Cheers To You

Brynn writes:

Since having my son four months ago I’ve made a point of not letting the little guy slow me down. That doesn’t mean I haven’t spent time at home cuddling, playing and enjoying these early months where he thinks his mom and dad are the coolest people around (I know this won’t last forever), but when the chance arises to get out of the house for something fun, I typically won’t turn down the invitation.

That was the case Labor Day weekend. My best friend Michelle flew all the way from Maui to meet the little guy, and of course hang out with her bestie of 16  years. Not wanting to deal with the Seattle craziness, we opted to stay in Kitsap. Instead of hanging around our house all weekend I suggested we head to Bainbridge Island to take advantage of the winemaker open houses and try some wine.

Since Daddy worked Saturday, there was no leaving the baby at home. So we packed up the little guy and hit the dusty trail. We had so much fun we returned Sunday, this time with Daddy in tow. The baby handled his first wine tasting like a pro, hardly making any fuss, and the wines we tried were superb. (As you can see below, he enjoyed his time at Eleven Winery Saturday).

I know we just devoted several weeks of our “What we’re drinking” posts to the Bainbridge wineries, but there were some new releases this weekend that were too good not to mention.

They are, in no particular order:

Rolling Bay Winery’s 2011 Fusion. This wine is a blend of 75 percent chardonnay, 25 percent pinot gris. Winemaker Alphonse de Klerk sources all of the grapes for his wines from Snipes Mountain in Eastern Washington. This white blend is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, which allows the mingling of citrus and tart fruit flavors of the chardonnay and pinot gris to stand out. The winery showcased its Fusion white wine blend in 2007 and de Klerk has made it ever since, thanks to its popularity among his winery’s followers. It was a great wine to start our tasting with Saturday, and paired nicely with the mini cubes of white aged cheddar we sampled.

The Fusion is a great choice to sip in the sun while sitting at one of the tables de Klerk has positioned in the gardens surrounding the winery’s cozy tasting room. We loved the setting — especially the peekaboo views of Murden Cove, and the foliage. Apparently so does Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, which recently named Rolling Bay’s tasting room its “Best Essence of Puget Sound.”

Eleven Winery had a couple of wines that stuck with us after we left. While we enjoyed everything we tasted, we especially liked the 2011 La Primavera, a rosé, and the 2011 Angelica, a white port made from pinot grigio.

The Primavera was wonderful — made just the way I like it: dry. Winemaker Matt Albee blends all of the red grapes he sources for his other wines to make this delightfully light rosé. The Angelica port was a great surprise too. It’s not everyday you see a white port; most well-known ports are made from red grapes, but there is such thing as white port wine. This wine offered a delicate balance between the citrus flavors of the pinot grigio grapes and sweetness.

Eagle Harbor Wine Company’s 2009 Viognier. Winemaker Hugh Remash doesn’t offer this wine as a part of his five wines available for tasting, but we lucked out Sunday. Remash described the wine to us, saying he doesn’t filter or fine the wine, so it appears cloudy because of the sediment that stays in the bottle. This can be unappealing to some, which is one reason why Remash doesn’t taste people on it. As Michelle debated whether she wanted to buy a wine she hadn’t tried, Remash went into the back and brought out a bottle of his precious viognier. Saying he planned to open some for dinner guests that night anyway, Remash poured us a sip.

Oh my what a treat. This was hands down my favorite white wine we tried at his winery Sunday — Remash’s Goldfinch sits high on my list of favorite wines, so this is an impressive feat. The viognier grapes come from Remash’s block at Dwelly Vineyard in Walla Walla. While Remash warned the wine might be cloudy, it poured nicely. Floral and tropical notes filled our noses and then our mouths. The full mouthfeel of the wine was exactly what I love about oaked white wines, but by no means does oak overpower this wine — it adds weight, but doesn’t detract from the delicate characteristics of the viognier grape.

Amelia Wynn Winery’s 2011 Riesling is the wine I ended with Sunday while at the Island Vintners tasting room in Winslow. Since we got a late start on the day, 5 p.m. came upon us fast — that’s when the wineries close their doors to tasters. So we headed to the tasting room, which was open later. We ran through the list of Amelia Wynn winemaker Paul Bianchi’s white wines, including his chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and Riesling. Bianchi added all of these this year after seeing the high demand for white wines from visitors to the tasting room.

The 2011 Riesling was just released. It’s a refreshing wine, and a perfect match for some of the warmer afternoons we’ve been having recently. The color is a pale, barely visible yellow, and the slight sweetness of the grape is met with the balance of tart citrus flavors, leaving your mouth feeling refreshed sip after sip.

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Washington Wine Month technically ended when the clock struck twelve on March 31, but because there are so many great Washington wines out there we’re sticking with the local theme for this week’s wine pairing.

Normally we would recommend Chianti for this pairing; instead we’re going to recommend a Washington Sangiovese. But don’t let the names confuse you, Chianti is predominately made from the Sangiovese grape which is grown in the Chianti region of Italy. The region is formally recognized by the Denominazione di origine controllata — the second highest level of Italian wine appellations.

The main ingredient in Ann Vogel’s three recipes is balsamic vinegar — also a delectable Tuscan treat — and that is why we’re sticking with this Italian grape variety.

Sangiovese grapes have relatively thin skins, which means the wine features more of the fruit flavors than the tannins. As such Sangiovese is a fruity wine — notes of strawberry, blueberry and plum are noticeable — but its naturally high amounts of acidity lend a nice balance to produce a medium-bodied wine that can range from firm and elegant to somewhat of a powerhouse with a bitter finish, depending on how the wine is made.

The climate in Eastern Washington supports the Sangiovese grape, which means it’s a wine that should be easy to find in the store.

If you’re looking to support local wineries, Bainbridge Island’s Amelia Wynn Winery offers a Sangiovese, sourced from Eastern Washington vineyards. The winery’s 2008 Sangiovese was awarded a gold medal at the 2011 Seattle Wine Awards. Winemaker Paul Bianchi purchases his grapes from Kiona Vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA near Yakima.

Amelia Wynn’s wines can be purchased at the Island Vintners Tasting Room in Winslow, online or at Pane D’Amore in Lynwood Center on the island. Price is $25.

If you can’t make it to Bainbridge to purchase a Sangiovese for these dishes, we have some other suggestions. They include Arbor Crest Wine Cellars’ Sangiovese from Washington’s Wahluke Slope Vineyard ($22); Maryhill Winery’s award winning Sangiovese ($22); or San Juan Vineyards’ Sangiovese ($23).

If you’d like a wine to pair with the strawberry balsamic recipe, consider a rose of Sangiovese — which is exactly what it sounds like, a rose wine made from the Sangiovese grape.

Waterbrook Wines has a rose of Sangiovese with hints of strawberry and watermelon ($12-14) and so does Barnard Griffin ($12).

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A memorable Christmas brunch can only be served with bubbly! It’s celebratory, it’s designed to make you grin and we’ll be honest, what other wine can you sip with breakfast that is acceptable?

That’s why for Ann Vogel’s Italian Baked Egg Casserole recipe bubbly is our answer for the perfect wine pairing.

The vegetables included in this recipe have us yearning for a wine with some body to it, which is why we recommend a Rosé or a sparkling Shiraz from Australia.

Roederer Estate Brut Rosé NV ($26) is located in Mendocino and owned by Champagne producer Louis Roederer of Cristal fame. This winery is located in northern California’s cool Anderson Valley.

Its tiny bubbles, biscuit aromas and strawberry-flavored Rosé is a real charmer.

If you’d prefer the sparkling Shiraz from Australia, we recommend Shingleback’s “Black Bubbles” Sparkling Shiraz from McLaren Vale. It’s a blend of several vintages, like most non-vintage bubblies.

This is a darkly colored, deep purple Shiraz. Blackberry and blueberry flavors are lush and sweet and are balanced by the acidity.

For the Spiced Praline French Toast Breakfast Casserole recipe, all that sweetness demands some acidity.

We’ve come to the conclusion the best wine for this dish is a Mimosa. A nice dry Cava from Spain for around $8 and a freshly squeezed juicy orange or tangelo will set this one off nicely.

Or you could bring this celebration to another level by trying this recipe for Morning Glory Mimosa, made with pineapple-flavored vodka. The combination of citrus, bubbles and exotic pineapple have enough acidity and sweetness to cozy up to those praline French toasts.

• 1 bottle of sparkling wine
• 1 carton of orange juice
• Pineapple vodka

Preparation:

Pour 2 ounces of chilled sparkling wine into a Champagne flute and allow bubbles to settle. Pour 2 ounces of orange juice into flute, stir gently. Top with half a shot of pineapple vodka, stir gently.

Merry Christmas!

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Brynn and Mary write:

Last week’s brief bit of sunshine was a good reminder for all of us that, yes, it is technically spring. And with spring comes one of our favorite ways to prepare food: On the grill.

Not only do we like grilling because of the flavor it adds, but also because when you’re done enjoying your meal there’s minimal clean up required.

As Ann Vogel points out in her column, we in the Pacific Northwest have the luxury of choosing from land or sea what we want to throw on our grill. The variations of these dishes give the appearance of needing different wines, but we think we’ve got one varietal that can match them all.

When we hear shellfish, we gravitate to a lighter wine. However the Memorial Day Shellfish Boil, with its Old Bay seasoning, potatoes, kielbasa sausage, corn, crab and shrimp, calls for a wine that can stand up to the mélange of ingredients.

It is for this reason we recommend a Rosé. Don’t freak out, we’re not asking you to drink a White Zinfandel like your grandma. We’re talking about a real Rosé — one that embodies the subtle flavors of the red wine it could have been.

For those unfamiliar with Rosés (or should we say, unfamiliar with well-made Rosés?) it’s a pink wine that varies in color from light to ruby. The color depends on the grape and how long the juice is allowed to mingle with the skins — the longer they sit together in the fermentation vat, the darker the color.

The wine varies in style from bone dry to syrupy sweet, so look to the alcohol content for direction. (Remember: the higher the percentage, the dryer the wine.)

Rosés are fruitier upfront — think strawberry, cherry, raspberry and watermelon — with negligible tannins. They are food-friendly wines, which is why we suggest them as the perfect pairing for Vogel’s seafood medley. If you’re grilling for a large party and including a mix of seafood, chicken and beef, Rosé is the wine to chill and serve.

A few of our favorites include:

• Barnard Griffin 2010 Reserve Rosé of Sangiovese: Dry, but with gorgeous watermelon fruit flavors and full-bodied.
• Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois Rosé: Another dry full-bodied Rosé, fruit-laden with raspberries, strawberries and a silky finish.

These wines are around $12.

Rosé should be served chilled — as in very, very chilled — and makes a nice compromise for those trying to decide between white or red.

If you’re looking to stick strictly in the shellfish department and have visions of enjoying grilled oysters with Vogel’s Cilantro-Lime dipping sauce, we’d recommend a white Rioja or white Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. These wines will bring an acidity and crispness to the dish that will go well with the dipping sauce.

We recommend the Marques de Caceres Rioja Blanco, which retails for about $10 or less.

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