The Pacific Rim International Wine Competition has been judging the world’s best wines since 1985. For two days, 30 well-respected wine professionals hold a blind tasting of over 2,000 wines in just five hotly contested categories: Best Red Wine, Best White Wine, Best Rose Wine, Best Sparkling Wine, and Best Dessert Wine. An overall Grand Champion is also named.

This year we are very happy to say that our Scheming Beagle Port was awarded a Silver Medal and that Angela’s Wish received a Silver Medal, too.

Thank you to the judges at Pacific Rim for the honor!

The 2009 Survivor (Grenache/Shiraz blend), Barossa, won a Silver Medal, as did the 2010 Wild Ferment Riesling, Eden Valley.

We are also so proud that our very own estate wine, the 2009 Claros, was awarded a Gold Medal!

Over 1700 wines from around the world were judged by wine makers, writers, consultants, and sommeliers from all over California. We are all so happy for the honor and for the recognition of the all the hard work it takes producing these wonderful wines.

Come out to the winery Friday, March 16th, for The Perfect Toasted Panini to enjoy with your favorite Stone House wine. Choose between Rosemary Ham, Mozzarella, and Arugula or White Pesto, Tomato, Roasted Peppers, and Roasted Red Onion. They’re $12 each and come with easier fruit or salad.

And we’ll be open an extra hour, 12 – 6, so hope to see you there!

Is that the Claros we see in the bottom right, next to the red cup?

Last fall, Appellation America, a leading online source for information about the wine industry, decided it was time they became more familiar with “the wild vine.” It was an endeavor we were more than happy to participate in.

First, writer Catherine Seda put together a great, brief history on the truly interesting grape that is Norton. Check it out if you’ve ever wanted to know more about Norton, or if you’re just a fan of wine history.

http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/751/Norton-Grape.html

Then, Appellation America gathered together an array of wine industry professionals for a tasting of thirty-six Norton wines from five states, including our very own Stone House Vineyard Claros. Winemakers, buyers, marketers, writers, and sommeliers all noted the unique structure of the wines, the mix of spice, fruits, and earthiness – all things that fans of the Claros are familiar with.

At the end of the tasting, six wines were chosen as the panels favorites, and guess who was included? We can proudly say our Claros can now lay claim to be one of the Top Six Norton Wines in America, as named by Appellation America. And, we might add, the only Norton from Texas on the list.

Thank you to Appellation America for the honor!

Apples, white wine, honey and butter were readily available. So was some fresh Mache aka Lamb’s Lettuce (or Feldsalat, as it is called in German) obtained straight from the Farmers’ Market earlier in the day. So here’s how the inspiration went:

For 4 people you’ll need

1lb roll of foie gras, here’s an example of what to get:

http://www.earthy.com/Torchon_of_Foie_Gras_-_approx__P1001C27.cfm?UserID=4048279&jsessionid=603041cdd3d00$99x$8B$

A small handful of of mache (lamb’s lettuce) per person

1 stick of unsalted butter (good quality sweet butter)

50 ml of white wine

1 tsp of honey

1 tsp of confectioner’s sugar

Top quality extra virgin olive oil (just a small amount) , creme fraiche and a dash of champagne vinegar along with salt and pepper for a simple creamy vinaigrette for the lamb’s lettuce. Be sure to use a mild vinegar, so that the dressing will not overpower the sweetness of the foie gras, but complement it nicely.

Peel and core apples (Granny Smith would be a good choice) and make slightly thicker slices (one apple will make 2 or 3 nice slices, as you want them to be evenly sized, so you’ll have to discard (or use elsewhere) the top and bottom.

Wash and trim the lamb’s lettuce and spin dry. Make a vinaigrette from the olive oil, creme fraiche and champagne vinegar, season to taste with salt and pepper.Toss the lamb’s lettuce with the vinaigrette.

Slice the chilled foie gras roll into thin (1cm or less) slices (assume you’ll want 2 slices per person you’re serving)

Melt the butter in a pan, making sure it does not brown. Add the confectioner’s sugar and blend in well. Add a pinch of salt. Add the wine, stir in well and bring back to heat. Set the apple slices into the pan, sauteeing them in the mixture until just soft (be careful they don’t get mushy, and the butter doesn’t burn).  Once just soft, remove them. Add the teaspoon of honey to the remaining liquid in the pan, stir and reduce just a bit to let the flavors blend well.

To serve:

Place one slice of foie gras on a warm plate, stack one apple slice on top, and top with another slice of foie gras. Spoon a bit of the butter/wine/honey mixture over top of the foie gras. Drape a bit of the lamb’s lettuce alongside the foie gras….serve and enjoy with a glass of Sticky or Cuvee Cuddles.

Foie Gras and Mache (Lamb's Lettuce)

Amuse bouches are not just a single little tidbit from the kitchen, but a showcase of the chef’s versatility and creativity.

Main courses are not a singular event, but end up being a succession of smaller dishes which showcase a seafood course, a meat course (lamb, riz de veau (sweetbreads), venison, or beef) and sometimes a poultry dish (pigeon, quail, pheasant are popular choices).

Desserts are not a singular slice of cake, or pastry or some mousse or ice cream, but a portfolio of little somethings from each of these types, like a painter’s palette showcasing the chef’s expertise. A tiny little slice of Sacher Torte, really just one bite, for example, but that bite was heaven on earth.

There’s a lot of truth to “people eat with their eyes, not just their mouths”….it’s an appeal to all the senses, and as such a very enjoyable experience.

As you might expect, great wines from all over Europe were selected to accompany the courses, so it provided a great opportunity to contrast the German Riesling (Schloss Reichartshausen), the German Pinot Noir (Salwey Grosses Gewaechs), the French Morey St Denis and several others with my taste memory of the various Stonehouse Vineyard Varietals. A Sticky would have perfectly joined the dessert selections, and Angela’s Wish would have been a perfect foil for the lamb dish I enjoyed at the “Oberlaender Weinstube” in Karlsruhe. The Semillon-Savignon would go great with the Salmon Tartare with its own caviar from the “Dudelsack”, also in Karlsruhe.

And then there was “Chez Dominique” in Helsinki, an amazing place, Michelin starred, and truly outstanding. Just to give you an impression of the “art” aspect of the dishes I captured two of them. The evening was a succession of highlights, they seemed to keep coming, and it was truly amazing. Certainly a place I hope to go back to.

So now my challenge is to incorporate some of what I saw into my next cooking projects….a dish at a time, and with the objective to further hone my skills…and share what I’ve learnt with friends.

A symphony from foie gras

Scallops and King Crab, perfectly presented

So now I proceeded to experiment: 3 of the gallon size jars are now the olives drained of the brine, patted dry, put back in the jars, with different herbs and spices (one with rosemary, pepper corns and bay leaves, two with thyme, oregano, pepper corns and lemon rind) and filled up with extra virgin olive oil. It will be interesting to see how this will change texture and taste of the olives, so stay tuned.

The fourth jar however is now going through a different process: I figured there are only so many olives in herbs and oil we can consume, so I decided to try another angle: making tapenade. Tapenade is the brownish/blackish olive/caper paste you get on slices of toasted baguette in southern France, particularly in Provence, and a slightly different version in parts of Italy. When looking for inspiration for how to make tapenade, I learnt that the word origin actually comes from the capers in the paste, something I had not known was even in there. Soooooo….. which version to make? As is usually the case, recipes provide inspiration, but they are really only guidelines, invitations to experiment and add your own angle.

So here’s my version of tapenade:

200 gr of top quality brined, pitted olives

50 gr of capers (drain the liquid from the jars)

10 anchovies fillets

3-4 cloves of garlic

a dash of lemon juice

celtic salt and ground pepper to taste

Use a small food processor to pulse the ingredients and then move to a mortar and continue to mash together with the pestle, until get a fine paste. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil into the mixture, working it in with the pestle, until you get a nice smooth paste that is not too dense, but not too soft either, just perfect to put teaspoon size bits on a slice of fresh French bread.

Also try it with a slice of a ripe tomato, either by itself or on the bread, maybe a tiny slice of mozzarella (the little mozzarella balls slice up), or a slice of goat cheese, it’s yummy.

So…..if you happen to have an olive tree in your yard (self pollinating, or the right combo of paired trees for pollination)…go for it and let us know how it turns out.

A votre sante, B.

• good wine
• good food
• friends and family to share these with
• and many exciting places to learn more about wine, food, culture and people.

We are looking forward to sharing our many experiences, adventures and recipes with the friends and supporters of Stonehouse Vineyard.

Angela and Brigitte