$28). Served chilled, this perky young wine features a lovely salmon-colored hue and fragrant aromas of red berries, rose petals, nectarine fuzz and citrus peels. On the palate, the flavors explode with notes of Bing cherry, raspberry, tart cranberry, and hints of the small Watmaugh strawberries grown down the road from the Grace Benoit Ranch near Sonoma. With vibrant acidity and a crisp, dry and thirst quenching finish, it’s a lip smackin’ wine that stimulates the senses and works wonders with the tangy, zesty and charred flavors of Ina’s appetizer.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out the fun musical intervention of Taylor Swift cooking with Ina in the new July/August issue of Food Network Magazine and the upcoming Food Network in Concert at Ravinia in Highland Park near Chicago on September 20, 2014.
Pairing wines with food is a noble duty. This is particularly true on the Fourth of July, a classic American holiday when fireworks and barbequed foods reign supreme and the choice of tasty wine can enhance the meal that much more.
To many, it’s as simple as serving hamburgers and hot dogs with their favorite bottles of Chardonnay or Merlot. But for those of you looking for a little more adventure, there are plenty of new ways of matching tasty comfort foods with bright, playful and expressive wines. For that reason, I thought it would be fun to update the holiday article I wrote a few years ago for Rebel Mom . So here is the first of my four picks leading up to Independence Day 2014…
Grilled Chicken and Vegetables with Edna Valley Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
Known for its fresh aromatics, fruity flavors, zippy acidity and crisp finish, white wines made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes can offer a refreshing alternative to the buttery styles of Chardonnay in the summertime. A great example of this style is the Edna Valley Vineyard 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, Central Coast ($15). This bright new release features fragrant aromas of citrus blossom, grapefruit and fresh cut grass; bright flavors of ripe melon, papaya, lime and gooseberry; and a crisp, refreshing finish.
Besides pairing nicely with grilled chicken marinated in white wine, herbs and citrus, the vibrant acidity of the wine also works great with grilled asparagus, squash, onions and other veggies that are often difficult to pair with, as well as handling the heat in spicy dishes as well. For a fun July 4th pairing with the Edna Valley Vineyards 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, check out Chef Mark Murphy’s fantastic recipe for Grilled Corn on the Cob with Chili-Lime Butter and Cojita Cheese. Yummy, easy to make, and a perfect pairing with a fresh wine poured from a screwcap bottle. Oh, behave!
As much as I talk about wines, I must say that today’s World Cup game matching the United States vs. Belgium makes it impossible for me to resist my love for fine Belgium brew. Of course this includes the fine beers made by the Trappist monks at Notre-Dame de Scourmont Abbey in Chimay and other top producers in country like Duvel, Affligem and Leffe, as well as talented brewers who are making their stylized versions here in the United States like Ommegang Brewery in Cooperston, N.Y. and New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado.
With that being said, here’s a link to the tasty article I wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle Food & Wine section in May 2003: “U.S. acquiring a taste for Belgian ales / Fruity, spicy, rich and brewed by monks“.
It’s also worth mentioning that I was quite honored to find out there is a reference to this article on the Wikipedia page for the Chimay Brewery. Pretty cool!
In short: No simple beers. No simple game. Long live fine Belgian beer, but today go Team USA!
Cheers, Christopher
P.S. For more information on the Chimay Brewery, their specialty beers and the fine cheese made by the Trappist monks, visit www.chimay.com.
Results are in for the California Sate Fair Wine Competition! Follow this LINK to download details.
This past weekend, Helen Bacigalupi and her family celebrated the 50-year anniversary of planting the original blocks of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes at the famed Bacigalupi Vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley.
It’s a story that began more than six decades ago when Helen married Charles Bacigalupi, a Sonoma County native, whose grandfather had a winery on Chiquita Road and who grew up filling jugs of wine straight from the barrel for customers who shopped at his family’s Bacigalupi Market on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa.
After meeting in college, the young lovebirds were married and moved to Healdsburg, where Charles established his long-term career as a dentist and Helen worked a short stint as a pharmacist before she took on her new role as the family’s official ranch keeper and accountant when the Bacigalupis purchased the old Goddard Ranch on Westside Road in 1956.
At the time of purchase, the hillside property featured 16 acres of vineyards planted with a classic field blend of Zinfandel mixed with Alicante Bouschet, Golden Chasselas, Muscat and Mission. But back then the more lucrative crops on the property were fruit trees and small walnut orchard. So to make ends meet, Helen and Charles bought ten pure-bred Angus steers from the nearby MacMurray Ranch owned by actor Fred MacMurray and raised them and the offspring on the pasture land at the ranch over the next 15 years.
In 1964 the focus on grape growing on the property started to change, when the family planted a new 14 acres parcel of vineyards which included Chardonnay and the first Pinot Noir vines planted on Westside Road.
Once these new vineyard blocks were established, the Bacigalupis began selling grapes to Rodney Strong and the Foppiano and Seghesio families. In 1973, Helen sold 14 tons of Chardonnay to Chateau Montelena, which eventually became 40 percent of the master blend in the famous wine that won over the French in the famed Paris Tasting in 1976.
Helen’s tale of how the wine made it to Paris starts when she received a call from Mike Grgich (the Chateau Montelena winemaker in 1973) saying he would like to buy some of the Bacigalupi Chardonnay grapes he had heard so much about. After an agreement was reached, she sold the winery 15 tons. But, according to Helen, getting the fruit from Russian River Valley to Calistoga was not such an easy task.
“It took me six trips to the winery and I hauled the grapes with my little Volkswagen pickup and a custom-made trailer. It was a little scary because the Volkswagen didn’t have the guts to get over the hill from Alexander Valley to Calistoga in Napa Valley. So I would gun it at the bottom and pray to God that nobody got in my way going up the hill to slow me down. If that had happened, I never would have made it.”
Fast-forward three years. Helen was baking a cake to celebrate the Bicentennial anniversary on July 4, 1976 when the phone rang and it was Mike Grgich. He told her then that we had won the Paris Tasting against the French. He also inquired about buying more grapes, but she had to tell him I was sorry because they were already sold.
Helen went on to say that the impact of the Paris Tasting took several years. “Today it’s still impacting the wines made in Northern California but I don’t think that people here understood how important the award was at the time,” says Helen, now 89 years young. “On the other hand, the French felt the impact immediately!”
At the end of the 1970s, the family partnered with Peter Friedman of Belvedere Winery and bottled its first vineyard designate Chardonnay as part of the Grapemaker Series. A few years later, the 1982 vintage won the Sonoma Harvest Fair Sweepstakes and the wine was eventually served at the White House. But after a decade of national distribution, the Bacigalupis ended their partnership with Healdsburg Wine Growers, Inc and made its last bottles of the Belvedere Bacigalupi Chardonnay in 1987.
As the demand for premium grapes expanded, the family began developing vineyards on newly purchased properties, including a 15 acre parcel on Lytton Station Road in Alexander Valley in 1973; the Bloom Ranch adjacent to the original Bacigalupi property in 1983; and the Frost Ranch on Westside Road in 1993.
Over the past two decades, most of the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah grapes grown on the properties have been sold to a wide range of boutique producers, including Wiliam Seylem, Armida, Fantesa, Graton Ridge, Rudd, Tudal, Arista, Gott, Venge, Gracianna and John Tyler Wines (a brand started by Charles and Helen’s son John and his wife Pam began in 2002). But today, a portion of the precious fruit is being used by winemaker Ashley Hertzberg, who was hired by the family in 2011 to create a new series of Bacigalupi wines that are primarily sold to high-end restaurants and at the new tasting room at the base of the Goddard property.
