Paired Up: Merlot/Cabernet Franc Blend and Chipotle Steak

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Fjellene Cellars The North Col Blend

We picked this bottle up at the winery during Spring Release Weekend in Walla Walla. Our wine group had not been to Fjellene and wanted to check it out this time around. We all came away very impressed by the array of smooth, fruity wines on offer. We have found that we are suckers for Merlot-Cabernet Franc blends, so we grabbed a bottle of this 50-50 mix. Having had success with this type of blend paired with steak before, we selected this one to partner with a different style of steak. It was on our rack for a few weeks before we tabbed it for this meal. It decanted while the meal was prepared - so, not very long - but didn't show any tightness on the nose.

The Food

Hunter stayed out of the kitchen once again. In Katy's words:

Paired Up: Red Blend and BBQ Pizza

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Zerba Cellars Wild Z (Walla Walla Valley)

We did a different spin on the pizza/wine pairing this time in that the pizza was homemade and the toppings were different. Since our last red blend with pizza pairing was such a rousing success, we figured there was no need to mess with that aspect this time.We wanted something that was new but a bit familiar and we wanted to keep the price around the $20. We have been out to Zerba Cellars, yet had not had a bottle of this wine - perfect! Familiar yet new, just like this pairing!

Wild Z is a blend of mainly Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, with a splash of Cabernet Franc. We bought this one at Metropolitan Market and gave it about a half hour in the decanter before we were ready to taste. We didn't notice the nose being tight at all, so that seemed to be enough time.

The Food

Hunter helped on this one by staying out of the way. In Katy's words:

Sampling the Goods: Alexandria Nicole Cellars and Novelty Hill • Januik Winery

In our Sampling the Goods posts, we describe the vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms we visit and our experiences therein.

Plans were made to head up to Mt. Vernon to visit some friends and enjoy the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival on Saturday, April 9. Having caught the very tail end of it last year, we thought going early might be better. Well, with the cold spring we've had out here in the Puget Sound area, there weren't many tulips to be seen. Luckily, the Tulip Festival website has an excellent map showing which fields are blooming (not many on that day), so we skipped the flowers. But we couldn't just clean the house during the day - plans were made! So, we made a quick stop in Woodinville on our way up north. It's on the way. We swear.

Alexandria Nicole Cellars

We went to Alexandria Nicole because we hadn't been there and because we wanted to stay away from the Walla Walla wineries that we'll be visiting in a few weeks for Spring Release. In addition, they were recently named 2011 Washington Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest, so we thought we should see what the hype was about.

Paired Up: Sangiovese and a Smorgasbord

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2008 Yellow Hawk Cellar Sangiovese (Columbia Valley)

On the final day of our first trip to Walla Walla, we stopped in at Yellow Hawk Cellars. Sadly, that would be our one and only visit as they have since closed up shop. At that visit, though, the wines were good and the prices were great, so we grabbed a couple bottles. When we got home, the 2007 Sangiovese became an early favorite of the trip of ours, and we bought several more bottles at Metropolitan Market. It was also one of the first wines that sent us out looking for online wine reviews and wine blogs. Washington Wine Report has selected a couple of the older vintages of this wine as recommended Thanksgiving wines, and we have generally found that Sangiovese is a food-friendly wine that goes with most anything. We put that to the test here.

This bottle was bought shortly before Thanksgiving last year and has been in the wine rack in our living room since then. It decanted for as long as it took us to heat everything up, so about 15-20 minutes. That was sufficient for this wine, and popping and pouring probably wouldn't be bad either.

The Food

After working out, we needed something quick, and we needed to use up leftovers. So, we put together this smorgasbord!

Paired Up: Syrah and Pasta with Meat Sauce

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Va Piano Syrah (Columbia Valley)

During our first trip out to Walla Walla wine country, we were pretty much blank slates on what kind of wine we liked. We knew that we didn't like white. We were wrong there. We also had an inkling that we didn't like Syrah. We could not have been more wrong on that. This 2007 Syrah from Va Piano Vineyards was the one that really grabbed us and shook the Syrah hesitance right out of us. We picked up this bottle on that trip and stored it for a few months in our storage unit until we got the wine fridge up and running, where it rested until we popped it open for this meal. We decanted it for a good hour or so before tasting, and that seemed to work pretty well

The Food

This is one of Hunter's specialties, so he took the lead while Katy helped out with the cutting. In the chef's words:

Pasta is the staple of many a young man with a high metabolism and limited cooking skills. Back when that described me, I was a master of spaghetti and the Prego jar. Eventually, I learned my way around the kitchen a bit more and came to make a pretty decent chili. I realized that the Cincinnati-style chili of my youth wasn't too different from spaghetti with meat sauce, so one day I set out to make pasta sauce from scratch. Or at least pretty close to scratch.

Paired Up: Malbec and Chicken Fajitas

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Hightower Cellars Malbec Red Wine Estate Grown (Red Mountain)

Malbec got its start as a component in Bordeaux blends, but found its way to being a stand-out stand-alone varietal via South America. It has since begun to rise as a solid grape for Washington. As with our Pinot Noir and salmon pairing, we tried to mesh together some semblance of climactic familiarity between the wine and dishes on this one. The (very!) spicy fajitas we assembled come with southwest flavor suited to a dry, hot climate. This wine comes from the estate fruit of Hightower Cellars, grown in one of Washington's warmest AVAs - Red Mountain, whose southwest exposure makes for long days of hot sun.

We bought the wine at Fred Meyer the day we made the dinner and decanted it for only about 15-20 minutes while veggies were cut. It definitely got better as it aired out, so a longer decant would help it smooth the edges.

The Food

Fajitas are a relatively easy and fool-proof meal to make, so many people have their own versions of how it's done. That is certainly the case for us, so we paired up our cooking skills to make a truly collaborative dinner. Katy had an idea that she wanted to try for the chicken, so she took that on while Hunter brought the heat with the veggies. Being a meal borne of teamwork, and Katy ever being a fan of creating a shorthand word, this dish has been given the name "Aqueminitas".

Paired Up: Merlot/Cabernet Franc Blend and Steak in Chocolate Sauce

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2009 Buty Winery Merlot & Cabernet Franc (Columbia Valley)

We wanted to do a Merlot for this tasting, but we didn't think the one bottle in our cellar was quite ready and we didn't find any varietal Merlots that tickled our fancy. We tried a bottle of the 2008 vintage of this blend with an excellent dinner at Monsoon in Capitol Hill a couple nights prior to this meal, where it worked Buty-fully with a wide variety of dishes. The strength of the wine was great with steak, and we felt that the chocolate notes would mesh well with the chocolate sauce in this meal. Alas, the 2008 was not to be found, so we picked up a bottle of the 2009 at McCarthy & Schiering in Queen Anne while out on a walk. We packed it back down the hill and it sat in our living room for a few days before we got a chance to cook this dinner. It decanted for about 20 minutes before tasting, and really should have aired out more as it got better as the night wore on.

The Food

This one was all Katy - the only thing Hunter helped with was the eating. In the chef's words:

Moving on up! After mastering the leg of lamb, I'm feeling like getting a little edgy- onto the Beef Tenderloin! We knew that we wanted to taste a Merlot, and since, in our opinions, Merlot just comes off as a generic-panic at the cellar-"I didn't know what to buy, so I got this because I've heard of it" wine, we wanted to try something a little unconventional for the dish.

Paired Up: Primitivo and Leg of Lamb

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Michael Florentino Cellars Primitivo (Columbia Valley)

Still Buzzing (oh the puns!) from our latest successful food and wine pairing, we went for something ambitious: leg of lamb. Since this was Katy's first time cooking it, we weren't quite sure what to pick out to pair with it. In stepped this Primitivo from Michael Florentino Cellars. Primitivo is the Italian name for Zinfandel, which is typically a very flexible food wine that can go with most anything. We picked up this bottle during St. Nicholas Day Open House. It rested in our wine fridge for the past few months, then we decanted it for about an hour before dinner.

The Food

This one was all Katy - the only thing Hunter helped with was the eating. In the chef's words:

Lamb has always seemed a little "way-out" for my culinary forays. It seems a little too "grown-up" and, to be honest, a little too... potentially disastrous. Well, I am here to tell you not to believe the hype! I stumbled across a seemingly bullet proof recipe early one Saturday morning, and decided to go all in and make it. It was a breeze. I bought the smallest leg of lamb that we could find (cooking for 2 and drinking loads of wine to boot presents a lot of "scale" issues, so I try to combat the battle of the bulge with small proportions, when applicable...)
 

We decided to try and make a traditional, New Zealand-esque Sunday Roast and subsequent feast. We paired the Lego Lamb with some baked brussels sprouts and a different sort of baked potatoes.

Paired Up: Red Blend and Pizza

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Beresan Winery The Buzz (Walla Walla Valley)

Since we were having a pizza with a little bit of everything, we wanted a wine with a little bit of everything. This one fit the bill: it's a blend of 40% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 10% Malbec.We first tried this blend at Beresan Winery just south of Walla Walla during Spring Release last year, and we picked up a bottle at that time. That bottle is long gone; this one came from Fred Meyer. It rested at room temperature in our dining room wine rack for a couple months until it got pulled for this meal. We opened and decanted it about 30 minutes before tasting. It didn't seem to need even that long, though. We could smell this one beckoning us from across the room right away. It's truly a pop and pour wine.

The Food

After a long day of hiking around Seattle, Hunter took the reigns on making this meal happen. In the chef's words:

This was a tough one. First, I consulted Katy to decide whether we wanted a cheesy pizza or a toppings-driven pie. Toppings was the consensus, so I went online to Zeek's Pizza to bring up the "Super Awesome," a custom pizza with pepperoni, spinach, pineapple, mushrooms, roma tomatoes and roasted garlic. Unfortunately, Zeek's website had been updated since we last ordered and I could not simply recall a saved order, meaning I had to check all those boxes individually... what trials!

Paired Up: Syrah and Chicken Cordon Bleu

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2007 Walter Dacon C'est Syrah Beaux (Columbia Valley)

When we cook, we usually set the menu and then try to pick out a wine to complement it. This time, we flipped it around, picking out this Syrah from Walter Dacon Wines in Shelton, WA. We happened upon Walter Dacon on our way home from the coast last summer, and spent a lovely afternoon on their patio sipping on a couple of their Syrahs after tasting through their lineup of mostly Rhône-intensive wines.

The wines that we purchased at the winery that day, along with a bottle we picked up at a wine shop on the coast, inspired us to get a little serious about it and order a wine fridge. After a few days, we got the wine fridge in and running, so this bottle has been resting there for a little over half a year. In a nice change from our norm, we got a proper 2-hour decant in before tasting this one. 

The Food

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of our successful-though-somewhat-unexpected pairing of pork and Cabernet Franc, we bypassed the surefire dishes of lamb or beef and made Chicken Cordon Bleu with green beans on the side. Katy handled the main course while Hunter prepared the beans.

Paired Up: Pinot Noir and Salmon

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2009 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir (Oregon)

We first tried Pinot Noir with salmon at Anthony's Pier 66 last summer, and it proved to be an awakening of sorts. The splendid balance between the fish and the wine gave us our first glimpse of what was possible when the proper wine was served with the proper dish.

In the Pacific Northwest, Oregon is still the place to go to for the best Pinot Noirs. This one comes to us from A to Z Wineworks in Dundee via our local Metropolitan Market. Due to their high quality and increasing visibility, many Oregon Pinots have been climbing in price, but this one can be had for around $20. It was stored in our living room for about a week, then we decanted it for about an hour before tasting.

The Food

For Valentine's Day, we paired up our cooking skills and made a northwest classic: salmon, asparagus and smashed potatoes. Katy tackled the salmon and potatoes while Hunter prepared the asparagus.

Sampling the Goods: Patterson Cellars Tasting Room on the Pike Street Hill Climb and Market Cellar Winery

In our Sampling the Goods posts, we describe the vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms we visit and our experiences therein.

Patterson Cellars Tasting Room on the Pike Street Hill Climb

Saturday, January 29 saw the grand opening of Patterson Cellars' new tasting room on the Pike Street Hill Climb, a cluster of restaurant and retail stores fronting on a set of steps connecting the Pike Place Market to the waterfront. Always up to check out some new wines and a new space, we dropped by with some friends after a morning matinee.

Paired Up: Viognier and Spicy Seared Sole

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2009 Rulo Viognier (Walla Walla Valley)

We had this dish with tilapia in place of the sole a few weeks ago and paired it with a Gewürztraminer, which worked out pretty well. This time, we opted for a Viognier, hoping that it would complement the cayenne kick that we are on.

The bottle was purchased at Metropolitan Market in Lower Queen Anne. We found Rulo's 2007 Syrah outstanding and were looking forward to seeing what they could do with the other Northern Rhône grape. After purchase, the wine was stored in our wine fridge for about 3 weeks. We took it out, twisted off the cap and poured within minutes of our initial tasting.

The Food

After Hunter made a rare trip to the chef's table for our first blog go-round, Katy made her triumphant return to the kitchen. In the chef's words:

Once again, we went to Martha for the jumping off point of our meal. The recipe calls for a firm white fish fillet (skinless), beets and broccoli. We left the decision of the type of fish to our local Metropolitan Market fish selection, and as they were fresh out of tilapia, went for the nice looking (and cheaper than the halibut by a whole lot!) sole fillet. As for the beets, I fancy myself a bit of a plate artist, and enjoy adding as much color as possible, so I went for a purple and a golden. 

Paired Up: Cabernet Franc and Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with.

The Wine

2008 Mount Baker Vineyards Cabernet Franc Proprietor's Limited Release (Yakima Valley)

Rather than stick with the rule of thumb and grab out a Chardonnay to pair with pork, we decided to test out a Cabernet Franc. Cab Franc is more delicate than its Sauvignon cousin, so the thought was that it wouldn't overpower the food.

We picked this bottle up a couple days ago from Market Cellar Winery, where Mount Baker Vineyards and Winery currently has a tasting room set up, which we visited Saturday. We decanted the wine (in our brand-new decanter!) for 30 minutes while cooking the meal.

The Food

As eluded to, we had pork. More specifically, we had honey-glazed pork chops and squash. The recipe came from Everyday Food.

Wait, What Are We Doing? Tasting Wine?

In May 2010, we were invited to travel to Spring Release in Walla Walla with a few friends who had made the trek before. Before then, we had drunk and enjoyed some wines, but never really put much thought into it besides the occasional "Yum!" The world of wine tasting often seems intimidating and/or pretentious to those who haven't ventured in and we were nervous that we would get laughed right out of the tasting rooms. On the contrary, we found the people of the Walla Walla wineries, pourers and vintners alike (often one and the same!), to be very welcoming and patient. And more importantly, we found discovering wine with friends to be an endeavor that we greatly enjoyed.

We brought home our bounty of newly purchased wine and kept our eyes open for more opportunities to taste and enjoy new wines and wineries. By the end of the year, Hunter found that wine could be combined with statistics and obsessive tracking at CellarTracker and the addiction was ON. We wanted to contribute to the CellarTracker community, so we took to Google and gave ourselves a crash course in wine tasting and scoring. We don't claim to be experts by any means, we just like to enjoy the wines and scoring and writing tasting notes is a fun way (for us!) to focus on what we like or don't like in a wine!

As we have begun to explore wine, we have continued to explore and expand our culinary horizons. Katy loves to try new recipes and can hardly keep from adding a creative twist to new dishes and old favorites alike. We began attempting to pair wines with food and found it tough to find advice beyond general varietal/dish combinations. Our goal is to try good wines and good food and chronicle the successes along with the wrong turns and detours.