Blending and Sampling

My brother and I have been busy. Busy sampling, busy blending.

We've sampled all of our 2013 wines and are pleased with the results. The wines are not monochromatic; they are diverse, full-bodied, subtle, sexy, elegant, expressive creations of the fermented grape.

In fact, we will be releasing our first white wine very shortly, a 2013 barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon named The Hunter.

We have also been hard at work blending our 2012 wines. We made a lot of wine in 2012, more than we've ever made. The crop was large and of high quality in 2012, so there was no reason not to make a substantial quantity.

You'll be seeing Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Merlot blends and single varietals in the days and years to come as we round out our offerings of Cabernet Sauvignon and blended wines.

A special thanks to Chris Shackelford and Emily Stuart of Trelio Restaurant in Clovis. I drafted them one afternoon to taste through a series of barrel selected single vineyard 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2012 Sangiovese.

Side by Side Wine Pairing, Charleston

It seems appropriate the day before Thanksgiving to publish this story about a night amongst friends in Charleston, SC. A great night at a great home.

Not that The Week that Was: Charleston, SC wasn’t anything but non-stop nights to remember, the exclusive Side-by-Side dinner pairing a vertical of three of my wines, Heritage, Double Barrel and Blueprint with the Insanely Good (oh ya, that’s trademarked) cuisine of Chef Brett McKee was certainly the night never to be forgotten.

The second I walked through the front-door of the Kingsland and Rebie Bland’s home, I was struck with energy. I’ve been to enough dinners over the years and plenty of homes to know when an event has spark, action, a vibe about the room; this was one of those nights.

It’s collective and contagious energy. Margaret, my host since day one in Charleston, exudes energy. Bill Lehew is one of the most positive guys I know. I instantly felt a sense of elation as Rebie welcomed me into her home and I was greeted with a glass of my own wine from her husband Kingsland.

(A quick post script: Flash forward to October 27 in Healdsburg. Bill, Margaret, Rebie, Kingsland and I were all at dinner together at Chalkboard and we picked up where we left off in Charleston, sharing food, stories, and a little bit of wine; a genuinely great group of people to be with.)

But the vibe doesn’t end there. Because I haven’t met Chef McKee. Chef McKee was born and raised in Brooklyn and Long Island, New York. He graduated first in his class from the New York Restaurant School and first established himself in Charleston in 1989. He went on to open Brett’s and Brett’s at Wickliffe House, as well as Oak Steakhouse, recognized by the New York Times, Bon Appetit and Esquire Magazine.  He walked away from the restaurant business to start his own brand, Insanely Good.

Chef McKee lived up to his persona; gregarious, chummy, professional, an imposing figure but not intimidating, experienced but not arrogant. The kind of guy who has got your back and the first to tell you you’re saucing his duck improperly.

I received the world-wind tour of the cuisine and the kitchen. I also was introduced to the individuals assisting Chef McKee that evening. Everyone is positive, upbeat, looking forward to the next couple of hours.

As we dined, the positive rhythm of the evening continued throughout dinner. Courses of food and wine easily flowed from kitchen to table, bottle to glass. The guests naturally gravitated to the kitchen at the conclusion of dessert for another glass of wine and more conversation.

This is the last story of The Week that Was: Charleston, but certainly not my last trip to visit fine friends from the Palmetto State.

Inaugural East Side Family Style Supper

An enjoyable evening with new friends at the McGee Creek Lodge Family Style Supper at Crowley Lake. Carruth Cellars and Mastro Scheidt Family Cellars wines were being poured to a full-house of locals, friends and family. We at Mastro Scheidt were honored to be included at the inaugural dinner.

Four courses, plus a cheese course were on the menu, leading off with a roasted red pepper soup and mixed green salad; followed up by a Greek style mixed cous cous, roasted flat bread and shrimp medley and fresh berries and whipped cream for dessert. Each of the courses was scratch made and show off Elizabeth McGuire's belief that cooking fresh translates into eating well. Bright, fresh flavors without heaviness exemplify Elizabeth’s cooking.

A bold statement, to mix feta cheese with shrimp in a tomato base as a main course backed up with cous cous; the feta added mouth-feel and body when combined with the flat bread (and the spoon I used to scoop up the feta/tomato/shrimp  mixture). Elizabeth’s main course of shrimp was an deft interpretation to a classic Greek Kakavia, substituting feta cheese for potatoes to create a satisfying complete meal.

And yes, even to Red Wine Purists like me, shrimp and feta in a hearty tomato sauce paired just fine with two of my 2011 Cabernet’s, Signature and Generations. Why? A conceit, yes, but my wines have lower alcohol and a better acid balance to pair with a wider variety of foods than many wines on the market today.

I really enjoyed winemaker Adam Carruth's, Carruth Cellars 2012 Sauvignon Blanc both before and during my meal; hints of tropical fruit and refreshing citrus notes accented the refreshing wine.

I look forward to my next visit to the East Side and my next Family Style Supper! Thanks again to Elizabeth, Scott and their staff for a great evening.

Miles, Merlot and Italy

Of all the wines I have drunk, I can recall a few wines that have altered my opinions and broadened my experience; Ridge’s Monte Bello, an eight year vertical tasting of Opus One, and everything from Vino da Tavola to the finest Barolo in Italy.

Most American’s have a perspective on what merlot tastes like; merlot is looked down upon, marginalized, blended. I certainly have my opinion. I’ve never thought of merlot as the primary grape for making an outstanding American style Bordeaux, much less a single varietal Bordeaux. I like merlot as a varietal; I also like other varietals, zinfandel and petite sirah just to name two. I doubt merlot, zin, or petite could hold up against a great Cabernet or Pinot.

The film Sideways deepened America’s marginalization of merlot.  Miles rant about not wanting to drink “F’ing merlot” in favor of Pinot seemed appropriate, considering his love affair with the Burgundy varietal. Then there was the final irony, drinking a Château Cheval Blanc, heavily influenced by merlot; with a hamburger.

I have a friend, fellow wine aficionado and American Italian who knows her way around the world of great wines. It was a double blind tasting in Bakersfield and Lanette was pouring, explaining, and challenging the crowd that had gathered. Opinions were not something the crowd was unwilling to share; strong opinions to be sure.

I know that Lanette put something special in front of us for this double blind tasting. I know Lanette wouldn’t trick us with some plonker or over-rated trophy. I also happen to trust Lanette.

The wines had been set to the proper temperature, decanted and appropriate stemware was available. Each of the bottles we tasted was brown bagged for secrecy. We were standing, gathered around a large table, tasting among friends and peers; informal yet serious.

In most cases, with each taste, great wines reveal something, something more. Sure, I can figure out the sensory stuff with the best in the room. But that sensory evaluation is fleeting, it’s momentary, as the wine expands in the glass. The evaluation is also particular to the moment, as wine is constantly changing in the bottle. Taste the same wine a month later and the conditions change. Great wines are pervasive, they make an immediate sensory impact and a long-term personal impact; compelling the taster to seek out the wine again and again.

My first smells and tastes were probably a holdover from the truffle cheese and prosciutto de Parma I’d eaten moments earlier. So the first tastes were a throwaway, to refresh the palate.

Even though I discounted my first taste, one of the wines was certainly rich.

The second taste began to reveal what I was experiencing in that moment. Bold fruit; no-holds-barred fruit; with a monster of a back palate. This wine was not for the faint or those looking for softness. In all honesty, the second taste actually put me off a bit, it was too much, too bold. This certainly wasn’t a Pinot or Burgundy blind tasting. It had to be Bordeaux. But was this a blend or a single varietal? I know from past tastings, the likelihood of me figuring out if this wine was pure Cabernet or something else, was not likely. I’m much better at figuring out Old World versus American versus New World wines. This certainly tasted American to me, but knowing Lanette, I put the odds of this wine being American at 50/50.

Tasting again and again I began to shift my focus from sensory evaluation to personality and situational characteristics. When would I drink a wine like this and with whom? Who would appreciate this? What’s the setting? What food would pair with this wine? This is a showcase wine, not a warm-up. Any lesser wines, I don’t contemplate this much; I simply drink and move on. This had to be an epic wine.

But what was it? Who made it? Where was it from?

I get the fact that this is well crafted wine. This wine is not being tasted on its own, but side-by-side with another wine. And while I didn’t know it at the time, we were about to taste 8 other wines of high quality, side-by-side for the next couple hours.

For some reason, the crowd was very excited about this second wine. Is it rare? Is it expensive? Probably yes to both. Was I the only guy who wasn’t in on this? Then Lanette says, “this is the Latour of Italy…the Lafite of Italy.” So it was Bordeaux.

Take another sip…

Again from Lanette, “if I told you this was 100% Merlot, would that change anyone’s opinion?”

Take another sip…

I think to myself, “This wine is outstanding…this is merlot? No way…merlot doesn’t taste like this. The Lafite of Italy…What the hell have I been missing?! An Italian merlot maker? That narrows the list considerably.”

The suspense was building and Lanette was doing a wonderful job of building it.

I’m now captive, hostage to this wine. I know it’s of very high quality, from Italy, and 100% Merlot.

Do I have any sips left?

The brown bags are are torn apart to reveal…Masseto; 100% merlot from Italy and coming in at 15% alcohol.

I’ve only read about this wine; the book, a gift from my Mother about the best wines of Italy written by Bastianich. I’ve tended to favor the wines from La Spinetta, Gaja, and Pio Cesare over the years as benchmarks for the finest red wines in Italy. I would have never have guessed merlot could taste this good; this great. Nebbiolo, yes. Merlot, no.

Once the Masseto was revealed, it was quickly snatched up, but it was only the beginning of the evening. I wish I could have squirreled away another glass for later comparison. This is one of those rare opportunities where opinions are changed in an instant. Forget the preconceptions, your bias and learn something new. Merlot can be extraordinary.

At the end of the night, I had a glass of 2007 Ridge Monte Bello in my glass, a wine that made me change my perceptions regarding American oak and Cabernet Sauvignon outside of Napa Valley.  The Monte Bello was a fitting end to a provocative and enjoyable evening dedicated to changing my opinion about merlot. Italians can make a fantastic merlot; we Americans should try harder at making one too.

Thanks Lanette.

Masseto 2009

Ridge Monte Bello 2007

Hundred Acre 2009

Guado al Tasso 2009

Ramey Pedregal 2008

Opus One 2007 (twice)

Bryant Family Bettina 2009

Arrived in Mammoth Lakes

Dispatch....Mammoth Lakes, California....July 3, 2013

The 2013 Mammoth Food and Wine Experience kicks off tomorrow and everyone at Mastro Scheidt is looking forward to it.

Our winemaker, David Scheidt, is already on the ground doing exactly what you'd expect him to be doing...eating and talking with chefs.

Last night, David dined with Carrie and Jason Hoeltzel of CJ Grill. In fact, we started dinner, appropriately, with a Fritz Rose'. Jason and David are speaking together at the Mammoth Experience on Friday for the seminar: Everything You Wanted to Know About Trout But Were Afraid to Ask.  I'm sure David will be snapping some photos of Chef Jason in action this weekend.

Jason will be leading the cooking demo, while David will be pairing some of his favorite wines from Dry Creek and Russian River Valley with Chef Jason's trout creations....such as:

Jim Rickards Aglianico/Syrah Rose 2012

Philip Staley Duet 2012

Forth Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Roadhouse Pinot Noir Yellow Label 2011

Mastro Scheidt Carnevale Dinner

After two solid days of preparation, the entire Mastro Scheidt Family pulled off a private Carnevale dinner, celebrating the "end of meat" just before the Easter Season.

The private dinner included nine (9) courses for each of the 12 guests. Wines were paired with each course, including our favorite Chardonnay from Bacigalupi Vineyards and a wine from David's personal cellar, a 2002 Rafanelli Zinfandel.

Sourcing the ingredients, like Community Grains polenta, Marin Sun Farms pork belly, ox tails, bone marrow, and veal, not to mention all the cheeses (yes, you Emily, they loved the Red Hawk) and various mushrooms was great fun. 

John ran the front of house the entire evening and took care of all the wine service. My father made his first ever chocolate mousse (he learned how to "fold" properly) and made sure my outside kitchen stayed busy, and my mother interacted with each of the guests from beginning to end. Additionally, friends of my parents helped expedite and clean during the entire service and were crucial to the evening. Many thanks to them.

Naturally, I'd like to thank our gracious hosts and each of the guests for their participation, enthusiasm, and healthy appetites.

Hostage Sauvignon Blanc and Mastro Scheidt Cabernet Team Up

Only two wines were featured at an exclusive dinner party of 100 guests; Mastro Scheidt Proprietor's Reserve 2007 and Hostage Wines Sauvignon Blanc 2011.

Personally, I was pleased with being able to recommend the Sauvignon Blanc from Hostage. I only met Jeremiah and Elizabeth about a year ago at a blind wine tasting group in Healdsburg. Jeremiah's no-nonsense style of evaluating the wines he was tasting was similar to mine, up-front and blunt. Elizabeth's evaluation was deeper, less given to whim or her "first sip".

So when I finally tasted their 2011 Sauvignon Blanc, my initial reaction was one of delight. This is really tasty! But it was more than that. This is the style and type of Sauvignon Blanc I remember drinking years ago, before we were inundated with Kiwi Blanc. I'd almost forgotten how good a Sauvignon Blanc from California could taste on a 90 degree day. How complementary it could be with food, rather than just a pre-dinner wine.

The Hostage Sauvignon Blanc was an expression of both the up-front, no-nonsense style from Jeremiah and the complexity from Elizabeth.

It got me thinking about Sauvignon Blanc again and that's why I recommend it.

Here is a little background on the wine. Paraphrasing a bit from their website, Jeremiah and Elizabeth purchased a unique clone of Sauvignon Blanc, called Sauvignon Musqué, from a vineyard in the Russian River Valley Appellation. This particular clone has to be picked at optimal maturity in order to capture its incredible tropical aromas and flavors. On a cold morning, right before a storm rolled in, we harvested the fruit and put it straight into the press. From there, we racked the juice into neutral French oak barrels to ferment. It remained in barrel until bottling last February. 

www.hostagewines.com

Pigs & Pinot 2012, Healdsburg

One of the premier, if not THE premier event in Healdsburg, is Charlie Palmer's Pigs & Pinot. Local chefs and several guest chefs participate in the event each year. I was fortunate enough to attend this year and brought home some of the food in pictures.

Scopa's Bruschetta

Zin Restaurant and Jeff Mall's Ham

Diavola and Dino Bugica's Blood Sausage

Portland Wine Country

Over a month ago, I was up in Portland, Oregon. A couple highlights of the trip included Cana's Feast and Archery Summit.

The Archery Summit tasting was fantastic. In addition to the wines included in the picture, we tasted some library wines as well. The 2000 Red Hills Estate showed the longevity of this fabulous Oregon estate. After a full day of drinking Pinot, the Archery Summit wines really stood out as, dare I say, the best.

Another standout was Cana's Feast. I've spoken about Cana's before, specifically their Chinato. I haven't checked luggage domestically for 10 years. I checked 3 bottles back home to California. It's that good.

Fresno State Enology Society

I'd like to express my appreciation to the Enology Department, the students, and the Enology Society for hosting me at CSU, Fresno. It was a pleasure to participate as a wine maker and alumni. On a personal note, I'd like to thank Kerry Fitzgerald for setting everything up for me and the personal tour around the Enology Department.

I've attached a few pictures from the evening both here in the blog post and in our Gallery on the website. Thanks to Cousin Marco for taking pictures at the event and T.L. for showing his support and our new Mastro Scheidt Hats (ask me if you want one, they come in different colors).

Just Outstanding IPA

The Kern River Brewing Company has a nice little operation up in the hills outside of Bakersfield. 

I was lucky, and I do say lucky, enough to purchase some of their beer at Imbibe a Bakersfield fine wine, beer and spirits store. Legend has it, Kern River beer sells out in a matter of hours upon delivery.

As I'm an IPA fan, I took a few pints home with me and decided to treat both myself and the beer to a proper sandwich and one of my favorites, The Reuben. I'd say the beer and the sandwich were Just Outstanding.

8 Guests, 8 Courses, 8 Wines

It was such a pleasure to get into the kitchen with Chef Tommy Chavez again. It was a fun night, but certainly not an easy one. Everything was cooked to order and from scratch. I even baked fresh fennel bread for the event. Chef Tommy and I were challenged by the glass cook top (not induction), but it was 10 times easier to clean up after than a gas range. Otherwise, things moved quickly and smoothly.

Long-time friend John Marihart made sure our eight special guests always had their glasses filled, their plates cleared, stemware polished and of course, gave the kitchen feedback on how the evening was progressing. Special thanks to Falina Marihart for taking all the pictures that night, cleaning dishes, utencils, stemware, and tasting all of our food before it was sent out. Non-stop for everyone and everyone did their part to make sure our guests had a great evening.

For your viewing pleasure, we've attached a slide show below, a brief history of the evening in the kitchen.

We would like to thank everyone who was a part of a wonderful night of food, wine, and celebration. Here's the menu and the wines for the event (And yes, I favored some Dry Creek Valley reds that night, but I'm biased). The Gruet, the only non-California wine, was served because one of our guests has a special connection to New Mexico. I have links to all of the wines and the wineries in the menu below, just hover over the wine for the link.

CRAB CAKES

CREOLE MUSTARD BUTTER SAUCE, DRESSED GREENS

Gruet, New Mexico Blanc de Noirs NV

 ESCARGOT MAITRE’ D

GARLIC HERB BUTTER, GRILLED CROSTINI

Caymus 2010 Conundrum White

 BLACKENED BEEF

WHITE GRITS, TOMATILLO SALSA, FRESH LIME, CILANTRO

Caymus 2009 Conundrum Red

SPINACH SALAD

CANDIED PECANS, GOAT CHEESE, STRAWBERRIES, RUM VINAIGRETTE

Pine Ridge 2010 Chenin Blanc/Viognier

HAND-MADE RAVIOLI

RICOTTA, PROSCUITTO, PINE NUTS, GRANA, OLIVE OIL/BUTTER

Lago di Merlo 2009 Dry Creek Valley Sangiovese

CREOLE BBQ SALMON

SWEET POTATO PUREE, HOUSE MADE CREOLE BBQ SAUCE, GREEN BEANS

A. Rafanelli 2004 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

FILET DIANE

COGNAC MUSHROOM SAUCE, BACON ROASTED POTATOES, CREAMED SPINACH

Mastro Scheidt 2007 Proprietor’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

TOMMY’S SIGNATURE BREAD PUDDING

WARM PRALINE SAUCE, BOURBON WHIPPED CREAM

Windwalker 2001 Orange Muscat

A 41st Birthday Celebration Dinner

Dinner for 12. I wanted to highlight a dinner I coordinated along with friends, John and Falina Marihart. We were discussing whether or not we should pass out Lipitor for dessert, but we passed on that idea. Here's the night in food:

 

   

Dinner with Friends

While I've been doing several dinners in Healdsburg lately, I had the opportunity to cook in Fresno with some good friends. John and Falina Marihart opened their home and Chef Tommy Chavez worked with me to create a wonderful evening with food, wine, and friends.