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Summer Wine: Sauvignon Blanc

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One of my favorite summer wines is Sauvignon Blanc. (The other one is Rosé, but that’s a whole other post). I would describe Sauvignon Blanc as fresh, lemony and grassy…it reminds me of a fresh-cut lawn, a big warm sun and long days of languishing in the heat needing a refreshment.

Sauvignon Blanc is that perfect summer refreshment! Here are some Central Coast Sauv Blancs to try:

Summer Recipes Sauvignon Blanc Food Pairing

Many of your favorite summer foods go great with Sauvignon Blanc. Here are some some summer recipes for you to try:

Recipe photos by Closet Cooking, Cali Zona, Food & Wine, Marcus Samuelsson, Spoonful of Flavor & VinDulge.

This Saturday in Pismo Beach: The Chardonnay Symposium

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Chardonnay Symposium in Pismo Beach
Grand Tasting at Dolphin Bay in Pismo Beach

The world’s greatest grape — and its most versatile — is being celebrated this weekend at the Central Coast’s International Chardonnay Symposium. The festival has been bustling since Thursday with seminars, a grand tasting and a decadent Paulée dinner + Vintners Awards, but not to worry. You still have plenty of time to get your Chardonnay on!

Saturday’s upcoming events promise you an interesting education on this popular grape — like did you know Chardonnay is the main component of many sparkling wines around the world, including Champagne? At the grand tasting, try a multitude of top Chardonnays from around the world with a panoramic ocean view. And finally, attend the delicious and fascinating farm-to-table dinner where you can taste Chardonnay blind along with top winemakers and sommeliers.

Past Chardonnay Symposium in Santa Maria
Past Chardonnay Symposium Education Session in Santa Maria

Sat 10am — Diversity in Balance: Pairing Chardonnay with Food
This panel will evaluate components such as minerality and acidity and how these traits, whether enhanced by modern winemaking practices or caused by terroir, tend to pair with complex or unusual cuisines. But what about the rich & buttery Chardonnays? Can’t they also be a part of happy food pairing relationships? Lunch will be served during this panel so we can all decide for ourselves.

Sat 10am — Hanzell Vineyards & Mount Eden Vineyards Retrospective Tasting
Hanzell Vineyards and Mount Eden Vineyards come together for a one-of-a-kind retrospective tasting of classic Chardonnay. Mount Eden Vineyards Winemaker, Jeffrey Patterson, will be sharing the 1996, 2001(from magnum), 2006 and 2011. Hanzell Vineyards Winemaker, Michael McNeill, will pour their 1994 (from magnum), 2001(from magnum), 2008, and 2011 vintages. To accompany the tasting, a sumptuous pairing lunch will be prepared by Chef Christopher Manning of the famed Thomas Hill Organics in Paso Robles.

Chardonnay Symposium in Pismo Beach
Chardonnay: the world’s favorite grape

Sat 1pm — Saturday Grand Tasting
Guests have the chance to taste top Chardonnays from the US and around the world with an all new line-up unique from the Friday Grand Tasting. For those who are attending both grand tasting events, rest assured that your palate will be rewarded with something new and exciting during every sip. Guests will continue to enjoy hand selected cheeses provided by Vivant and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, view a host of vendor booths, and engage in a wine lineup unique to this event. To expand upon the ambiance, this event will take place on the Dolphin Bay Resort & Spa terrace, providing breathtaking views spanning from Avila Beach to the Pismo Dunes. A silent auction will be included with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Cal Poly’s Wine & Viticulture and Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Administration departments. Come taste and discover for yourself why Chardonnay is the world’s greatest grape!

Sat 6:30pm — Taste Like a Somm Double-Blind Winemaker Dinner
Join seven sommeliers and winemakers for an interactive evening of farm-to-table cuisine paired with prominent Chardonnays from near and far. Chef Gregg Wangard, of the Gardens of Avila, has handcrafted a menu that is set to complement Chardonnay and impress both the foodie and wine lover. During dinner there will be a sommelier and winemaker assigned to each table to help guests begin the double-blind portion of the evening. The wines are blind to the guest as well as the winemakers and sommeliers. The fun begins as the wines are poured blind for all guests to engage with their host sommelier in a discussion about taste, texture, and terroir, while winemakers can offer insight as to what qualities make this varietal so unique and special.

 

Cooking with Wine: Roast Chardonnay Chicken Recipe

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2009 Alta Maria ChardonnayI love French food and wine…and I love eating and drinking local. These two loves inspired me to create a local version of a typical French dish: oven-roasted chicken with vegetables and herbs de Provence. Of course, this is using local Chardonnay – in the dish…and in my glass.

In a Santa Barbara County garden you can find rosemary, lemon thyme, basil and chives. And garlic, of course! Also, fennel is a bountiful crop on California’s central coast, which you can usually substitute for celery, instead of a traditional mirepoix (French base of onion, carrot and celery). Browning the chicken before roasting gives it a richer flavor than more simple roasts and the end result is a savory, delicious one-pot meal that pairs perfectly with the subtle body and flavors of Alta Maria Chardonnay.

Also, try this Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto.

Roast Chardonnay Chicken with Santa Barbara Herbs
Recipe Type: Main Dish
Author: Liz
Prep time: 6 hours 20 mins
Cook time: 80 mins
Total time: 7 hours 40 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 4-pound chicken
  • 3 cups Chardonnay (2009 Alta Maria Chardonnay)
  • 1 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 8 cloves garlic: 6 whole, 2 diced
  • 3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs (like lemon thyme, rosemary, basil, chives, marjoram) or 1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs
  • 2 lemons: 1 sliced, 1 juiced
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • Salt, to taste
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 fennel bulb, chopped
  • 1 small green cabbage, cored and quartered
Instructions
  1. In large bowl, combine the Chardonnay, 1 cup olive oil, diced garlic, herbs, lemon juice, pepper and salt. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 6 hours. Turn occasionally.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat remaining olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel and garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. When the vegetables are caramelized, spoon them along the sides of the pan.
  3. Remove chicken from marinade and add to the middle of the pan. Sear each side until slightly brown, about 3 minutes per side. Arrange the quartered cabbage around the sides of the chicken and pour the marinade into the pan over the chicken and vegetables.
  4. Cover the pan with a lid and roast in the oven for 60-70 minutes, until the chicken is done (meat is cooked through when cut, leg separates easily from the body, or 170 degrees on meat thermometer). Remove lid and let it rest at room temperature 10 minutes.

Roast chardonnay chicken with santa barbara herbs recipe

Cooking with Wine: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto Recipe

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Every so often, you stumble upon a Chardonnay so refreshing and unique, so unlike typical oaky-buttery-California Chardonnays, that you want to drink it, cook with it, maybe even bathe in it.

Alta Maria Chardonnay

Alta Maria’s 2009 Chardonnay from Santa Maria Valley is half steel-fermented and half oak-fermented, with a creamy freshness and lemon-lime quality that makes it just as perfect in a rustic dish in front of the fire as a on a warm summer day in the garden. And cooking with wine is just as important as drinking or tasting wine.

Cooking with this Chardonnay adds something special to the dish: a little more citrus, good acid and lots of flavor. And don’t forget to pour a glass to pair the wine to sip with the dish! It’s the perfect pair to either of these winter Chardonnay recipes: Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto below and Chardonnay Roast Chicken with Santa Barbara herbs.

And for dessert, here’s my other favorite way to use winter squash…and summer squash and fall squash and…

Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto recipe

Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto
Author: Liz
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed, peeled winter squash medley
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cloves minced fresh garlic
  • 2 cups organic vegetable broth
  • 2 cups Chardonnay (2009 Alta Maria Chardonnay)
  • 1 ounce pancetta or prosciutto
  • 1 medium finely chopped onion
  • 1 1/4 cups uncooked Arborio rice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herb mix (like lemon thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil, lavender)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Combine squash and 1 tablespoon oil, tossing to coat. Arrange squash in a single layer on baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until squash is just tender. Remove from pan; set aside.
  3. Heat a large heavy-bottom stock pot over medium heat. Add pancetta to pot; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Remove pancetta and set aside.
  4. Add remaining olive oil to pot, then add onion; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Add 1/2 cup wine; cook 1 minute or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Continue to add remaining wine and broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 20 minutes total). Stir in squash, herbs, cheese, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
  6. Top with pancetta.

 Winter Squash Chardonnay Risotto recipe

Wine Cocktails: a Mixologist in our Midst at Palmina Winery

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If you’ve noticed Palmina Winery‘s recent Aperitivi nights, you’ve seen some gorgeous concoctions being poured in the tasting room in Lompoc on Thursdays and Fridays. In Italy, aperitivi are an important part of an evening’s events; they are meant to tickle the taste buds and prepare you for the main meal to come later.

aperitivi at Palmina Winery in Lompoc

This summer, Chelsea is creating fresh new white wine cocktails to combine the worlds of summer wine cocktails and new Italian friends, or amici. Using Palmina’s white wine on tap, Tavola Bianco, she’s created some refreshing concoctions with an Italian twist.

A typical aperitivi night may introduce you to:

Chiara: A subtle beauty with a classic elegance. She tempts the palate with dancing flavors of fresh lavender and peach. Most enticing and perky when served chilled, she is light and approachable with a balance that is friendly and inviting. She advocates long walks on the beach with her jugs in hand or relaxing picnics in the park where her keg can be tapped and enjoyed by all to the very last drop.

aperitivi at Palmina Winery in Lompoc

Marco: The flavorful favorite amongst local ladies and exceedingly popular with the hipsters, Marco is sophisticated, enigmatic and complex. He seduces you with his confident composure showing hints of lemon, rosemary and green apple. He further excites your palate with sensational tinges of rosebuds and a creamy finish that is teasingly addictive.

Omar: Ridiculously romantic and easily the most seductive of the Amici lineup, Omar is best enjoyed between the sheets. His gorgeous color and silky complexity allow him to go down all too smooth. Lustrous raspberry and lemon touches guide their way toward his soft, yet firm rose petal and blood orange finish. With Omar, one bottle is never enough to satiate the palate and a growler or two is best to keep on hand in case of emergencies.

Vivianne: This tasty lady is best described as a stone cold fox. She reels you in with her rich and intense color and thrills your senses with tender notes of blood orange and rose. She finishes in the most lively of ways with a blackberry and citrus kick that makes her a perfect match for any man and a perfect partner for every woman.

aperitivi at Palmina Winery in Lompoc

Fabio: Fragrant, fruity and flaming hot, this hunky Italian was meant for your mouth. Fabio is the perfect way to start your day in lieu of the traditional bloody mary or mimosa. Cayenne pepper, fresh peaches, tomato juice and blood orange with a splash of honey along with a creamy finish always leaves you wanting more.

Good amici are good to have. Aperitivi served Thurs & Fri from 4 – 7!

aperitivi at Palmina Winery in Lompoc