A Celebration at the Winery

Yesterday we had a party for our wine club members at the winery. I wanted to share some of the photos that I took of this event. I hope that you enjoy these photos!

We featured three of our wines. With each wine we paired food. To go with our Sangiovese our caterer prepared a lovely bruschetta that was made with a tapenade that included calamata olives. Don’t these look great?

Bruschetta

Our Merlot paired wonderfully with these lovely sausage stuffed crimini mushrooms!

Sausage stuffed crimini mushrooms

To go with our Petite Sirah, the caterer prepared a wonderful lamb meatball, encrusted in panko, that was topped with a mouth warming roasted red pepper sauce and finely sliced mint.

Panko encrusted lamb meatballs topped with a red pepper sauce and fresh mint

Not only was there wine and food pairing, but our assistant vineyard manager gave a tour of not only the vineyard, but our facility as well. Here is a shot of Kevin and one of his three tour groups.

Taking a tour with Kevin Jones

While taking a look around, I spied this visitor joining the party!

An unexpected visitor

There is more to come from the winery! Crush will be starting soon, and we are anticipating a wonderful harvest full of great fruit to make some really incredible wines!

Have a tremendous Sunday, and thanks for stopping by today!

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Foreshadowing a Harvest – A WordPress Photo Challenge

Yesterday was a busy day and I was out and about gathering photos for a future blog post…And this morning I checked the WordPress Photo Challenge and discovered that the subject this week is “Foreshadow.” Here is what they are asking for:

“This challenge offers some fun opportunities to play — not only with the subject of your photo, but with light, color, and contrast to evoke foreshadow. Perhaps foreshadow is an open bottle of red wine and two wine glasses. Maybe it’s a diamond ring in small velvet box. Maybe it’s a flower bud about to burst into bloom, or the first leaf that turns color on your oak tree. What does foreshadow mean to you? Looking forward to seeing the creative ways in which you portray foreshadow in your posts.”

My topic for this challenge is veraison, which was a promised post. What is veraison? In viticulture it means the onset of ripening, or the changing of the color of grapes. And it foreshadows the upcoming harvest! Here is a photo of grapes in veraison.

Veraison

I wanted to share with you today various photos of grapes in different stages of veraison. With the assistant vineyard manager at the winery, we took a walk through the vineyards to see the various stages of veraison on the grapes. Let’s go and check out what we found!

The first area of the vineyard we visited was the area where the Zinfandel grows. We discovered that the zinfandel has almost completed the transition, and for the most part the grapes have turned. Here is a photo of one lovely bunch of Zin grapes with a few still in transition.

Zinfandel

We find a cluster that still has a mix of colors, and here is a shot of the grapes close up.

Up close to Zinfandel

Let’s take a look at some of the other grapes in the vineyard. Here are some Chardonnay grapes.

Chardonnay

It is very hard to see the change on these grapes but taking a grape and squeezing it reveals the seeds which show that these grapes are in transition. In this next photo check out the different colors that are found in the seeds.

Darkening seeds

Here are some of the other grapes in the winery’s vineyard in the various stages of veraison!

Merlot

Sauvignon Blanc

Cabernet Franc

Lovely aren’t they? And they sure do have some amazing colors during this transition!

Please check out some of the other submissions to this weeks WordPress Photo Challenge by clicking here!

Thank you for stopping by today! Stay tuned for photos of the upcoming harvest and crush of 2013! Harvest is anticipated to begin in two weeks, which is the earliest ever for the winery!

Now go out and have a splendid Saturday!

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Checking Out the Vineyard

Cabernet on the Vine

This is just a short post…Today I will be heading out into the vineyards with our Vineyard Manager Kevin to take photos of the grapes as they are today. The fields are going through veraison, which means the onset of ripening! This is an exciting time at the winery as we watch this change and see the grapes getting ready for harvest and then crush!

Stay tuned as I will be doing a post on this topic!

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Harvest is Coming Early!

This year, with the strange weather we have had, it looks like the winery will be bringing in the grapes early! I took a stroll through the vineyards the other day and thought that I would share some of the shots with you today!

The grapes on the Cabernet Sauvignon canes are developing very nicely!

Cabernet Sauvignon

The color on these grapes will shortly start to change from green to a lovely deep purple.

Closer up to the Cabernet

Here is one view of the vineyard. In the background you will see Chardonnay vines and to the upper left is Sauvignon Blanc!

A view of the vineyard

Looking around a bit, the vines on the rolling hills in this shot are Zinfandel vines.

Zinfandel along the rolling hills

Sitting just outside of the vineyard an old piece of equipment sits idle.

An old piece of equipment

Stay tuned for a post on the 2013 crush!

Thank you for stopping by today, and may you have a splendid Tuesday!

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The Sign Says… – A WordPress Photo Challenge!

Well there are only three signs I wanted to post with this WordPress photo challenge. Without further ado, here they are!

The first is a photo I took of a bumper sticker on a rear window of a car while we were in Sonora…This one is for the ladies!

For the women

The next is for those who love wine! This sign is on a T-Shirt given to me by my dear Cousin David! He knows me too well! You might want to click on the photo to isolate it, and then click on it again to get a close up!

Our wine tasting service!

We will finish this off with one more. This sign was in Yellowstone National Park! 😆

Driving conditions

Check out some of the other signs on this week’s photo challenge! You can get there by clicking here!

Have a great day! Thanks for the quick visit!

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From Grapes to Wine – A WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge

This week’s subject for the WordPress Photo Challenge is “Change.” This got me to thinking of the changes that I see every year in the process of making wine, so I thought that I would share with you the process of making wine…

In the winter the vineyard sleeps. While we get snow here is does not negatively effect the vines. There is a quiet beauty found in the sleeping vineyard.

The vineyard sleeps

When spring arrives the vines awaken. The first green makes its appearance on the vines, and this is known as “bud break.” Shortly thereafter the grape clusters appear.

After bud break the Cabernet grapes appear

Towards the end of the growing season the clusters ripen and change color.

Cabernet on the vine

Once harvested, the grapes are brought in. Here is a bin loaded with Cabernet waiting to start the crush process.

Cabernet waiting to be crushed

The grapes are dropped into an auger that will regulate the flow of grapes to the sorting table.

The process of crush begins

After being hand sorted, where bad clusters, leaves and other debris is removed, the grapes head up a conveyor to the machine that will remove the grapes from the stems.

Heading towards the destemmer

From the destemmer, the grape matter, including the seeds, go straight to a tank to begin fermentation.

Ready to start fermentation

Once in the tank fermentation begins, and while the skins of the grapes carry a yeast, it is not enough to really get fermentation going. So good quality yeast is added. The skins and seeds, along with the juice, will sit in the tanks for a week to 10 days. When fermentation hits 50% the tanks are drained and all is processed through a crush machine. 30% of the juice that will become wine comes from the skins and seeds. Here is a shot of the juice coming out of the press.

After fermenting in tanks the skins get crushed

From the crush machine, the juice is then transferred to barrels where it will sit for the next year and half to two years.

Barrels of wine

Work is done on the barrels throughout this time frame until the wine is ready for bottling. From there is goes out for sale. Who does not enjoy a glass of wine?

The finished product

I hope that you enjoyed this post of change! Please take some time to check out what others have posted in this challenge by clicking here!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope that you have a great weekend!

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Baked Garlic Prawns

As you know, I love being in the kitchen and spend quite a bit of time there. For the last two weeks we have been waiting to get our range fixed due to a gas leak. Not having a stove has forced me to get creative in the kitchen! Finding some lovely prawns at the store, and having a hankering for them, I brought them home to join me at the dinner table. I have always done prawns on the stove top, and I had to get creative with baking!

I came up with a simple recipe that takes about an hour to prepare and cook! Want to see what I did? Let’s start with a list of the ingredients!

1# large prawns
2 TBS Sauvignon Blanc (do have a glass with dinner!)
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
Dash of salt
3 twists of the black pepper grinder
1/2 cup of panko (or you can use a garlic herb, or Italian seasoned breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup of butter
Cayenne pepper
Lemon pepper
Parsley

Peel and devein the prawns. Now I gently pull the tail shell off the prawns as I do not like having to deal with shells when I am getting down to business eating! Feel free to leave them on if you like messing with them at the table.

In a mixing bowl, add the prawns, garlic, wine and salt and pepper. I let them sit for about 30 minutes before doing anything else.

Prawns mixed with wine, garlic, salt and pepper

While this is sitting take out the butter to soften.

After the half hour, in a separate bowl add the butter and the panko. Using your hands, mix this together until you get a nice crumbly mixture.

Butter mixed with panko

Turn the oven to 425 degrees. Oh, I can hear you saying, “Really? That high?” Yes, that high. Assemble the dish by putting the prawns in a small casserole baking dish.

Prawns are added to pot

Now evenly spread the butter/panko crumbles over the prawns. Then sprinkle with a bit of the cayenne and the lemon pepper.

Panko added then topped with cayenne and lemon pepper

Bake this for 15 minutes only, then remove from the oven.

Right out of the oven!

Mmmmm….Smells so good!

Serve this up and then top with some fresh parsley. Don’t forget to have a glass of the Sauvignon Blanc!

Prawns served up!

When you bite into these lovelies, they will be perfectly cooked!

Please let me know if you try this dish! If you are having a dinner party, this would be a good appetizer served in shells!

Thanks for stopping by today, and celebrate the end of the work week!

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No Bones About It!

The last time I made braised short ribs I prepared them in the crock pot and I used a stout beer. Yesterday I made this dish again, however, I changed it up and used wine instead and slow roasted them in the oven. I cannot decide which one I like better, in the oven or in the crock pot! Maybe you can try both recipes and help me decide!

Ingredients
3#’s short ribs
1 1/2 tsp. rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. marjoram
1 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 onion sliced
2 carrots cut into chunks
4 cloves smashed garlic
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups hearty red wine
1 bay leaf

Take the ribs out about an hour before cooking and rub with the rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and basil. Let these sit for the hour. When you are ready to start cooking, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Then add the olive oil to a dutch oven. Heat over medium high heat, then add the ribs and the rubbed sage. Brown the meat on all sides.

Browned short ribs

Remove from the pan and then add the onions and carrots. Cook until the onion becomes transparent. Then add the garlic and cook for about two minutes. Then slowly add in the red wine followed by the beef broth.

Broth and wine reducing

Cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Make sure to scrape up any of the lovely browned bits that might have stuck to the pot.  Then add the ribs back and bring to a boil. When it just starts to boil, turn off the heat, add the bay leaf and cover.

Ribs with broth wine reduction

Place the dutch oven into the oven and let the beef slow roast for about 3 hours turning every hour.

Turn the ribs every hour

Remove from the oven. Take the beef and carrots out of the oven and strain the juices into sauce pan. Gently, as the meat is very soft, remove the bones. They should pull right up and out. Heat the sauce over medium high heat and reduce again by 1/3. This will concentrate the flavors. Then plate up the meat and carrots next to some lovely garlic mashed potatoes! Spoon a bit of the sauce over the ribs and carrots. Make a well in the potatoes for another spoonful of the sauce!

Dinner is served!

Let me know if you try this recipe! Hey, and thanks for stopping by today! Now go out and have a great Monday!

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OMG! It is Huge!

A huge thank you to the Tumbling Tumbleweeds who joined us for dinner last night bearing a gift. Now this was totally unexpected, and the box was huge! Huge! We were instructed to open this right away which we did…only to find the biggest bottle of wine I have ever seen!

Jeroboam of Col di Sasso

After the hysterical laughter died down, this became the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving dinner.

How much wine is in one of these bottles? In liters, it contains 5 liters of wine. Now a regular wine bottle holds 750 milliliters. A case of wine 9 liters. So, this bottle contains a bit over 6 bottles of wine! In glasses, there are about 40 glasses of wine!

The size of the bottle is known as a Jeroboam. The name comes from the 1st King of Northern Israel who reigned between 922-901 B.C. It was Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, who lived from 1771 – 1832, who gave this bottle its name in one of his writings.

The wine is a Col di Sasso blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. The winemaker describes this blend as, “Colour: ruby red, young, but intense. Bouquet: fresh, varietal, enriched with spicy notes. Taste: full and soft, balanced, easy-to-drink.”

Needless to say, we are looking forward to imbibing in this wine, and we will be pouring this wine at our upcoming Christmas party!

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Crush in the Foothills Has Begun!

Crush is the process of crushing grapes for wine making. This typically occurs at this time of year, but our last two years, due to late snows, had us beginning at the end of September to middle of October. At the winery where I work, the first grapes crushed are the Chardonnay. Let’s take a peek at what happens during crush! If you click on any of the photos you will be able to see the detail a bit better!

They bring in the grapes in plastic or wood containers that hold between 850 – 1,000 pounds of grapes. They are filled to over the top!

Crate overflowing with Chardonnay

Aren’t they pretty?

As the containers come in they are lifted one at a time into a V-shaped vessel that has an auger that controls the rate that the grapes drop onto the sorting table.

In they go!

This is what the inside of this vessel looks like with the Chardonnay.

Inside with the auger

They drop onto the sorting table where any leaf debris or bad clusters are pulled out.

The grapes get hand sorted and then go off to the destemmer

The lower part of the above photo shows the grapes heading off to the de-stemmer. Here are the stems as they drop out of the de-stemmer.

The remaining stems

From here the Chardonnay goes into the press. As the press squeezes the juice from the grapes, the juice pours out into a tray where it goes to the tanks.

Chardonnay juice right out of the press

The bottom side of the press

Once in the tank a really good yeast gets added and then fermentation begins.

The tanks

The residue goes back out to the field to compost

The Chardonnay in the tanks? It is now on its way to making a lovely wine!

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