Borsao Seleccion, 2005

Borsao Seleccion, 2005

This is a new release from Bodegas Borsao in the Borja region of Spain. This red is a blend of 50% Granache, 25% Tempranillo and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was aged for 10 months in French and American oak then stored for 14 months in the bottle before being released. The bottle has a distinctive orange label and a real cork closure. This wine is imported by Elliot Bay Distibuting, of Seattle, and is one of the many great wines exported by Jorge Ordonez. He is perhaps the most influential exporter of Spanish wines to emerge in the last few decades, tapping into the quality and value of the less-traveled regions of Spain such as Toro, Campo de Borja, Montsant, and Jumilla, as well as the Ribera del Duero, Rioja, and Priorat. From the ultra-expensive to the great values he has discovered and facilitated the revival of some tremendous old-vine Grenache (Garnacha) and Tempranillo vineyards that had lain dormant or unloved for decades. As a result, there is now an amazing resurgence of Spanish wine in the international marketplace. Last April we had the 2004 vintage of the Borsao Seleccion and really enjoyed it. This new release is even better. This is a wine with a deep ruby color with purple highlights. On the nose is the aroma of fresh raspberries, blackberries and some toasty oak. This is a wine of nice complexity and depth. It is a medium bodied wine with flavors of blackberry jam, plums, cherries and spice. There are well integrated tannins and ample acidity to keep it fresh, smooth and very “food friendly”. This wine strikes me as a perfect blend of a new world fruit forward Granacha with a classic California style Cabernet. The finish is long and smooth with lingering vanilla and cocoa. This wine is available at Pete’s Wine Shop, in Bellevue, for about $13. I will not be surprised if this wine makes the Wine Spectator “Top 100” list. This is another great value wine from Spain.

Quinta da Maritavora 2004

Quinta da Maritavora 2004

Quinta da Maritavora is located in the Douro region of Portugal. This red wine is a blend of Tinta Roriz, Tiuriga Franca and Touriga Nacional. The wine made by winemaker Jorge Borges and aged in French oak barrels for a total of 12 months. The color is red/purple with some nice opacity. The wine exhibits an alluring nose of fresh blackberries, cherries and some toasty oak. In the mouth this is a medium to full bodied wine with a zesty, focused personality. The flavors are those of raspberries, blueberries and cola balanced with ample acidity and fine grained tannins to make this wine quite delicious. The finish shows subtle vanilla and spice and helps to complete the whole package. We really enjoyed this wine for its fresh berry flavors and the rich, zesty mouth feel. We will stock-up on a few more bottles. This wine can be found at Pete's Wine Shop, in Bellevue, for about $16.

Santa Rita Reserva Carménère, 2006

Santa Rita Reserva Carménère, 2006

The Santa Rita winery owns vineyards in Chile’s most exclusive wine making valleys. It owns vineyards in the Maipo Valley, Casablanca Valley, Rapel Valley, Leyda Valley and in the Lontué Valley. Santa Rita is the second largest land-owning winery in Chile. With access to diverse climates and soils, Santa Rita is able to produce a wide variety of world-class wines showcasing the remarkable quality and versatility of the country.
Over the past decade Santa Rita’s viticulturists have adopted a number of practices to enhance site and varietal characteristics which include the following: sustainable agriculture, better clone material, improved trellising and irrigation techniques, balanced vine viticulture, restricted yields, leaf and canopy management, later harvesting, individual block farming, and small-lot vinification . We recently enjoyed a bottle of this reserve Carménère with a dinner off the grill. This wine is quite a "stand-out" for its dark fruit and vegetal characteristics. On the nose are fresh green peppers, cherries and cedar. This is a medium to full bodied wine with a deep red color and an elegant, smooth mouth feel. On the palate, ripe black fruit, bell pepper, espresso, tomato and roasted herbs commingle to create a luscious and balanced wine. This wine will appeal to people who enjoy vegetable characteristics in their wine. Interesting and different!

Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera, 2007

Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera, 2007

We love many wines from Piedmont, Italy and Barbera is definitely a great "food" wine. When we traveled in Piedmont, back in 2003, we stopped at Fontanafredda on a warm autumn day. Back in December of 2007 we had a bottle of the 2005 Barbera and found it "nice" but nothing special. Then the 2006 release of the Briccotondo Barbera was a delicious wine that far surpasses the previous vintage. New we tried the new 2007 release. The color is a deep ruby red with purple tones on the rim. On the nose are complex berry notes of blueberries and cherries along with grapes and plums. This is a medium bodied wine with a smooth texture and rich flavors of crushed berries and earth. There is ample acidity and light tannins that add to the balanced and harmonious finish. The 2006 vintage made the "Wine Spectator Top 100" list, last year, and this vintage is every bit as good. We bought this Barbera at Pete's Wine Shop, in Bellevue, for about $13. This wine is a good choice for your next Italian dinner!

337 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

337 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006

Named for the French vine clone, 337 is a California Cabernet Sauvignon with prestigious Bordeaux roots. The grapes are grown in Lodi’s Clay Station Vineyard in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The wine has a deep ruby-red color and the nose is packed with black fruit, spice and floral notes. This is a medium bodied wine with concentrated blackberry, cassis and mocha. There are ample tannins and acidity to create a lingering and harmonious finish. This is a nice value California Cabernet Sauvignon that pairs well with a steak of the grill or a spicy pasta dish. We enjoyed this $15 wine with my Penne with Meatballs and Marjoram and Marinara.

Penne with Meatballs and Marjoram and Marinara

Penne with Meatballs and Marjoram and Marinara


Recently we had a fantastic dinner at Tavolata, a hip restaurant in the Belltown region of Seattle. We enjoyed a pasta dish of Rigatoni with Spicy Italian Sausage, Marjoram and Tomato. The dish was so memorable that we recreated our version of this to enjoy at home. I use low-fat ground turkey in my meatballs to keep it tasty, but light.

1 Package of Penne (12 oz.)
1 Jar of Marinara Sauce (26 oz.)
1 oz. Fresh Marjoram, de-stemmed
2 oz. Parmesan Cheese, grated
Olive Oil for drizzle

Meatballs

1 lb. Ground Turkey Breast (or meat of your choice)
1 Large Egg
3 Garlic Cloves, Chopped
¾ cup Dried Bread Crumbs
½ cup Red Wine
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1 tablespoon Dried Basil
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven 375 degrees.

Place all of the Meatball ingredients in a large bow and mix until well blended. Scoop and form small (1 oz.) meatballs and arrange in rows on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Place in oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes until lightly brown and firm. Remove from oven.

Transfer Meatballs to a large sauté pan and cover with Marinara sauce. Cook, on low, to lightly simmer.

Cook Penne pasta according to manufactures instructions.

Assemble the dish by adding the drained pasta to the meatballs and sauce. Add all the fresh Marjoram leaves to the mix. Toss to coat and cook for an additional minute or two. Serve with a topping of grated Parmesan Cheese and a drizzle of a quality Olive Oil.

Figs with Parmesan and Honey

Food and Wine Pairing

During the summer months I often cook things that reflect the bounty of the season. A great appetizer that goes well with a rich red wine or a crisp white sipper is fresh black figs. Here is a simple recipe that we will enjoy a few times each summer.

Figs with Parmesan and Honey

Fresh Figs (any variety)
Parmesan Cheese
Honey (I use Mesquite Honey from Trader Joe)

Remove stem from Figs, cut in half and place in oven-proof pan with the skin side down. Place a small wedge of Parmesan Cheese in the center of each fig. Place under broiler for about 3-5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Drizzle honey over figs and serve while still warm. Enjoy with a lovely red, white, or rose' wine.

Tamarack Firehouse Red, 2002

Tamarack Firehouse Red, 2002

Tamarack Cellars was founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman and is dedicated to the production of small lot, hand-crafted wines from select vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley, Rattle Snake Hills, Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope, Yakima Valley, Red Mountain and Columbia Valley appellations. The winery is located in a restored WW II fire station and barracks at the Walla Walla Airport Complex. This Firehouse Red is a blend of almost equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot with a bit of Cabernet Franc and aged in new (40 percent) and used oak barrels from the United States, France and Hungary. This wine made the Wine Spectator "Top 100" list in the 2004 publication. The color is a deep ruby red with crimson highlights. In the nose is sweet raspberry, current, spice and some toasty oak. This is a polished wine with red plums and figs combined with red fruit and vanilla. The palate is quite elegant and rich and the smooth tannins ad great depth and length. This wine has cellared well over the past 4 years. The current vintage (2006) of the Tamarack Firehouse Red is available at Pete's Wine Shop for about $16.

Más Que Vinos Ercavio, 2005

Más Que Vinos Ercavio, 2005

This Ercavio Tempranilla Roble is one of the Eric Solomon Selections wines from the La Mancha district of central Spain. La Mancha is an area known for having very hot days and cool night that allow for excellent ripening of the Tempranillo grape (this is 100% Tempranillo). The soil is clay, limestone and granite which contribute to the interesting qualities of this wine. The color is deep red/purple and nearly opaque. The nose is reminiscent of chocolate covered black cherries with some smoky toast and wet rock. This wine has a distinctive texture of rich velvety tannins and a candy syrup feel and a gentle acidity. The flavors are quite fruit forward with abundant blueberry and raspberry with a layer of cocoa, flint and earth. There is a slight taste of oak, but it is the ripe, dark berries that linger on the very long finish. This wine is more New World verses Old World and represents a good value. We bought this at QFC, in Bellevue, for about $12.

Tilth Restaurant

Tilth Restaurant

1411 N. 45th St.

Seattle, WA 98103

206-633-0801

http://www.tilthrestaurant.com/

Chef/Owner Maria Hines was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s “Top Ten Best New Chefs in America” in 2005. Chef Hines has built a great reputation as providing flavorful food from local ingredients while at the helm of Earth & Ocean from 2003 - 2005. Tilth specializes in “New American” cuisine and features the best from regional producers with most products being organic. They have renovated a bungalow style house that used to be home to a Burmese restaurant and brightened the look with a buttery interior and soft-green exterior. Light yellow walls, pale green wood chairs, golden hardwood floors help create a warm "country" feel. We found the staff to quite friendly, knowledgeable and attentive as we had a leisurely dinner this past Saturday night. The menu allows the option of each plate being small or large. Kate and I sheared "small plates" as we enjoyed a bottle of Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. We started with the house Hors D'Oeuvres which was a plate of 6 small crostini topped with pureed smoked dates, blue cheese mousse and a glazed almond. We followed this with the nightly special pasta that was house-made Plin (like rectangular ravioli) with fresh baby artichokes and garden herbs. From there we moved on to a fish plate and a poultry plate. The fish was St. Jude's Albacore Tuna, pan seared and served with corn milk, snap peas and pea leaves. The other dish was Mini Duck Burgers with spicy house-made ketchup, arugula, and red onion jam. The burgers were accompanied with super crisp, and delicious, fingerling potato chips. We also split a side order or Cheesy Anson Mills Polenta. For dessert we hade a lovely Chocolate Ganache Cake and a Fresh Peach Tartlet. Our overall experience at Tilth was great. We enjoyed the warm casual atmosphere of the restaurant and found all the food to be fresh, creative and delicious. We will certainly return to Tilth in the near future.