Grilled New York Strip Steak Garlic Foam and Garlic Sauteed Beets Paired with 2008 RdV Vineyards Virginia Rendezvous

This pairing is a celebration of grilling season.  Well, to be quite honest, I tend to grill all year long, but at the moment, we are quickly approaching Memorial Day in the U.S. which marks the unofficial beginning of summer and a traditional grilling weekend.  I tend to side with the Aussies, who I have learned through some good Aussie friends, take their grilling very seriously.  It is not just a cliche.  As the stories have unfolded over a couple of drinks milling about the grill, Aussies approach grilling with the same dedication as rugby - it is a full contact sport.

One evening in Abu Dhabi, I was at the home of my good Aussie friend Steve as he was preparing kangaroo loin on the grill.  Don’t ask how he was able to get kangaroo in the U.A.E., that is another story.  As Steve was carefully grilling the kangaroo, I asked about the barbecue culture in Australia and heard the stories that support the commonly held belief that Aussies love to barbecue.  One story that supported the “full contact” version of Aussie grilling is the favored pass time of standing around the hosts grill and critiquing his work.  It sounded much like the trash talking that commonly occurs on playing field.

As you honor our U.S. grilling tradition this weekend, here is a tasty, garlicky approach to making your steak something special.  I would only add that maybe some potato salad would be a nice addition.

First we will start with the steak and my full proof method for perfectly medium rare steak with nice surface texture.  Start with a trip to a good butcher and have your steaks cut between 1 and 1/2 inches thick.  Avoid freezing - fresh is always more flavorful.

Before grilling, leave the steaks at room temperature for one hour.  If you are using a gas grill, bring it up to full temperature.  High heat is important to getting a good seer.  Set your timer for two minutes and put the steaks on the grill.  If you are using charcoal, place the steaks just off center of the heat.  When the timer chimes, take a sip of wine, and make your way back to the grill...don’t be in a rush.  Rotate the meat 90 degrees, take another sip of wine and start the timer.  Repeat the process flipping the meat on the next turn, and a final 90 rotation to get the hallmark grill lines.  In total, the grill time should be about 10 minutes.  To test for medium rare, pinch your thumb and forefinger together and feel the pad on your palm just below the thumb, this is what a medium rare steak should feel like.

This pairing featured the much anticipated RdV Vineyards 2008 Virginia Rendezvous.  I had not previously tasted the Rendezvous, but it came highly recommended not only from friends, but from neighboring wineries.  We were not disappointed.  The wine is exceptionally well balanced - a complete wine with a strong French influence.  Rendezvous is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot.  The nose is slightly soft but foretells the wonderful subtlety of the wine.  With a firm foundation of earthy flavors and well rounded tannins, the wine presents pleasing flavors of dark berries, black cherries, coffee and a hint of leather.  A further hint of oak brought this wine back to its roots as a fine Bordeaux style blend.  This full rich wine was begging for a bite of the steak.

The pairing was heavenly.  With perfectly matched body, the flavors of the wine were free to play joyfully with the perfectly grilled steak and mild garlic presented in the garlic foam and garlic sautéed beets.  Other reviews of this wine have noted the strength of the tannins.  When paired with the rich steak, this was not a problem for our dinner party as the tannins brought a healthy structure that worked well in combination.  However, if you plan to simply sip and enjoy this wonderful wine, I would recommend decanting for an hour or so to let it open up.  For our purposes, we decanted, but only for about 30 minutes - more than sufficient for our meal.

Recipe

Garlic Foam

Ingredients

• 5 cloves roasted garlic halved
• 1 pint heavy cream
• 4 ounces cream cheese

Preparation

1. Simmer in sauce pan for 15 minutes.
2. Strain, allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pour into ISI foamer and discharge. If you don’t have a culinary foamer, add a tablespoon of Lecithin to the simmer and when cooled, create the foam with an immersion blender.

The beats were prepared in sauté pan with garlic and butter.  Peel and slice the beats, heat the butter and minced garlic, and sauté until tender.

Goan Fish Curry Paired with 2009 Delaplane Cellars LoCo Virginia Viognier and 2010 Swedenburg Estate Vineyard Virginia Riesling.

I have a long love affair with Indian food.  The amazing aromas, complex flavors, enticing textures, and beautiful colors make me all tingly inside - not unlike my first kiss with Joyce Klunder just 39 years ago.  And even better, Indian food is not difficult to prepare – except for the breads.

To date, I have conquered dhal pouri (see Curried Chicken and Potato Roti Paired with Chenin Blanc) and barra (see Trinidad Doubles, Cucumber Chutney, Trinidad Pepper Sauce Paired with 2010 Cupcake Vineyards Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc) but have not yet perfected naan.  My attempt at naan for this pairing was an admirable effort, but I am not yet satisfied.  I am fairly confident in the recipe, but have not perfected the baking part.

When I posted to Facebook about my pending attempt at this meal, good friend John Downey, mentioned that his lovely wife Ji had nailed the preparation by grilling the naan.  Once I get the grilling instructions from Ji, I will have a great excuse to prepare another Indian feast, and report back with my results. 

My next attempt at naan may be another shot at Goan fish curry.  Although our meal was excellent, and our dinner party was all smiles, the dish did not quite meet the memory of my favored experience of this dish.  A couple years back, I spent about a period working as a consultant in Abu Dhabi.  During my time there, we frequented a restaurant that in my opinion prepared the best Goan Curry…period.  Now, I am chasing.

In comparison, the recipe you will find here featured more spice and less sweetness than my memory of the wonderful Abu Dhabi Goan fish curry.  My next attempt will back off just slightly on the heat and substitute coconut milk for the water in the gravy.

As for the wine pairing, I decided to experiment with two distinct approaches to balancing the moderate heat of the curry.  I chose a Virginia Riesling intending to balance the piquance with sweetness, and a Virginia Viognier as a fruit forward approach to provide balance.  We were rewarded with two excellent pairings, but the dinner crowd nodded in agreement that the Riesling made the better pairing.

Our first wine was a 2009 Delaplane Cellars LoCo Virginia Viognier featuring aromas and flavors of apricot, peach and honeysuckle with a full rich mouth feel one would expect from a full bodied Chardonnay.  My pairing instincts were good – the fruit of the Viognier did a splendid job of balancing the heat of the curry.  The full body also did a fine job of standing up to the richness of the dish.  The only downfall of this pairing was the attenuation of the fruit flavors which faded quickly when faced with the boldness of the curry.  I would guess this wine will do much better with respect to allowing the fruit flavors to linger with the recipe modifications I mentioned earlier.

The second wine on our pairing list was the 2010 Swedenburg Estate Vineyard Virginia Riesling.  The principal characteristics of this wine that made for a successful pairing include prominent green apple flavors accompanied by a pleasant floral aroma, mild sweetness and well balanced acidity.  Unlike the Viognier, the sweetness and strong acidity led to a longer finish that lingered through each bite of the curry.  Without the sudden vanishing of flavor, we reached our unanimous agreement that the Riesling was the preferred pairing.

As a side note, in absence of the pairing, I preferred the Viognier.  The 2009 Delaplane Cellars LoCo Virginia Viognier is a wonderfully complex and rich wine featuring beautiful fruit flavors and well balanced acidity.  For my drier taste preference, the 2010 Swedenburg Estate Vineyard Virginia Riesling is too sweet – but exactly the reason it worked so well with the Goan fish curry.

Recipes

Goan Fish Curry

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fish cleaned and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Any firm white fish or tuna will work well.  I used Basa – an inexpensive Asian catfish.
• Pulp from two tamarind pods
• 2 medium onions diced
• 2 medium tomatoes diced
• 8 dried red chilies with stems removed
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh finely grated ginger
• 1 ½ cups grated coconut
• 2 tablespoons coriander powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon hot red chili powder
• 2 jalapeno peppers diced
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 2 cups water
• Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Put the onion, tomato, coconut, ginger, garlic, jalapenos, dry red chillies, all the spices, tamarind pulp, and water into your food blender and blend until smooth.
2. Heat a large skillet on a medium heat, add ghee.
3. Add the blended mixture and heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning (salt), reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes.
5. Add the fish and continue to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Serve over basmati rice.

Naan

Ingredients

• 1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons ghee
• 3 tablespoons yoghurt

Preparation

1. Add the dry yeast and sugar to the warm water and stir till the yeast is dissolved. Set aside until the mixture begins to froth.
2. Add flour, salt, yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons of ghee and all the yogurt to a mixing bowl and knead with a dough hook (or you can do it manually).
3. Cover and allow to rest for about 90 minutes or until the dough doubles in volume.
4. Punch the dough down and knead again for 10 minutes.
5. Equally divide the dough and form 8 round balls.
6. Lightly flour a rolling surface  and roll out to 7 inch circles.
7. Preheat your oven 400 F.
8. Grease a sheet pan with the remaining ghee and cook the naan (three at a time) until the Naan begins to puff out and get lightly brown. Flip the Naan and repeat.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Virginia Wine Blogs

Now that I am in the midst of my second food and wine pairing book - devoted exclusively to Virginia Wines - I am doing my level best to drink (lots) and get smart about Virginia wines.  As part of my research, I put together a list of all the blogs devoted to Virginia wines.

While not all of the blogs address Virginia wines exclusively, they all feature Virginia wines prominently.  As I visited each of the blogs I found a wide diversity in focus, but nearly all are well written and informative.  The list includes blogs that look at Virginia wine casually, reviews of visits to Virginia wineries and vineyards, behind the scenes looks at the wine industry, and in depth wine analysis.  In summary, this list includes something for just about everyone.

For the bloggers out there, if I have missed your contribution, I apologize.  Send me a note or a comment, and I will be happy to include you as well.  What did I miss?  As a point of commentary, the length and breadth of this list speaks directly to the bourgeoning success of Virginia wine.  Look back in time just 5 years, and this list would be much shorter.

There are a number of other informative resources devoted to Virginia wine.  I will post a (hopefully) comprehensive list of these as well.  If you have a recommendation for the list of Virginia wine resources, please let me know.

Anything Wine:  http://anythingwine.wordpress.com/

Beltway Bacchus:  http://beltwaybacchus.blogspot.com/

Cellar Blog:  http://www.cellarblog.org/

Chalottesville UnCorked:  http://cvilleuncorked.com/

Dave McIntyre’s Wine Vine:  http://dmwineline.typepad.com/wineline/

Drink What You Like:  http://drinkwhatyoulike.wordpress.com/

East Coast Wineries:  http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/

Hagarty on Wine:  http://www.hagarty-on-wine.com/OnWineBlog/

Keswick Vineyards:  http://keswickvineyard.wordpress.com/

Kristy Wine Vine:  http://kristywinevine.blogspot.com/

Love VA Wine:  http://www.lovevawine.com/blog.html/

My Vine Spot:  http://vinespot.blogspot.com/

Notaviva Vineyards Blog:  http://www.notavivavineyards.com/weblog/

Richard Leahy’s Wine Report:  http://www.richardleahy.com/

Sébastien Marquet:  http://www.sebastienmarquet.com/

Swirl, Sip, Snark:  http://swirlsipsnark.com/

The Burg Chronicles:  http://burgchronicles.blogspot.com/

The Other 46:  http://theother46.com/

Uncork Virginia:  http://uncorkvirginia.blogspot.com/

Virginia Pour House:  http://virginiapourhouse.com/

Virginia Wine Dogs:  http://vawinedogs.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Events:  http://www.virginiawineevents.com/

Virginia Wine Girl:  http://virginiawinegirl.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Guide Online:  http://vwg-online.com/

Virginia Wine In My Pocket:  http://vawineinmypocket.com/

Virginia Wine Know:  http://virginiawineknow.wordpress.com/

Virginia Wine Lover E-Newsletter:  http://www.vawinelover.com

Virginia Wine Notebook:  http://vawinenb.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Pointer:  http://vawinepointer.blogspot.com/

Virginia Wine Time:  http://www.virginiawinetime.com/

Virginia Wine TV:  http://www.virginiawinetv.com/

Wannabe Wino Wine Blog:  http://wannabewino.com/

Wine About Virginia:  http://wineaboutvirginia.blogspot.com/

Wine Compass:  http://winecompass.blogspot.com/

Wine Cruisers:  http://www.winecruisers.com/

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Grilled Mole Marinated Steak Paired with 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve Virginia Barbera

When developing a recipe or wine pairing, much of the fun for me is found in discovering an inspiration for the meal.  In other words, finding a theme, purpose or other cohesive thought for the meal.  In this case, the motivation comes from the soon arriving Cinco de Mayo.

According to Wikipedia, “Cinco de Mayo is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla.  The date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride, and to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. In the state of Puebla, the date is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Contrary to widespread popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico—which is actually celebrated on September 16.”

Imagine my shock when I read this and found that it was not a celebration concocted by Corona and Jose Cuervo!  Regardless of origin, Cinco de Mayo was the inspiration for this meal and pairing.  Chef Sue and I started throwing around ideas which were quite opposed.  I focused on coastal foods dominated by a variety of seafood, while Chef Sue went directly to the interior.  In the end, Chef Sue exerted her Alpha dominance and I conceded knowing that a return to Mexican inspired seafood will not be far away.

Chef Sue’s creation featured a mole sauce as the heart of the meal.  I love mole and was pleased with her decision.  On top of that, she executed the mole perfectly.  In my mind, preparing an exceptional mole is all about balancing the heat from the chile with the chocolate.  If either is out of balance, I would judge it as inferior.  Chef Sue’s recipe strikes the perfect balance.

To accompany the mole marinated grilled steak, we prepared grilled corn basted with a spicy cream sauce, asparagus grilled in a pouch with lemon and olive oil, and new potatoes boiled then tossed in olive oil and simply seasoned with salt and pepper.  In combination, this entire meal is a very simple preparation featuring the natural flavors of fresh vegetables with Mexican inspired sauces bringing focus to our culinary celebration.

The pairing for this meal was a bit of a challenge.  With grilled steak and mole at center stage, selecting a full bodied red was the easy part.  My concern came when considering the piquance of the mole.  I decided to go with a fruit forward approach and hopes of the fruit flavors balancing the heat while echoing the chocolate component of the mole.

My wine selection was the 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve Virginia Barbera.  In general, Barbera is an exceptionally food friendly wine with good acidity, low tannins, and flavors of raspberry, blackberry, cherry and vanilla notes depending on fruit yield and ripeness, oak treatment, and climate.

We found the 2010 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve Virginia Barbera an excellent example of a classic Barbera.  It was wonderful.  It was beyond wonderful - I was simply gushing over this wine.  Here are the tasting notes from the winemaker:

“A full bodied red wine with intense raspberry, cherry and anise aromas and flavors. an overlay of vanilla precedes a direct and well rounded finish.  This wine is well structured and has good aging potential.”

I would like to say more, but these notes directly reflect our experience.  The intense fruit flavors were well balanced and a true joy.  Although the winemaker suggests this wine has good aging potential, it is drinking exceptionally well now.  Go ahead and try to keep it in your cellar for a while - I dare you!

I was exceptionally pleased with the pairing...the balance was perfect.  However, as we discussed the pairing, Chef Sue commented that the wonderful fruit flavors in the wine could have stood up to a more aggressive approach to the mole.  In other words, Chef Sue thought the wine would have complemented the mole with even more piquance and deep chocolate flavor.  I can’t disagree, but I was nothing but smiles with each sip and morsel.

Recipes

Mole

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper
• 1 red pepper
• 1 ½ medium onions
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1/4 cup sofrito (Latino soup base)
• 1 teaspoon hot chili powder
• 4 ancho chile peppers

Preparation

1. Halve the peppers and clear seeds.
2. Peel and halve the onions.
3. Halve the tomatoes.
4. Place all vegetables on a sheet pan and place under the broiler until skin on the peppers begin to char.  Let the peppers cool and peel the skin.
5. In a pot, add the chicken broth, sofrito, ancho peppers, salt and pepper to taste and 1 teaspoon hot chili pepper.  Bring to a boil.
6. When the stems of the ancho peppers loosen from boiling, remove stems.
7. Add broiled vegetables to the pot.  Continue to cook for 10 minutes on a low boil.
8. Pour ingredients of the pot into a blender and blend until smooth.  Add ¼ cup of dark chocolate chips and blend to incorporate.  Adjust seasoning.
9. Marinate steaks in mole for at least one hour (up to 4 is best).
10. Reserve a cup of the mole for your dinner guests to use at the table.

Cream Sauce for Grilling Corn

Ingredients

• ½ stick butter
• ½ package of cream cheese
• pinch of hot chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Microwave butter and cream cheese 30 seconds at a time, stir and repeat until you have a paste.  Incorporate chili power, with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Place corn on grill and baste exposed side with the sauce.
3. Flip corn and baste the other side.
4. Continue to grill until corn just begins to char.  Serve immediately.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Pan Seared Lamb Chops with Blueberry Pomegranate and Red Wine Reduction, Oven Roasted Parsnips Paired with 2007 Barboursville Vineyards Virginia Octagon

When conceiving of a wine pairing, there are two entry points; select a wine and prepare a menu complementing the wine, or start with a feature dish and select an appropriate wine.  Most of the time, my routine begins with the inspiration to prepare a dish followed by a wine selection.  This pairing is an exception.  Octagon is the signature wine produced by Barboursville Vineyards.  This exalted position is well deserved.  I sampled this wine at a tasting months before and was quite impressed.  Due to my affection for this wine, I was excited to prepare a meal that showcased the wonderful flavors in both the wine, and my yet to be conceived culinary creation.

Octagon exemplifies what the best of what Virginia wineries are striving for and more frequently achieving; a wonderful expression of terroir.  A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, one would think you were sipping a fine Bordeaux yet with a welcoming assertion of Virginia climate, exposure, altitude, care, and soil.

This full bodied red features aromas of berry, plum, and dark cherry which are echoed on the palate.  Rich, silky tannins lead to a lengthy and refined finish.  It is rich, elegant, and a real pleasure.

In conceiving this pairing, I needed a construction that first mated well with the full bodied Octagon while also complementing the berry, plum and dark cherry flavors.  To match the body, I began my thought process with lamb chops, then added the blueberry pomegranate reduction to echo the flavors of the wine.  The result was spectacular.

The key to this wildly successful pairing was selection of the lamb as the protein and adding the complementing flavors of the reduction.  In terms of principal flavors, the lamb and the reduction contributed equally and resulted in a pairing that was absolutely heavenly.

Recipes

Pan Seared Lamb Chops with Blueberry Pomegranate and Red Wine Reduction

Ingredients

• 8 lamb rib chops or one rack of lamb cut into 4 sections (8 ribs per rack)
• 2 tablespoons. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced shallot
• 1/2 cup blueberry pomegranate juice
• 1/2 of the berries from a pomegranate
• 1/4 cup full-bodied dry red wine
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter divided into small cubes
• Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Liberally season the lamb chops with salt and pepper on both sides. 
2. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat until very hot. 
3. Sear the chops until browned on both sides (about 2 minutes per side for medium rare, or 3 minutes per side for medium). 
4. Place the chops on a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Add the shallot to the same pan with remaining fat and cook, stirring constantly, until browned. 
6. Add the pomegranate juice, wine, chicken stock, vinegar, and thyme and reduce by half 
7. Reduce the heat to medium low and add butter, keeping on the heat until the butter melts. 
8. Adjust seasoning.
9. Run reduction through a fine sieve and ladle over lamb.
10.   Garnish with pomegranate berries. 

For Oven roasted parsnips and onions, peel four parsnips (or whatever quantity you need for feeding your dinner crowd) and cut into 1 inch cubes.  Add to a large mixing bowl.  Slice an onion and add to the bowl.  Chop 1/2 cup of cilantro and add to bowl.  Drizzle contents with olive oil (enough to lightly coat), season with salt and pepper, and toss.  Spread evenly over a sheet pan and place in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until parsnips are tender.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig

Barrel Tasting at Delaplane Cellars

On Saturday, 10 March, I had the pleasure of being invited to Delaplane Cellars for a barrel tasting.  The event was hosted by owner and winemaker Jim Dolphin.  The guests included a group of local wine bloggers...great idea, invite some wine writers, introduce new wines, and let us run off to say nice things.  This idea matched perfectly with my cardboard sign I use while working the intersections in DC -  “Will work for food...with a nice wine pairing...a Bordeaux blend is preferred.”  Jim came through with a grand slam on the Bordeaux blend - so I am working.

This was my first opportunity to sample wine in a barrel tasting format.  Quite honestly, I did not know what to expect.  Would the tasting foretell of wonderful things to come (but not quite ready)? How would the wine taste in comparison to bottled wine?  Along with answering these questions, I learned a great deal at this event.  My number one takeaway was that Delaplane Cellars will soon be bottling wines that not only live up to the wonderful wines that have preceded them, but are pressing forward with releases that exceed past performance.

Here are the wines we tasted:

• 2010 Delaplane (Merlot 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon 33 13%, Cabernet Franc 16 ⅔%)
• 2010 Williams Gap (Cabernet Sauvignon 31%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 27%, Petit Verdot 12%)
• 2010 Springlot (Cabernet Sauvignon 29%, Cabernet Franc 40%, Merlot 17%, Petit Verdot 14%)
• 2010 Syrah
• 2010 Tannat (with a special appearance by the 2009 Tannat for comparison)
• 2011 Petit Manseng Late Harvest

Each of the Bordeaux blends (first three) were exceptional.  However, both Chef Sue and I were in unqualified agreement that the 2010 Williams Gap was the star of the show.  If Jim had offered to accept my grossly overburdened credit card, I would have pre-ordered a case on the spot.  When Delaplane Cellars releases this wine, I encourage you to race to the winery and make your purchase.  Once the word gets out, this wine will sell quickly.

I have a couple of bottles of the 2009 Williams Gap in my cellar and am quite pleased with it.  However, the resemblance between the 2009 and 2010 Williams Gap ends at the name.  In my opinion, the 2010 is a far superior wine and a real pleasure to drink.  As I was enjoying it, my mind was already wandering to food pairing.  This wine is exceptionally food friendly with deep, silky rich flavors and well balanced acidity...a food pairing dream.

Another standout of the tasting, and quite possibly an equal to the Williams Gap (althought completely different flavor profile), was the 2010 Tannat.  I recently tasted the Delaplane Cellars 2009 Tannat and found it to be a wonderful wine.  However, with tannins still running a bit strong, I decided to let it cellar for a couple years with the promise of something spectacular.  The 2010 Tannat features more restrained tannins and is drinking well now.  Like its older brother, the 2010 will likely mature nicely over the next few years - if you can resist the temptation of a wine that is drinkable today.

In addition to tasting and learning about the upcoming wines from Delaplane Cellars, I learned a good deal from my fellow wine writers.  As we were chit-chatting and getting to know each other (and our slices of the wine pie) I found that I was in good company, but held a slightly different view of wine.  Most of the attending wine writers were honest-to-god oenophiles. Their depth and breadth of knowledge regarding Virginia wines, vintages, challenges, specific vineyards, aspect, alliances, grudges, politics, climate, etc., far exceeded my own and was quite impressive.  

In complement to their devotion, understanding, and reporting on the details of the Virginia wine industry, I focus on pairing.  While I certainly enjoy and appreciate this depth of understanding, my focus is that of finding great wines to pair with great food.  Don’t get me wrong, I love wine for its solitary beauty, but my holy grail is discovering the perfect match that sums to a combination greater than its parts.  Gratefully, my fellow writers appreciated my approach to wine as much as I appreciated their impressive knowledge.  They were each exceedingly pleasant and offered to assist in my search for the best of Virginia wines.  Stand by, I will be introducing my new friends in future posts.

Toward the end of the evening, I had the pleasure of spending a few moments talking with Betsy, Jim’s partner in crime and self proclaimed kitchen honcho (she used another term, but I have enjoyed some of her work, and will not let her get away with such self-deprication).  During our brief conversation, I mentioned to Betsy my appreciation of the seriousness they apply to their wine making - one aspect of which is reflected in an elegant and understated label.  Little did I know, but this minor compliment sparked a lengthy discussion of the difficulties associated with labeling.  I will avoid all the bloody details, but I learned a great deal of the difficulty in producing a wine label that adheres to the standards of integrity at Delaplane.

In short, all of Delaplane Cellar’s wines are named and labeled with the vineyard that produced the fruit.  This stands in stark contrast to wineries that do not make clear the source, or possibly even import fruit or juice from around the country or the world while not informing the consumer.  Delaplane cellars also labels with the percentage of each varietal used in their blends...not a common feature (particularly for those who have something to hide).  I came away with a new appreciation for the difficulty (mostly regulatory) in producing a wine label with the standard of integrity at Delaplane Cellars.  I appreciate the cost and effort, and hope the regulators will mature into a reasoned approach that allows Virginia wineries to be forthright with consumers while not imposing undue burden.

Finally, I would like to thank Jim and Betsy Dolphin (and of course Jacqui!) for a wonderful evening.  It was educational, fun, and most of all, very tasty.  Thank you.

In vino veritas, buen provecho.

Craig