Labor Day Wine Deal and Lunching on Leftovers

Thomas glided into the kitchen lead by his nose, and eyes growing wider with each advancing step asked, “What are you making?”

“My favorite,” I replied, “leftover surprise.”

“I don’t really have a recipe, I was just going to see what I could come up with,” was my response to his eagerly growing interest in lunch. 

“Shall I see what I can forage from the garden?” Thomas asked, and was already out through the door before I could respond. 

30 minutes, a sunburst squash, one handful of fresh savory and thyme, two zucchini, and some leftover veggie stock later, and we had ourselves a nice end-of-summer stew close to completed. As we rummaged around the kitchen looking for that one missing ingredient that would transform our stew into something special, we found ourselves involved in a conversation that I frequently try to incite when Thomas is around. “What can I learn today about winemaking that I don’t know yet?”

The conversation turned towards the dark and oenologically-sinister when Thomas began describing how wines develop symptoms of reduction; those unpleasant rubbery, often overwhelming, odors that mask everything else in the wine.

“Reduction, great idea!”

My exclamation was met with a glare from Thomas implying that no good can possibly come from even a little bit of reduction.

In the cellar it will ruin the final product. In the kitchen, however, reduction is a whole different story. I quickly began ladling the sumptuous but thin stock into a shallow pan, and turned the heat up to high. 

“This is going to make a great sauce!”   

It took about 10 minutes to get the stock to reduce down to a nice thick sauce. All the flavors condensed into a rich, sweet, tangy, deep flavored red-brown sauce. We spooned the stewed veggies into bowls, crumbled some Willamette Valley Cheese Co. Fontina all over, and then spooned the hot reduction sauce over it all to melt the cheese. A little fresh basil from the garden to finish it all off and there was only one thing left to decide. Which one of our wines were we going to taste with this perfect summer dish? 

Thomas reached for the ’07 Rosé and I grabbed some ‘07 Amrita and we washed our lunches down sip by sip. For a casual lunch made of leftovers and garden-fresh veggies, this was an incredibly satisfying lunch. It also became very clear that we could have served any of our white wines with this summery stew. Our ‘07 Müller Thurgau and ‘07 Pinot Gris were equally great matches, each enhancing the dish in their own way. 

The crisp, clean, summer wines made such a simple meal into something special. It was easy and fun to throw everything together, and was a good reminder of why I like working here.

We can’t share our lunch with everyone but we can make it easier to see how great these wines are with your own summer fare. From now through Labor Day we will be selling 4 packs of Pinot Gris, Amrita, Müller Thurgau, and our Pinot Noir Rosé for just $50.

 

The forecast calls for warm weather this Labor Day Weekend, and we have chilled wines ready for you, just bring your picnic and we’ll see you in the tasting room or out on the terrace.

                                             

Cheers,

Ksandek Podbielski
Director of Hospitality.