Hurry Up and Wait!

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

Fall is always always either one of two things for a Winemaker:

  1. A fantastically dry, long period of time that gives grapes time to mature their varietal character.
  2. Just another four-letter word that begins with the letter “F”!

Last week Fall was just another four-letter F word. This week I’m starting to regain my confidence in Fall. In fact, we’re going to start taking grape samples this weekend and look at next week for a possible harvest window!

This is the time of year that we sit and watch every type of weather report we can find, looking for the perfect time to pick. Being a small, family-owned business that uses all of our estate fruit for our own wines is a huge advantage in the end product. We can let the fruit “hang” out until the last possible moment to get the full maturity of the grape before we make our wines. Larger operations have to stage their harvests so that they have enough time to process everything before the fruit begins to rot. That makes it difficult to provide a consistently high quality product, and gives the smaller operations a distinct advantage.

Right now, the weather (knock on wood) looks fantastic for the next several days. With the rain that we had last week there is still a lot of water in our fruit. We go out and taste the berries every day to figure out when we start getting sugar back in them. Let me back up a second and explain what we’re waiting for.

Scientifically, there are three growth stages after bloom for the Vitis Vinifera (Common Grape Vine). The first stage and the last stage are where we see the most physical change in the grapes. After Veraison (color change), the fruit is around 12 or 13 Brix (percent) sugar. As we go through the end of summer and into Fall, that percentage increases, and we take random cluster tests waiting for the fruit to get around 23-24 Brix.

Last week, we received a pretty fair amount of rainfall from Mother Nature. In fact, there’s still some on the ground today. As the grapes soak up that water, our ability to accurately track the sugars becomes difficult. We get “set back”, in the sense that we cannot bring the fruit in to process it and make wine until it completely dries out. Now, the sugars in the grapes are still developing during this period, it’s just difficult to tell how much.

Hardened, brown stem is a sign that this Pinot Noir cluster is getting mature

The last day of rain we had was Tuesday, October 11th. What we need now is a full five days of dry weather to take another sample and see where the sugars in the grapes have advanced to. So, at this point it looks like we’ll go out and collect samples again on Sunday, October 16th. Based on the results of those tests, and the weather forecast at that time, we’ll probably start to plan a schedule for bringing our fruit in and beginning the harvest.

In a cold year like this one, acid is almost more important that sugar.

Green stem on this Pinot Gris cluster is a sign that the fruit has not completely matured yet

By testing the pH of our grape juice samples, we can check to see how mature the fruit has become. Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris juice that have a pH of between 3.2 and 3.4 are signal that there’s a good level of maturity in the fruit. You can’t really see maturity in a sugar sample. There are a couple of other ways you can check for maturity in your grapes:

  1. Check for dark brown color in the seeds of the grapes
  2. Check for a dark brown stem near the top of the grape cluster (See Photos Above)

That’s it for now. we’ll try and get you some new photos over the weekend and an explanation of how we take grape samples.

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Factors of Harvest

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

As we come to the end of the 2011 growing season here in the Willamette Valley, us farmers are always thinking about the factors involved with the year’s harvest:

  • Weather
  • Fruit Set
  • Nutrient Balance
  • Spray Program

Of these four things, there’s only one that is completely out of our hands. The weather. My Dad told me last week that of the 17 years he’s been overseeing this property, this year is the furthest we’ve ever been behind. We had bud break late. Bloom and fruit set late. Veraison late. And this will certainly lead to a late harvest. In this part of the world we start getting ready to receive grapes the last week of September. However, this year we’ve been waiting until the last week in October to receive our Pinot Noir even from the warmest of sites.

Weather

Jim McGavin, who owns Walnut Ridge Vineyard outside of Junction City, contacted me recently to share with me a fantastic free tool on a weather website that keeps Growing Degree Days (GDD) information accurate every day for the last ten years. GDD are calculated by taking the average of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures compared to a base temperature. It’s a simply understood concept that hides behind a very confusing term.

If you don’t have a weather station on your property (and we don’t), you take a look at Growing Degree Days (GDD) in Eugene, Oregon (based on the weather station at the Eugene Airport). Between April 1st and October 20th in 2010 we had 1,912 GDD. Comparing that to this year’s data we’re at 1,920 GDD, which is a little ahead of where we were last year. If you delve further into the past with GDD’s from April 1st until the day we began our Pinot Noir harvest , you end up with these numbers:

  • 2011: 1,920
  • 2010: 1,912
  • 2009: 2,089
  • 2008: 1,960
  • 2007:
  • 2006:

The other interesting aspect of the weather data I’ve been looking at this year is the precipitation total in inches, or rain:

  • 2011: 7.47″
  • 2010: 12.60″
  • 2009: 8.8″
  • 2008: 5.42″
  • 2007: 7.5″
  • 2006: 6.14″

In more recent years, we’ve had more rainfall during the growing season. This year has been cold, but not particularly wet. Last year we had lots of problems with botritis rot, and I think we can safely attribute that to the 12.6 inches of rainfall during the growing season.

All in all, the weather is a huge factor every year. And this year has been particularly cold. To me, that means that if you have any chance to make it with your vineyard in a year like this, you have to make some fairly liberal farming decisions with regards to your fruit set, nutrient balance, and spray program.

Fruit Set

Our fruit set is not fully recognized until the end of a growing season, but there are a few tricks that farmers have developed over the years to estimate their crop and make adjustments accordingly:

  • Data Plant Cluster Averages
  • Lag Phase Estimates
  • Dropping Fruit

There are five key times in the year that we look for and track to help us make decisions that lead to our end product:

  1. Bud Break: Seeing the green buds break open from the dormant brown vines.
  2. Bloom: Tiny white flowering, followed by self-pollinating
  3. Fruit Set: First visual development of grape clusters
  4. Veraison: Color change from hard green berries to soft, sugary grapes
  5. Harvest: Time to make wine!

Every year here at LaVelle Vineyards, we go out and count every cluster of every plant as soon as we have hit Fruit Set. Well, that’s not exactly true. We count the clusters on about 15 random plants per acre, and then create an average for each block of the vineyard. This gives us a Data Plant Cluster Average to take an educated guess on how much fruit we have hanging out there in a given year. The big variable in this equation is the individual cluster weights.

Take Riesling for example. I’ve had years where the average cluster weight has been 90 grams. I’ve had other years where the average weight has been 140 grams per cluster. This is a real nightmare for vineyard owners. Especially with varietals like Pinot Noir that tend to lose a lot of varietal character when over cropped. So, one way some farmers are estimating their crop more accurately in a current year is to do a Lag Phase Estimate. The Lag Phase estimate is a cluster weight estimate taken exactly halfway between bloom and harvest. You see, harvest cluster weights are very difficult to predict during the year because they are dependent on growing conditions throughout cluster development for that year. At the halfway point between bloom and harvest, or the lag phase, most of the variables that effect cluster development for the year have already occurred. So, a really smart person named Price (1992) figured out that there are three phases of growth that a grape cluster goes through during the year. The first and third phases have the most actual berry growth, and the second, or middle lag phase, has the least growth and is therefore about 50% of the final cluster weight. The physical characteristics of lag phase are a hardening of the grape seeds. Lag phase varies from site to site, and going to this level of crop estimation can give you pretty accurate numbers for harvest cluster weights.

So now we know what we have hanging out there. Is it too much? Too little? Now what? Well, in 2010 we had too little. So, we did nothing. We can subtract, but we cannot add. This year, however, we had a much nicer looking fruit set. Based on my estimates we decided to drop some Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. Dropping Fruit is the best thing we can do to assure that what fruit remains gets an adequate amount of nutrients and varietal character.

I think I’ve gone on long enough about this year’s harvest. As I told Julia Crowley, our local area Wine Writer, recently, we remain cautiously optimistic about how we finish this super late 2011 vintage!

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Red Agave – Restaurant & Cantina

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

The Red Agave Restaurant & Cantina has been on the top five list of restaurants in the Eugene area for at least five years. We hadn’t been out for a nice dinner since last year, due to our busy schedule and babies. But, with the help of a friend, we were able to venture out last night where we were served by the owner, Brian Hebb, and chef Mike Meyer a simply fantastic meal.

Red Agave was originally opened and operated by friends Katie Marcus-Brown and Sara Willis. They also owned El Vaquero at the 5th Street Market and Asado. They sold all of these restaurants, and at the end of 2010 started a new venture in south Eugene called June. Brian Hebb purchased the Red Agave in 2008 and has made his own mark on the decidedly Central American cuisine, with chef Mike Meyer. Brian has introduced a seasonal focus to his diners, along with interesting dining experiences like his Longtable Dinners. In 2010, Brian entered into a partnership to open Cowfish, a coffee house by day, nightclub by night, on Broadway in downtown Eugene.

My wife (Ashley) and I called in on Friday for a reservation on Saturday, and were happy to hear that Red Agave takes reservations (even for two people) at any time. A quick note about social networking here, the whole reason that we decided on Red Agave over any other restaurant, was Brian’s weekly email he sends out…So, it does work. About a week before our big date, at my son Adam’s first birthday party, one of Ashley’s friends told us that we “needed a date night”. She offered to watch Adam, and one ofour other friends offered to watch our seven year old Maggie.

So, all week long I’ve been thinking about the BBQ Boar Ribs, slowly braised, and served with a chipotle tequilla sauce. We arrived at the restaurant, and we’re greeted and seated by Brian. We brought in a bottle of our Matthew’s Reserve Pinot Noir to have with the Copper River Sockeye Salmon. Ashley asked me “Why doesn’t Red Agave have any LaVelle wines”. My reply was that they do have a good selection of Pinots, including Benton Lane and Territorial, and that I’m sure they just can’t carry all of us.

I asked Brian to recommend a wine by the glass that would pair well with the BBQ Boar Ribs, and he brought me Tikal’s Patriota, a Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina. And, it was a very nice pairing. I little more tannic structure than our Reserve Pinot, which made for some interesting fruit flavors with the chipotle BBQ sauce. Ashley selected a peruvian-style ceviche with seared ahi. She had a Richmond Gimlet to start the evening, and then tried our Reserve Pinot Noir with the ceviche and really liked it. I had a bite, and for me, I was wishing we had our estate Riesling or Pinot Gris with us for that pairing, and she agreed.

We both had the Cedar Plank Roasted Copper River Sockeye Salmon for entree, and we paired it with the 08 Matthew’s Reserve Pinot Noir. Chef Meyer treated this fish with an orange zest marinade, an orange-nopale salsa, sauteed greens, laid over a bed of red quinoa. We quickly noticed that the red quinoa had a fruity finish to it that paired nicely with our Pinot Noir. The salmon is a Northwest standard, and it was served to us in a fantastic fashion.

For dessert, Ashley decided on another standard at Red Agave, the Flourless Chocolate Molten Tort, topped with ganache & espresso creme anglaise. She went right through the entire meal with the Reserve Pinot, and thought that it paired well with the entire evening. I opted for the Artisnal Cheese Plate, which included two different goat cheeses, a fantastic blue cheese, quince paste (a sweet jelly), roasted marcona almonds, and baguette. Brian paired this one up for me with a small glass of Sherry. The heavy licorice of the Sherry paired best with the honey glazed blue cheese.

Overall, our meal was fantastic. We had a cocktail, two glasses of wine, a bottle of wine that we brought in, two appetizers, two dinners, and two desserts. With gratuity we got out of there for $120. We don’t get to go out too often, so when we do, we need it to be the best in town. Brian and Chef Meyer delivered that, and we appreciate it. It’s always fun being in a local business that’s supporting another local business, and maybe someday we’ll see a LaVelle wine on Brian’s list!

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Buena Vista 1st Grade Field Trip

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

On June 9, 2011 LaVelle Vineyards officially started it’s “Vine Club” program. The LaVelle Vine Club was started to teach children about farming practices at small, local farms. As we replant our vineyard, we intend to show elementary school kids how we plant vines, and what the vineyard growing cycle entails.

Senorita Young’s 1st grade class from Buena Vista Elementary school was the first class to come out to the vineyard and experience the Vine Club. We spend two hours with them, showing them how to plant a young vine, taking them on a vineyard hike, and showing them along the way what everything from baby plants, to five year old plants, and then to the 41 year old plants look like. We continued up the hill to our deck at the top of the vineyard, where we took a class photo with all the kids and Senorita Young.

Then, we went back down through the vineyard, and into the winery. We stopped for a little talk about the fermentation process, and then went out onto the south lawn for story time. My wife, Ashley, a middle school teacher at Springfield Middle School, read them two stories. She read What a Grape Can Be, and The Grapes Grow Sweet.

Now the kids were starving, so we ended the trip with a completely organic lunch including spaghetti and grape juice from Market of Choice. We’ll be posting photos through the summer on Senorita Young’s weblog as the vineyard progresses, and then we’ll have the kids back in the Fall to see the grapes right before harvest.

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How long can you age wine?

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

I had a club member ask me recently “Do you have a document you could send me online OR can you recommend a good book that will tell you about the shelf life of wines, including champagne’s?”

I have, in my mind, what I believe is a pretty good rule of thumb for how long wine can be laid down. However, in my relatively short time line of experience, I went looking online to see if there was any definitive answer. There’s not.

There’s a lot of people’s opinions out there, so I thought I’d collect a few of my opinions, and a few of the one’s that seemed like good ones, and list them here. But first, why isn’t there a text book out there that gives a definitive answer. There are two reasons, and they are:

  1. Wine
  2. People

These are the two main variables in the equation, and since neither of them is consistent, there really isn’t a straightforward answer, just opinions.

Let’s start with the wine. There is a large difference in wine, from varietal, to vintage, to winemaking style, growing region, and even packaging that has to be taken into consideration. These factors all influence the amount of time that a red, white, or sparkling wine can be laid down. As a consumer, it’s important that you ask questions like:

  1. Is this a Pinot Noir? Riesling? Cabernet Sauvignon? (Varietal)
  2. Was this wine made in a fruit forward style? (Wine Making)
  3. What growing region are the grapes from? (Region)
  4. What type of enclosure was used? (Packaging)
  5. Are there any residual sugars present? (Wine Making)
  6. How much oak was used, and what type? (Wine Making)

In my mind, all of these questions are valid to help me determine if, and how long I would decide to age a bottle. Which leads me to the other, even more diverse variable, people. Just as our mother’s taught us, we are all snowflakes. That is, no two of us are exactly alike, but all beautiful in our own way. How long one should cellar wine for is up to what kind of experience one is looking for in the wine. If you are interested in a specific taste or smell, then there are a few guidelines that you can follow, depending on the varietal:

  • Riesling: Age can cause fruit to lessen, and be replaced by fusel oil, kerosene, mineral, and cause a decrease in acidity. Heavier mouthfeel will also occur.
  • Pinot Noir: Age can cause fruit to intensify first, then slowly decrease. Replaced by oak, earth, and a myriad of other flavors. This varietal is tough to pin down, due to extreme complexity.
  • Cabernet Sauvignon: There is a large difference here between European and American Cabs. In particular, Washington Cabs tend to be ready to drink after only two or three years, as they tend to possess softer tannic structures. Our Columbia Valley line up can be laid down for a few years, but will then lose it’s fruit flavors, which are replaced by the oak and earth flavors hidden beneath.

As I’ve been writing this article, I’ve realized that there really isn’t any quick reference guide for consumers. So, I’m going to spend some time working on some simple point scoring systems that you can use to follow for an aging recommendation. More on that soon…

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Hearty Ham Stew with Trilogy or Syrah

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

Happy Easter! What will you do with your excess ham? We have a fun an healthy option that makes a fine pairing with two of our wines: ’08 Columbia Valley Trilogy, and ’08 Columbia Valley Syrah.

2 Organic Leeks Chopped
1 Small Head Organic Red Cabbage
6 Medium Organic Carrots
8 Small Organic Red Potatoes
1 Cup Black Eyed Peas
3-4 Cloves of Garlic
1″x1″ piece of Ginger Root
2 Cups Leftover Ham
1-2 Cartons Organic Free Range Chicken Broth

In a large pot, saute leeks, cabbage, carrot and potato for 5-10 minutes.  Add black eyed peas, garlic. Use a Microplane to mince ginger root or chop finely. Cut ham into small cubes and add to the pot along with the broth.  Simmer on low heat for as long as you need to finish your Easter Egg hunt or clean up all the plastic Easter basket grass. Check tenderness of the potatoes then remove from heat.

Pairing this wine was fun because we had the assistance of  some neighbors and their friends from Santa Rosa.  We tried several pairings and came down to two that we felt did justice to both the food and the wine.  The Syrah, being lighter bodied than the Trilogy, provided a nice acid balance and held up to the heartiness of the food.  The Syrah had a bright burst of fruits up front with strawberry which brought out the caramelized onion flavors in the soup. The medium body and French Oak brought out the smoke and wood flavors from the ham. The finish was long and interesting.

The Trilogy was another favorite. Up front, the wine’s dark fruit boquet blends with the caramelized onion and emphasizes the soft, velvety mouthfeel of the wine. The heavier body and tannic structure held up to the food without overpowering it. The spice in the wine played off the presence of ginger and the tannins mellowed with the smokiness of the ham.

 

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Pecorino Tartufo Stuffed Chicken With Organic Crimini Mushrooms

Posted on April 17, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

Pairing wines with cheeses is fun, but after a long work week…we are hungry. We decided to create a dish to capitalize on some of the most striking nuances we discovered from last night’s wine and cheese pairing.  We thought about the intense, unexpected qualities of the Pecorino Tartufo and decided they should be stuffed into a chicken breast. Along with some organic Crimini mushrooms, red onion and spinach we bring you our creation.

  • Organic chicken breasts (Costco)
  • Pecorino Tartufo Cheese (Market of Choice, Eugene OR)
  • Lundberg organic brown rice
  • Organic crimini mushrooms
  • organic red onions
  • paprika and cilantro for garnish
  • Organic spinach for stuffing and salad

Cover and simmer rice for 45 minutes on low heat. Chop mushrooms and red onions and saute lightly with a little oil or butter if desired. Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Slice chicken breasts open and stuff with spinach leaves and cheese. Dust chicken with paprika and bake for 25 minutes. Plate chicken, rice, and mushroom/onion mix, and enjoy!

When pairing a dish using a cheese you tried alone the night before, be prepared to have a less intense interaction.  Stuffing the cheese into the chicken with the spinach allowed the flavor to diffuse throughout.  Some of the flavors remained, while some transformed and morphed into other flavors entirely.  Because the dish seemed on the lighter side, we paired it with the 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris.  This pairing was excellent.The fruit burst forward from the front through the mid palette. The still present mineral and floral tones of the cheese played nicely with similar undertones in the Pinot Gris.

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Pecorino Tartufo and Organic Aged Cheddar

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

Ashley picked up some Pecorino Tartufo (Italian sheep’s milk with black truffle) and Organic Cheddar Provista (aged 9 months).

We tasted the Pecorino first, and right away we thought “this needs some Cabernet”. So, out comes our LaVelle 07 Cabernet Sauvignon and we try the pairing. I thought for sure that the pungent and astringent flavor in the cheese would make the Hungarian Oak in the Cab explode. But, it didn’t…In fact, the pairing was…not our favorite. The Cabernet intensified the black truffle in the cheese and brought out some dirt and leather. And if you like that, then this is a nice pairing. Ashley and I really prefer fruit flavors though, so we moved on to the Matthew’s Reserve Pinot Noir.

Now, I wouldn’t have paired the Pecorino with any Pinot Noir off hand, but the 08 Matthew’s Reserve Pinot Noir has a really bright cherry in the mid palate that seemed to tame the black truffle. The finish is also extremely long on this pairing, as the fresh strawberries hang on your tongue forever. The truffle tends to numb your tongue, but with the Pinot you get this vanilla in the background which gives a little velvet to the mouthfeel.

Both wines went well with the cheddar, but the one that enhanced the flavors in the cheese most was the Cabernet.  The rich deep flavor profile of the Cab emphasized the tangy, playful notes in the Cheddar.  Aged Cheddar can sometimes loose that tart acidity with age, giving way to a more mellow, earthy flavor. Paired with the Cab, it seems to showcase what remains of that youth but with a complex and lingering finish that an Aged Cheddar can offer.

 

 

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What exactly is a LaVelle Murder Mystery Dinner?

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

We have another fantastic Murder Mystery Dinner coming up on April 30th. You can call the winery at 541-935-9406 to purchase tickets directly. I always have people ask me “What exactly is a Murder Mystery Dinner?“, so I thought that writing up a walk through of the evening here on the blog would give people a better idea of what they’re in for.

First of all, when we promote this event, we typically say Join us for an intriguing evening of food, wine, and murder. But there are a few other aspects of the evening that we don’t usually talk about:

  • $79 ticket price includes transportation to & from Valley River Center on comfortable OC&W Coachways buses
  • All plays are produced locally by Lee Taylor, playwright, and performed by our consistent troupe of six actors, a.k.a. The Will Act for Wine Players
  • The food is always local, and is usually provided by Adam’s Sustainable Table, from downtown Eugene, Oregon
  • Master of Ceremonies for the event is Doug LaVelle, owner of LaVelle Vineyards
  • We usually offer a to-go case sale on LaVelle wine. So, if you like our wines, you’ll have the opportunity to stock up and save on a case at the end of the evening

Before I go onto the specific flow of the evening, I’d like to list the menu here for the meal we’ll be enjoying from Adam’s Sustainable Table:

  • Bread, Rosemary, Olive Oil and bowls of cured olives.
  • First Course – on table with bread
    Salad Nicoise
    Albacore Tuna, Green Beans, potatoes, grilled onion, boiled eggs, nicoise
    olives & greens bound in a Caesar style dressing.
  • Second Course
    Cassoulet with Boudin Blanc Sausage.
    A savory dish of braised locally grown flageolet beans with smoked ham and
    handmade Boudin Blanc sausage (a chicken and pork sausage) from Long’s Meat Market.
  • Third Course
    Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Style)
    Seared chicken braised with wine, mushrooms,tomatoes, garlic and onions.
    Served with rice pilaf and vegetables.
  • Fourth Course
    French Pastry (Seasonal fruit or chocolate, yet to be decided).

Now, onto the specifics of the evening.

If you choose to take our provided OC&W Coachways bus transportation from Valley River Center, you’ll arrive at the winery around 6:30 PM. This is the time the event begins. Some people ask me “What type of clothes should I wear?”. I’ve seen everything at these events over the last five years. Sometimes people wear suits, sometimes they wear blue jeans. There’s usually even a few people that dress up within the theme of the play. The theme this time around is Springtime in Paris, so it’s not as easy to dress up for that theme. Regardless, I always tell people that they’ll be comfortable in whatever they choose to wear.

As you enter the tasting room, you’ll be greeted, and your coats hung up on a rack if you so choose. The actors will be in character, and up and will help you find your seat inside the main barrel room of the winery. Once inside, you’ll find 10-12 candlelit tables that seat ten people each, and you’ll hear french music playing in the background. You’ll be taken to your table, where you’ll go ahead and start in with some appetizers and your first wine order. Wine barrels adorn the perimeter of the room with hundreds of tiny tea light candles setting a romantic, while spooky scene for tonight’s murder!

After everyone’s seated and comfortable, we’ll begin the evening with my Dad, Doug LaVelle, the MC for the event. He will welcome everyone, and then set the scene for the play, introduce the actors, and then step aside as “Act one begins”. The actors sit at six of the tables with guests, and will be available to answer questions for those of you sleuths out there looking to solve the case. The only thing that’s for sure is that one of these six actors has indeed committed murder!

At the end of act one, the first of two main courses comes out, served European family style, in this case it will be the Cassoulet with Boudin Blanc Sausage from Long’s Meat Market. For those of you who haven’t had it, in my opinion, Long’s Meat Market really does deliver superb meat products to what you can find in a grocery store. We feast!

Then, act two, followed by Chicken Chasseur (Hunter’s Style), our second main course, and then act three. Following act three you’ll be served dessert. You’ll also be given the task at each table to decide who you think the murderer is. This is where things get really fun. After dessert, Doug, our MC comes out and goes table to table, asking for a representative from each table to stand up and report their findings. Then, at the very end of the evening, the murderer is revealed! He or she comes forth, and delivers a speech telling everyone about their motives.

After the event you’ll have a chance to score a great deal on some fantastic wines. The special of the evening will be promoted the night of the event, so if you don’t see it, make sure you ask your server about it!

Well, that’s the evening in a nutshell. If you have any other questions you’re always welcome to call the winery at 541-935-9406 and speak with any of us about this event.

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Lacinato Kale and Red Pepper Stuffed Chicken with Mushroom Quinoa

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Matthew LaVelle

Two days in a row? Dare we create a second food and wine pairing in only two days? We dare. You’ll need to dive into your refrigerator’s crisper for this dish:

1/2 chopped organic red onion (Market of Choice)
3 cloves garlic (Corner Market, Eugene Oregon)
3 Tbs chopped organic red bell pepper (Market of Choice)
1 bunch of chopped organic Lacinato kale (Corner Market, Eugene Oregon)
1 cup organic Crimini mushrooms (Yamhill County Mushrooms)
2 organic free range chicken breasts (Rosie’s Free Range Chicken)
sprinkle paprika and ground Saigon cinnamon on top of chicken breasts
1 carton Pacific organic free range chicken broth (Costco)
2/3 cup dry organic quinoa (Costco)
1Tbs organic butter

Begin by adding chopped kale to a large saucepan. Add butter, simmer and cover for 20 minutes.

Chop other vegetables and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sautee onion, garlic, and red pepper in olive oil and Pinot Gris for 10 minutes.
Prepare chicken by slicing a horizontal cut into the side of the breast
Stuff the vegetable mixture and kale into the chicken breast and seal with several toothpicks. Reserve the remaining kale for a side dish to the meal. Bake chicken for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring two cups chicken broth to a boil and add dried quinoa. Cover, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

In a small sautee pan combine chopped mushrooms, olive oil, 1/2 tbs butter, and 1/4 cup Pinot Gris and simmer for 10 minutes (cover)

When chicken is ready, plate chicken and combine quinoa with mushroom sautee, add reserved kale to plate. Enjoy!

Now to the wine pairings.  We chose to try the 2008 Trilogy and the 2008 Riesling with this dish.  We felt that, like the dish, neither of these two wines were extremely light or extremely heavy. The Riesling had a nice citrus flavor, but specifically paired with the quinoa, it brought out a pear and honey flavor not always typical with this Riesling.  The Trilogy did well holding up to the complex characteristics of the food.  The subtle cinnamon played nicely with the spice of the wine.  The Hungarian oak burst out of the wine and the food brought forth black cherry and plum. All in all, each wine paired well with the food, however, because the food had so many complex flavors the wine merely showcased the meal.

 

 

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