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Ratatouille, Soy Sausages, and Four Gates Cabernet Franc
On the week of September 9th we went outside and picked fresh yellow, orange, red, and pink colored tomatoes for one of our favorite dishes – ratatouille. We have made this dish three times already this season, and each time we make it – we use fresh tomatoes, which have deep rich flavor along with sharp acid that really picks up this dish. We also picked our Italian and yellow crookneck zucchini, along with some WHITE and black eggplant. With these three ingredients along with purple onions we made an absolutely killer ratatouille that really showed how fresh vegetables and fruit (yes tomatoes are fruit) can make the saying true; “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Even more, it showed how lovely a summer dish can show when put together the right way. We paired the ratatouille with quinoa, soy sausages, and fresh green salad
To enjoy this wonderful dish, we opened a bottle of Four Gates Cabernet Franc. I love Cabernet Franc, and the Cabernet Franc from Ella Valley, Four Gates, and a few others really show the joy of Cabernet Franc. The dirt, vegetal notes, and sometimes even flowers are what makes a Cabernet Franc so unique. I did not get those on this Cabernet Franc, but I really enjoyed the rich dirt and black fruit.
The wines note follows:
2005 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – (USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains) – Score: B++ to A-
The nose on this garnet to purple colored wine is hot initially out of the bottle, after some time the wine opens to show tobacco, sweet oak, chocolate, plum, raspberry, garrigue, blackcurrant, black cherry, loamy dirt, and green pepper. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rich and mouth coating with nicely integrating tannin, dirt, plum, raspberry, and garrigue. The mid palate is bracing with acid, chocolate, tobacco, and plum. The finish is long and spicy with tobacco, chocolate, sweet oak, plum, raspberry, and more garrigue. The finish lingers long with garrigue, chocolate, tobacco, and plum. This bottle is doing fine, and has at least two or more years ahead of it.
Tunisian Couscous Au Poulet and an assortment of wines
On the evening of November 5th, we finally got around to making my favorite dish, Tunisian Couscous Au Poulet, whose recipe can be found in this post. When I think about couscous it reminds me of family and friends, as my mother used to make it every Friday Night at our house while I was growing up. Her recipe was a bit more authentic, but I believe I am close enough on the Couscous soup and makoud. Where I have totally taken the liberty to change things up was with the meatballs (boulette).
The thing I love about couscous is the assortment of food and options that the guests have to enjoy. The couscous starts with a chicken/meat/fish/vegetable soup, which has a large assortment of cubed vegetables. The chicken or meat of the soup is used in the makoud (potato kugel), and the couscous itself is fluffy and full of the soup flavor, as it is steamed with the soup. Along with all of that, there are cold pepper and carrot salads, and meatballs. All of these options allow the guests to eat at their own pace and enjoy the plethora of flavors that meld so well together. The contrasts that the display themselves on the palate are a product of the wonderful flavors that each dish on the menu shows. The couscous is soft and fluffy and in perfect contrast with the just firm vegetables. The meatballs are hot and a touch spicy which plays well with the couscous and cold salads. The vegetables are warm and infused with the meat or fowl’s flavor, which carries into the couscous and the rest of the plate.
The official meatball recipe is an artery clogging heart popping display of fried food at its greatest. The meatballs are each topped with a fat slice of potato and then fried in oil until golden brown and finished in the oven. Yes the original recipe sounds and tastes great but I am past the oily flavor, so we have been using a more Italian styled recipe with meatballs braised in tomato sauce. I have been playing for many years with the sauce and the texture of the meatballs. I have tried baking and braising the meatballs, and I keep coming back to braising. In the past few years we have pretty much nailed the tomato sauce that the meatballs braise in, but this week we killed on the meatballs as well. We used a combination of beef, turkey, and mounds of shredded raw vegetables. I was concerned that we put in too many vegetables and that the meatballs would be runny and messed up. Instead they were structurally firm but moist in the mouth and to the fork, while not crumbling to easily as well.
Of course if couscous is on the menu close friends cannot be far behind. Our table was filled with some friends who have been absent for too long and some old standbys. Benyamin Cantz was present and brought some lovely old Four Gates Chardonnay, along with other friends who brought a few Cabernet, but we only got around to one of them, that being a 2006 Yarden Cabernet. The wines were served from lightest to boldest, and there were no duds to be found!
Though the dishes do not call for heavy reds, the meatballs and the flavorful broth and makoud easily stood up to the mixture of reds that we served until the last one, which was an all out beast. The meal started with a pair of 1996 Four Gates Chardonnay and was followed by the only partial dud of the evening – the 2007 Hagafen Cabernet Franc Estate Bottled. We last tasted this wine, almost a year ago, at the winery and it was wonderful, full of floral notes, oak, chocolate, and red fruits. We bought two bottles from the winery and though the wine tasted fine, it lacked the fullness, polish, and finish that we remembered from a year ago. I can only guess that the wine is in some dumb period and will once again display its true potential, when it exists it dark cloud period. The third wine of the evening was the much talked about 2008 B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon, Trestle Glen Estate Vineyard. Mr. Bruce Cohn is the manager for the famous Doobie Brothers, and has been making wine for some 25 or so years. Much has been made of the wine, including a wonderful score of 92 from Daniel Rogov and a lovely write up on the wine and winery as well. For full disclosure, I did not pay for this wine. It was given to me to be tasted and the notes follow below. It was the third rated wine of the evening behind the next two. Those being the 2005 Ella Valley Cabernet Franc and the 2006 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon. The final wine of the evening was the 2005 S’forno Monastrell Dulce, while nice, was clearly showing its age in color and palate.
The 2005 Ella Valley Cabernet Franc was not sold here in the US. I imported it during one of my visits to the Israel. I bought them at the winery, and alas, this was my last bottle. This wine is still expressive and explosive and one that is not on its last legs at all. The 2006 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon is a pure beast, one displaying bright and powerful fruit, oak, and layers that come at you in waves. The B.R. Cohn is a polar opposite, in many ways, of the Yarden and Ella Valley wines. Where the Ella Valley and Yarden wines are explosive and highly expressive, the B.R. Cohn is more of an elegant wine with its own flair of complexity and expression. In no way is that a back handed compliment to the wine, but just a definition of its character and makeup.
The B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon was made in the Herzog Winery, some 420 miles south of the vineyard. The grapes were trucked down and the wine was pressed, fermented, and aged in the Herzog winery, under the B.R. Cohn label and the supervision of the OU. The thing I find truly fascinating, beyond the fact that Mr. Cohn wanted to make kosher wine, was how he and the winery kept it such a secret until it was released. With more and more connoisseurs looking at wines in the kosher market, it is truly hard to keep a secret. Everyone is looking for the next big or special wine to show off to their friends and family. Notwithstanding, the Herzog and B.R. Cohn wineries did a wonderful job at keeping a lid on this success, and we can only hope for more wines to be coming out of this winery in the future.
On an aside, I also served a bit of the 2009 Terrenal Cabernet Sauvignon from Spain. As discussed in my other posting, this is a wine that is available at Trader Joes and one that is really catching on in the kosher market. Look for more coming soon on Terrenal and the rest of the wines under the Trader Joes white label.
The wine notes follow below in the order they were enjoyed. My thanks again to B.R. Cohn Winery for the opportunity to taste the wine and the Allison at Coats Public Relations who was instrumental in procuring us the bottle of wine we so greatly enjoyed:
2007 Hagafen Cabernet Franc Estate Bottled Napa Valley – Score: B+ to A-
This is Hagafen’s second release of a single varietal Cabernet Franc, the other one being the 1996 vintage. This is the second time we are tasting the wine and it did not show nearly as well. The last time we tasted this wine at the winery, almost a year ago, it was showing quite nicely. This time the wine showed weaker with a more shallow finish and less body overall. We got these bottles from the winery, so I am not sure what could be wrong. We really loved the 1996 vintage, but this one was even better, though it has been around 10 years since we last tasted it.
The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine showed a bit of floral notes, some crushed herbs, chocolate, along with a bunch of rich and ripe raspberry, black cherry, plum, and sweet oak. The mouth on this medium to full bodied starts off with mouth coating tannins, raspberry, plum, and black cherry. The mid palate is packed with balancing acidity, spicy oak, chocolate, and nice tannins. The finish is medium long and oak with chocolate, vanilla, rich ripe plum, spice, and black fruit.
2009 Terrenal Cabernet Sauvignon Yecla (Spain, Murcia, Yecla) – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine is rich with dirt, raspberry, blackberry, crushed herbs, a hint of chocolate, and black cherry. After some time blueberry also makes an appearance, however at that time the wine is starting to degrade. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is heavy with tannin that lends to a nice but crazy mouth feel, along with blackberry, raspberry, and black cherry. The mid palate is bone dry and acidic along with some chocolate and a fair amount of crushed herbs. The finish is long with chocolate, blackberry, black cherry, crushed herbs, and some mineral. After a few hours the tannins soften a bit and turn more mouth coating along with some nice vanilla. However, after a bit more time the wine turns totally tannic and out of balance, so be careful to drink this wine with 3 to 4 hours after opening.
2008 B.R. Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon Kosher Trestle Glen Estate Vineyard – Score: A- to A
The nose on this wine starts off closed and not very enjoyable. After quite a few hours the wine becomes very enjoyable and “elegant”. This is not a sledge hammer wine, not an overly complex or layered wine, rather this is a wine that has enjoyable characteristics. The nose on this purple colored wine starts off closed and muted. Over time it opens to display light notes of sweet oak or cedar, raspberry, black plum, eucalyptus, cranberry, tobacco, chocolate, and a hint of vanilla. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is elegant in its attack, again, not one that relies on shock and awe, rather a wine that attacks with ripe raspberry, plum, cranberry, lovely tannins, and a mouth feel that is luscious and attention grabbing. The mid palate is balanced with acid, tobacco, chocolate, cedar, and eucalyptus. This finish is spicy and long with ripe plum and raspberry, tobacco leaves, dark chocolate, licorice, and vanilla.
2005 Ella Valley Cabernet Franc (Israel, Judean Hills, Ella Valley) – Score: Almost A
The nose on this purple colored wine is hopping with blackberry, cranberry, raspberry, plum, sweet oak, tobacco, chocolate, meaty notes, vanilla, and nice mint. The mouth on this medium bodied wine filled out as it got more air. The mouth on this medium bodied is layered with rich oak, cranberry, blackberry, plum, and tannins that calm down as the wine sits in the glass. The mid palate is balanced with a rich mouth, just enough acidity, and not yet integrated tannins. The finish is long and luxurious with a playful amount of spice, tobacco, chocolate, and vanilla that is joined in by rich fruit. This was the winner of our Cabernet Franc lineup once again – unfortunately I do not have any more. This is a wine that still has another year or two under its belt and another winner for this wonderful winery.
2006 Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon (Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights) -Score: Almost A
This wine is not going to sneak up on you – it is more like a combination of a sledge hammer and a two-by-four hitting you right between your eyes. The nose on this massive, complex, and sledge hammer styled wine explodes with super ripe blackberry, raspberry, chocolate, herbs, rich oak, licorice, plum, tobacco, and sweet cedar. The mouth on this massive full bodied wine is now showing softly integrating tannins that give the wine a super lovely mouth feel. Please do not let the lovely mouth feel fool your perception of this wine, it is massive, aggressive, and heavily layered wine with rich ripe blackberry, plum, cassis, and dates. The mid palate is inky black fruit, massive sweet oak, dates, and balancing acid. The finish is super long and spicy, with nice spice, cassis, date, oak, chocolate, tobacco, and still gripping tannins.
2005 S’forno Monastrell Dulce (Spain, Murcia, Yecla) – Score: B+
The nose on this garnet to mahogany colored wine is hopping with spicy oak, fig, dried plum, dates, honey, spice, and fair amount of heat (alcohol). The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rounded and accentuated with sweetness and alcohol, but balanced with nice spiciness, along with honey, fig, date, and spice. The mouth is coating and round from the tannin, alcohol, and sweetness. The mid palate is balanced with acid, more spice, date, and dried fruit. The finish is long, spicy, and sweet, that is punctuated at the end with more dried fruit, fig, and honey. This is a nice wine that is a bit over the hill, but still showing enough qualities to make it enjoyable.
Wine Tasting Crasher – Alice Feiring style at Four Gates Winery
On May 21st, the day after Shavuot, I found myself driving the winding hills of Highway 17, that lead me to the even more bewildering roads of the Santa Cruz Mountains, to go see Benyamin Cantz and Alice Feiring at the Four Gates Winery. Alice was in the area, and called up Benyamin to ask if he was up to a visit by herself and her colleague, Jose Pastor, Benyamin said sure, and so the game was afoot. I of course also asked Benyamin if I could attend, and he graciously allowed me entrance – but ONLY if I would be at my very best behavior. I have had a deep interest in meeting this women, after reading her book; The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization. Here is a women with a great palate, wine lover, Jewish, and a person with a keen understanding of the madness of living the “frum” life, as is visible from her blog, and the three-part article on Benyamin and Four Gates Winery (yes that is me in the third installment).
I arrived at Benyamin’s house, where the wine tasting was taking place, just after the 2006 Four Gates Cabernet Franc was opened, which Alice seemed to like. Benyamin had already shown Alice and Jose the grounds, vineyard, and winery, and was now sitting them down for some wine tasting and up close and personal examples of life on the farm (read the blog post). I started to talk with Alice and Jose about her book, blog, and Parker – the single palate for the world. I have slammed the single palate a couple of times here and here, and other places on Rogov’s forum. After that, Benyamin opened a bottle of N.V. Four Gates Cabernet Franc (1999/2000), it was soft, full in the mouth, with bright acidity, bing cherries, oak, raspberry, with a hint of chocolate. A nice bottle for being 10+ years old, I would have loved to hear what Alice and Jose thought of that one. My notes from a year ago, when we did a Four Gates Vertical of his Cabernet Franc wines – can be found here. While we were enjoying the wine, I kept asking questions, yes that is what I do. I asked Alice where her fascination for natural wine comes from? She was honest and clear, that she has no interest in changing my drinking habits, but she does want people to know what is out there, and make them realize what they are missing. I asked that the hallowed DRC uses oak, why is that OK? I also stated that I understand that coffee and vanilla and the such are not a natural part of the wine, but can we really say that they do not add to the wine experience? Her answer was fair, in that oak is not offensive, but it is when it is overused like so many do, or when it defines the wine, rather than helping round the wine, or allowing the wine to show its better characteristics.
Benyamin then opened his N.V. Pinot Noir, which was tasting exactly as my last notes here show. Alice commented on the N.V. label, which Benyamin went on to explain was nothing more than the a great example of “the whole being greater than the sum of its parts”. They then went into wine and winery talk for a bit, which was fine, as I was feeling like I was a bit too talkative, and I was after all crashing the wine tasting. It was at this point that Benyamin remembered having made a basically natural wine, or as natural a wine as he could make, other than his one and only natural wine that he made (or God made), which was used under a wedding canopy (story in Alice’s blog). The wine was a 1996 un-sulfited Chardonnay (yep 14 or so years old)!!! Are you kidding me! The wine was OFF the charts! It was packed with lemon, oak, butterscotch, some melon, and yep some more oak. That said, the wine was super full in the mouth, still ripe and alive, and so crazy fresh, that I begged for the left overs to take home, which Benyamin was VERY kind to give up. Finally, Benyamin opened a yet to be released red wine blend, that tasted much like I tasted it the last time, but it needs a bit of time to reach its true potential. I think Benyamin is almost ready to release it, though when, is beyond my knowledge.
After having met Alice and seen her in action, I can see why she so deeply wishes for natural wine to be more prevalent in the market place. She is a woman endowed with a keen palate, and a great understanding of viticulture and its abilities to influence wine making. She must be screaming from the top of her lungs – “can you not see what you are missing”? It is a cruel double edged sword to have such a gift and wonder why the rest of the world is so blind to the reality of wine in its natural state. Clearly there are times when we all can see how the viticulturist has purposely modified the fruit to meet the needs of the post-Parker world. There is a story in her book where a wine maker described how he made his wine. He started with grape must, added in tannins from nuts, oak, and G-D only knows what else and then let the concoction ferment and age, and then slowly, filtered out what he did not like until he had a true Parker styled wine. That is not wine making that akin to beer making. That is using science to be 100% accurate in the reproduction of a wine target, no matter the grape state – which is what beer making is except with different ingredients. When Joe the Plumber wants to kick back and pop open a cold one, he expects that beer to taste just like it did yesterday, or the day before, or the week before, or the year before – simply stated 100% reproducible, no matter the state of the grain, hops, or water.
But that happens only when I taste an over the top Cabernet that is coated in oak and fat with plump fruit that is so ripe, it almost tastes oxidized. Yes, that is egregious, and unacceptable. However, many other wines taste fine to me, some taste awesome to me, and they are not natural. I guess I will leave it with the fact that I was humbled in her ability to appreciate and understand the true nature of the grape, vine, and wine, and that maybe one day, I will be able to get to the point of seeing what I am missing.
I want to thank Alice for letting me crash her wine tasting, and Benyamin for letting me enjoy more of his wonderful wine, hospitality, and down home cooking (that too is in Alice’s third part of the article).
Passover Seder Wines
This past week, saw us enjoying two wines that we brought, and two wines that others brought to our hosts homes. Mine were not as good as the others brought, but good to try and drink. We of course brought these wines to two Passover Seder for the four cups (arba kosos). We decided this year to not host the passover seder, like we did last year, and so, we went to our friends for the two evening meals.
The notes for the wines we enjoyed can found below:
2004 Recanati Cabernet Franc - Score: B
The nose on this garnet colored wine has cranberry, raspberry, plum, oak, and mint. The mouth on this full bodied wine is still expressive with red fruit, crushed herbs, and a touch of mint. The mid palate is still bracing with acid, soft tannins, and oak. The finish is still strong with coffee, acid, red fruit, and oak. Drink UP, or use it for a nice cholent for the next few months.
2006 Tzuba Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: A-
The nose of this almost jet black colored wine is packed with rich and spicy oak, blackberry, cassis, raspberry, and spice. The mouth on this full bodied wine is super concentrated and super extracted with blackberry, cassis, and oak extraction. The mid palate is bracing with bright acidity, toasty oak, and still biting tannins, that will smooth out soon. The finish is very long with bright acidity, toasty oak, and big black fruit. A nice concentrated Cabernet that will evolve a bit still.
On the second night we enjoyed these wines…
2004 Domaine du Castel Petit Castel – Score: B+
The nose on this purple colored wine was crazy nice with blackberry, chocolate, sweet oak, bright berry, and pepper. The mouth on this very soft medium bodied wine was not as bracing and complex as I remember it to have been. The mouth is soft and almost tannic free, with nice black fruit, black berry and plum. The mid palate is soft and not bracing, with oak, and not much more. The finish is very nice with more black fruit, chocolate, and a bit of oak. Nice, but soft and ready to drink NOW!
2003 Yarden Merlot – Score: A- to A
The nose on this black colored wine screams with black cherry, raspberry, berry, crushed herbs, and rich and toasty oak. The mouth on this massive full bodied wine is rich with concentrated black cherry, berry, and toasty oak. The mid palate is acidic with rich oak, and integrating tannins. The finish is long and rich, with more black fruit, oak, and green notes. The wine is super fun, extracted, and rich.
Hagafen Winery Visit
The day started out as a lovely and sunny Sunday, the last one of 2009. We took a long and enjoyable last look at massive Clear Lake, which our hotel wrapped around, and headed south on CA-20. As we closed into Lower Lake, we were supposed to continue south on CA-29, but plans are just that – plans! Instead, we took the road less traveled, the Knoxville-Berryessa Road (lovely pictures of the road linked here from a motorcycle rider). It is so called because, it is a road that runs through government-owned land, counted some 5 or so structures from Lower Lake until Berryessa Lake. For some 30 or more miles, at a rate of maybe 35 mph, we saw no one – period. Truly a road less traveled. Finally, and blessedly, right before Lake Berryessa, we came upon a truck, and two folks fishing (actually, I think that was not public knowledge 
, and they told us where we were. I guess this teaches us, that if we do not want a GPS or expensive phone contract (with GPS on it), and instead want to go retro, we should act retro, and carry around a map or two!
Well after a fair amount of driving, we came to the Hagafen Winery, a bit late, at a not so warm time of day. It was some 40 degrees outside, and we went inside to meet Josh Stein, Hagafen Winery’s Brand Manager. I stated the temperature, because Josh started the winery tour outside where every vintage starts – in the vineyard of course! I asked about the way the vines are managed, and Josh quickly replied that the vines have been managed using CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) rules for many years now, but they are now in the second year of their CCOF certification, and hope to be certified within a year. Of course, as we have spoken about this topic many times, the wine will NOT be organic, but the vineyard will be. There are three full time employees, Ernie Weir, the owner and founder of Hagafen Winery, who is also the manager of the winery. The other two full time employees, manage the winery’s most important other asset, the vineyards. The winery started some 32 years ago, after Weir had made wine, at a custom crush site in Napa, CA, for a couple of years. He decided to start making kosher wine. He started his production with 25 cases and a single SKU. Today, Hagafen makes some 8000 cases of wine, under three labels, and 30 or more SKU. Hagafen started with no vineyards, and then in 1986 they bought the land that the winery sits on presently. The vineyard in those days was planted with Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc, but it was replanted in 1997 with what stands there today, 12 acres of clone 7 and clone 337 Cabernet Sauvignon, named the Weir Family Vineyard II. The Weir Family Vineyard III came online later with 9 acres, 3 acres of Cabernet Franc, 3 acres of Syrah, and 3 acres of White Riesling. Many of Hagafen’s wines are labeled as Estate Bottled, though they are not actually on their estate at all, as seen here on Hagafen’s vineyard map. They source grapes from vineyards as far south as Fagan Creek, and as far north as Soleil and Moskowite vineyards. So, how are they allowed to use the term “Estate Bottled” on their labels? Well, the rules are a bit more simplistic, though not well known. As described here on the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the Estate Bottled tag line has three requirements to be added to your label.
- The vineyard must either be owned by the winery or under the winery’s 100% control
- The vineyard to be in the same viticultural area
- The grapes are crushed, fermented, aged, and bottled in the winery or on the winery grounds
Hagafen has continued to expand its own vineyards, while perfecting their relationship and processes with its many vineyard partners. They have long term contracts with the vineyards, and have recently taken control of many of the coveted blocks within the upper echelon of Napa Valley vineyards. Read the rest of this entry
Kielbasa vegetable stew and Four Gates Cabernet Franc
Two weeks ago Friday night, we were looking for a lay low food that was delicious, hearty, warm, and downright good home cooking. We had a Kielbasa sitting in the freezer, and so I went looking for a recipe. I found many recipes, but they either wanted the stew to be beans and cream or over the top tomato. I finally found a wonderful recipe that I could modify (as usual), and it turned out to be from the wonderful folks at the Food Network. The recipe is OK, but I like my meat browned and I like far more onions and an eggplant to boot, would not hurt. So here is the modified recipe, for those who care:
Kielbasa and Vegetable Stew
- Olive Oil
- 1 pound of Kielbasa cut on the bias into one inch chunks
- Two or three sweet onions cubed into 1 inch squares
- 2 or 3 good shakes of sea salt
- 4 or more garlic cloves
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Pepper
- 4 or 5 carrots cut into one inch chunks
- 3 or 4 parsnips cut into one inch chunks
- 1 or 2 eggplant (depending on size)
- 4 or 5 Yukon gold potatoes cubed into 1 inch squares
- 3 cups of vegetable or chicken soup stock
- 1 cup of red wine
- A cup of rice milk to finish or reheat in
Start by taking a large dutch oven and place into it a tablespoon or two of olive oil – just to coat the bottom. While waiting for the oil to get hot enough, cut the Kielbasa into 1 inch cylinders on the bias, and then start to brown the cut edges. Once one side is browned, flip them to the other side. Once all sides are browned, take the meat out and drop the cubed onions into the oil. Add the salt to the onions to help the onions release their liquid. Sauté the onions and once browned, throw in the spices and garlic, and make sure the onions are fully coated with them. From there on, add the vegetables into the pot one at a time. Once the vegetables have released their water, add in the 4 cups of stock, along with the sausage cylinders. Cook the stew until the vegetables and meat are combined into a singular and uniform form.
I must say that the stew was KNOCK OUT awesome, and the best part of it is that ALL the food is edible. You see, that there are no bones, no nasty fat and sinew, or inedible parts. All in all, sausage stew makes for a tasty and enjoyable stew. Finally, when I reheated the stew before the Sabbath, it looked a bit dry, so I added a half or full cup of rice milk. It added some flavor and moisture.
To pair with this monster stew, I pulled out a bottle of 2005 Four Gates Cabernet Franc. I loved the bottle, but it took a ton of time to come awake. It was stored really cold, so that may have been the problem, but I think that the bottle is in a slight dumb period, and will be back soon. The wine note follows below:
2005 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – Score: B+ – A-
This wine has not changed much since the last time we tasted this. However, it is in a slightly dumb period, and required a ton of time to open up. Once it did open it was quite a joy to drink. The nose on this garnet to black colored wine is a very interesting twist on Cabernet Franc. It starts with a ton of dark chocolate, cherry, currant, plum, and follows on with classical franc notes of bell pepper and a bit flowers and oak. The mouth on this complex medium to full bodied wine is packed with velvety tannins that are integrating quite nicely along with cherry, raspberry, and currants. The mid palate is flush with fruit and balanced almost perfectly by bright acidity along with oak and integrated tannins. The finish is spicy and laced with vanilla and sour cherry.
Ella Valley Winery Visit and Wine Tasting
On a lovely Friday in August 2009, a friend and I were weaving through route 395 as it winds through the lush Judean Hills, and then descends into the valley of Route 38, which junctions into Route 375. After driving Route 375 for a few miles, we find the turn off for Netiv HaLamed-Heh, where the Ella Valley Winery is situated. This was our third trip to the winery. Our previous visit was very generously hosted by Udi Kaplan. The winery was founded in 1996 when the Adert Vineyard was first planted. Soon after, in 2001, the winery was constructed using state of the art wine making technology, that would allow Ella Valley to compete with the world’s best wineries. The winery was built from the bottom up with a desire to craft the world’s best wines, while keeping to a strict adherence of the kosher certification requirements. The winery started production with the 2002 vintage, when they produced some 100,000+ bottles of wine, to high praise and acclaim. Since then, they have succeeded with their vision and are continuing to produce more than 200,000 bottles of top quality wines, even for their non reserve lines (named Vineyard Choice).
The winery is managed by Uri Kaplan, who runs the day-to-day operations of the winery, while the wine making duties are left to the capable hands of French trained Doron Rav Hon. Doron has been part of the winery since its inception, and his handiwork is all over the wine itself. The wine’s signature flavors are clear with every sip. There is no overripe fruit, clobbering oak, or under ripe green characteristics, that dominate many of the wines in Israel and the world alike now a days. Instead, Doron’s wines are all well balanced wines that do take advantage of the sun and valley’s cool nights. He uses French oak predominately, which allows for a more subtle wine expression, and thereby giving the grapes a chance to show their true quality, without screaming it from the rooftop. When talking with critics and wine experts alike about Ella Valley, the word that comes up is consistency and elegance. The reds and whites alike are consistently elegant, while keeping to winery’s credo – of traditional elegance with a twist modernization.
So when we drove up to the winery, we were not surprised to find that very credo staring us in the face. The winery’s lovely traditional structure and facade, was quietly wrapping its modern inner workings. We were super honored to meet with Doron himself, and he was kind to show us around the winery before, sitting down to a superb wine tasting. The conversation was varied and fascinating; from discussions around kashrut to Doron’s wine making philosophy. The wine tasting was equally varied from an Unoaked Chardonnay all the way to a blockbuster Merlot and everything else in between. If you had to point to a single varietal that defines Ella Valley – it would have to be Merlot. From 2002 and on, Ella Valley’s Merlot(s) have been the top scoring and most sinewy yet refined wines in their portfolio. Nothing about our wine tasting changed that perspective, except for the fact that they continue to show exactness and gentle prodding on all of the wines in their fine portfolio. Read the rest of this entry
Couscous Au Poulet, Boulette, Makoud, 2007 Hagafen Lodi Roussanne, 2004 Four Gates Chardonnay, N.V. Four Gates Pinot Noir, 2006 Four Gates Cabernet Franc, 2005 Herzog Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Zinfandel/Syrah
Two weeks ago saw us huddled around our shabbos table enjoying some wonderful company, friends, family, food, and wine. This past Friday Night we had my family and friends over for a classical Tunisian Friday Night dinner – Couscous Au Poulet and Boulette. Many have had couscous, which is fine, but proper boulette(s) and fluffy couscous is what makes a couscous dish work. Boulette is French for balls, which in this context mean meat balls. But if you think Italian meatballs, again, you are missing the point. My family makes boulette by frying the meatballs, and then topping them with slices of potato, obviously they are thank god all very healthy! However, being that I care for my heart and arteries, and they work far better when not stuffed with cholesterol, I go with lean meat and braise them in a pan of tomato sauce and wine. The meat sauce is a hit on the table often, though not true to the Couscous heritage. But the main ingredient to meatball heaven (other than the meat), is the Quatre Epices! WAIT! If you are wondering what the heck is going on – yeah that is the last bit of French, I hope – . Truly, there are few things that totally metamorphosize a dish like FRESH Four Spices! What an explosion of flavor that is tempered by the sweet flavor of cinnamon. There are those who use Four Spices that is based on Ginger – but that is not what we use! The Four Spices we use is based on: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, and Black Pepper, though the black pepper is not in equal proportions as the other three spices, but that is fine with me.
Meatballs Recipe:
2 pound of sliced onions
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp of sea salt
1 pound of finely diced onions
1 pound of finely diced zucchini
4 tbsp of Four Spices
3 pounds of meat
3 slices of thick bread soaked in rice milk
5 cans of 10oz tomato sauce (or 2 large cans of tomatoes)
Heat the wide and deep pan with olive oil, once the oil starts to shimmer, add the sliced onions and sprinkle them with salt (to help them release their water), and then sauté them until they brown nicely. In the mean time mix the rest of the ingredients (except for the tomato sauce) until the meat moves well in your hands but can keep its form. I find that the meat we order is rarely the same in terms of consistency. So at times it is really thick, while other times it moves far better. I can only guess it depends on how much fat, versus God knows what else, makes the meat more solid or more fluid. This time, we added rice milk to the mixture to make it more fluid, as after the mixture was made, it was far too thick. Roll the meat into balls that have a rough diameter of one and half inches to two inches. Once the onions are browned, add the tomato sauce to the pan, along with some basil, and pepper. Cook the sauce until it starts to reduce slightly. Then drop in the rolled meatballs and simmer them for 1 hour.
Bouillon Au Poulet (Chicken soup) Recipe:
1 chicken cut up
Cubed Carrots
Cubed Onions
Cubed Parsnip
Cubed Turnip
Cubed Sweet Potato
Cubed Potato
Cubed Zucchini
Parsley
Tons of Garlic
Saffron
Bay leafs
This all depends on the size of your pot, and I always overdo the amount that I cook, which is fine with me, but too much leftovers, becomes a hassle! So, keep the amount to a single large pot with a double boiler to cook the Couscous. This part is important, the only way you will get the correct texture and flavor in your couscous, is to boil it over the Bouillon. First drop the chicken into the pot and start browning the meat. Next throw in the hard vegetables and let them get some of the chicken fat. Once some of the chicken fat is rendered, mix the vegetables around and then remove the chicken for a bit. Place the rest of the softer vegetables in, and then place the chicken and spices on top. We do this to allow you access to the chicken for later on, when it is removed for making the Makoud. Finally fill the pot till the top with water and you are good to go. Boil the soup for an hour or two. Be careful to not overcook the sweet potato or zucchini. I normally pull them after an hour (or a bit less), and let them cool. At that same time (about an hour in), I pull the chicken meat off and then return the carcass back to the soup to help it thicken the soup more. After the soup is fully cooked, we let the soup cool and throw it into the fridge for the next day. I find the soup tastes much better after a few hours of chill on it. Normally, I cook this Thursday night for Friday night dinner – the classic Tunisian meal for Friday Night. The next day I will reheat the soup, and at that time I drop on the double boiler, wet the holes so that the couscous sticks to the pot, and then I pour in two boxes of dry couscous. Now, on an aside, the folks who make couscous from scratch need to be praised, but I have no time to do that. There is a GREAT video on how to make couscous from scratch. I guess it is a touchy issue to the real Tunisian cooks, much like dry vs. fresh pasta is to a true Italian cook. Now, once the double boiler it hot and MAKE SURE that there is a GOOD INCH at least between the boiling liquid and the bottom of the double boiler. Remember, we want steamed couscous and NOT boiled couscous. Another very important tip is that once you have poured in either the fresh or dry couscous in the double boiler make sure to create three holes in the couscous layer. By doing this you will have three circles in the couscous layer and should be able to see the double boilers holes. By making these holes into the couscous layer, you allow the soup steam to rise from out of the bottom pot and circulate inside the upper boiler. Also, start the process by ladling a few ladles of broth from the bottom into the double boiler. This will allow the top layer of couscous to not get dry off the bat.
Makoud Recipe:
This dish has been described by Ashkenazim as Potato Kugel! AHAHHH! What a shanda! No way my friends, Makoud is NOT potato kugel. It is more of a chicken potato Soufflé. Like any good potato casserole, you MUST preheat the pan with the oil, so that the potatoes and mixture get crispy underneath and on top (from the oven heat). Further, do NOT overcook the makoud! In the beginning, I was like – what we do not need all of those eggs! Wow was I wrong. The eggs of course make it a soufflé instead of a kugel!
Canola Oil
Potatoes (from the chicken soup) – just add more to the soup for the second hour
Chicken from the soup, pulled and cubed
2 eggs per pound of chicken
Salt
White or Black Pepper
Cumin`
Basil
Place the oil in the casserole dish and preheat for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. In the mean time mash the rest of the ingredients together, and place into preheated dish and then cook for 40 minutes or until crispy on top. This is simple as can be, the most difficult part is stripping down the chicken when it is still boiling hot!
That makes up the Couscous menu. There are two side dishes of sliced carrots (classic middle-eastern carrot salad) BUT without Cilantro (Cilantro is the work of the devil!), along with Marmouma (a pepper and tomato salad).
To pair with all of this lovely food, we chose a set of wines, as I wanted to taste a few of them and well, it was time to drink some of them already. So enjoy the recipes and the wine notes follow below (in the order they were drunk):
2007 Hagafen Lodi Roussanne (15% of Marsanne) – Score: B+
This was not a winner on the table, but I kind of liked it. It is deceptive in its nose and mouth. Initially, you think it is bone dry from the nose. Then you taste it and you think it is actually sweet, to only concentrate a bit more and realize that this wine is as dry as a Sancerre, but ripe with fresh fruit flavors, quite a ride. The nose on this golden straw colored wine is popping with kiwi, melon, lemon, and dry green grass. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is ripe with melon, kiwi, grapefruit, and lemon. The mid palate quickly flows from the mouth in an almost shocking manner. The fruit just ends and then there is an onslaught of bone dry green tea, flowers, and bright acidity. The finish is long with summer fruit, slight bitterness, and toasty flavors. The fruit attacks to start and is then annihilated by the bitterness and green flavors that come bright into the finish. I think the finish is what turned off the crowd. I can see this work with sweeter flavored foods, with something like maple glazed salmon, or veal. Interesting wine indeed that exhibits characteristics that are not commonly seen in the other kosher white wines. The closest that I have tasted recently, that compares to the Roussanne is this Chilean Chardonnay. It may not as good as the Roussanne; but has many commonalities, the most striking one is its green dryness.
2004 Four Gates Chardonnay - Score: A
Well, after tasting that bone dry wine, any Kosher California Chardonnay will taste sweet! Still, the 2004 vintage has a bit more residual vintage than do the 2005 or 2007 vintages. This wine has not really changed much since our last tasting. The oak is ever present, and the sweet tooth is receding, which gives rise to the acidity and the fresh fruit flavors that still abound. Thank goodness I have a few more leftover. I want to taste these soon side by side my 2005 and 2007 vintages that will be a real kick!
N.V. Four Gates Pinot Noir – Score: A-
This wine is still holding to our previous tastings, with the tannins receding further, which is allowing the dark cherry fruit to come through, while showing a bit more wood as well.
2006 Four Gates Cabernet Franc – Score: A-
What a treat, we have recently had this wine a few times, and the latest tasting is still true (which after a few weeks is almost obvious with this winery). Of course we are not complaining. Many thanks to Benyamin for bringing this wine to the dinner.
2005 Herzog Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Zinfandel/Syrah – Score: B – B+
What can I say; this is normally a wine that we love! This vintage or bottle was not a winner. Almost no one took more than a drop. The wine was overly Zinny – tasting of rose and blackberry intertwined. It may sound cool, but not great. The wine was left open in the fridge for a couple of days and the Zin flavors (31%) finally gave way to the dominantly measured Cabernet (66%) and Syrah (3%). At that point the American Oak and full body of the Cabernet were tempered by time and vanilla. Still, the wine was way off balance and overall off putting. I would recommend decanting this for a few hours in advance to give a chance for all the flavors to come out and play.
Jerk BBQ Chicken, Beef Bourguignon Leftovers, and Recanati Cabernet Franc Reserve
This past week saw us enjoying a lovely Jerk BBQ chicken and leftovers of Beef Bourguignon that we had a few weeks ago. The chicken had a lovely BBQ aromatic, that is accentuated by the jerk rub. The jerk rub was made of a simple mixture of Garlic, Cumin, Brown Sugar, Black Pepper, and some vinegar. The chicken was moist and extremely tasty to boot. We paired this with a some nice Quinoa and Long grain Rice for the left over Beef Bourguignon, and we had a very enjoyable, and easy to make Shabbos dinner.
To pair with these foods, I chose a lovely wine that I have been high on, but whose older brother I love even more. I have spoken a few times now about Cabernet Franc, and my love for it. I also love the work that Lewis Pasco did on the Cabernet Franc line at the Recanati Winery, before he left, a couple of years ago. I chose to drink the 2004 vintage of the Recanati Cabernet Franc, but I have posted before about my wonderful visit to the Recanati Winery, and the barrel tasting of the 2006 Recanati Cabernet Franc. Anyway, as usual Daniel Rogov was dead on with his recommendation to drink this up in 2009. The 2004 vintage is at its true peak and ready to drink. The tannins have mellowed and are now mouth coating, and give ample structure to this full bodied wine. The fruit is still very present and mingling nicely with the tannins, oak, and floral characteristics.
The wine notes follow below:
2004 Recanati Cabernet Franc – Score: B+
This wine is filling out and is now at its peak. Gone is most of the green flavors and what is left is a lovely red and black fruited mouth coating wine that still exhibits the classical Franc green and floral flavors, but balances them with a canopy of oak and bright fruit flavors. The nose on this ruby to garnet colored wine is really hot initially out of the bottle. However, that blows off pretty quickly. Once the heat is gone, the wines exhibits notes of cranberry, raspberry, plum, oak, and mint. The mouth on this full bodied wine is mouth coating with almost perfectly integrated tannins. It is melded with spicy oak, fresh and ripe cranberry and black plums. The mid palate flows is balanced with nice tannins and just enough acidity. The finish is long and spicy with eucalyptus and fresh fruit. Quite a nice wine that is truly at its peak and ready to drink.
