The Wine Knows

My wife and I recently hosted a 12-bottle Washington wine tasting for 8 people for the purpose of assisting a local community outreach program. Each person had 3 glasses. We would pour the 4th wine of each flight when everybody had a free glass. All pours were about 2 oz.

June 7, 2008

Flight 1: Some aged wines
#1 92 Tefft Reserve Cab
#2 93 Tefft Cab
#3 94 Tefft Reserve Merlot
#4 97 Kiona Cab (Washington State)

Flight 2: All Merlots
#1 2000 Seven Hills Merlot Seven Hills Vineyard
#2 2003 Januik Merlot Klipsun Vineyard
#3 2005 Leonetti
#4 2005 Cadence Klipsun (technically merlot @ 80% of blend)

Flight 3: Cabs/Cab-based blends
#1 2001 DeLille Harrison Hill
#2 2005 Seven Hills Cab Sauv Seven Hills Vineyard
#3 2003 Quilceda Creek Red Wine
#4 2005 Januik Cab Sauv Champoux

Although I had backups and alternative bottles for all 12, every bottle was sound with no duds in the bunch!!

I occasionally polled the group about favorites, style observations and preferences. Flight 2 in particular presented a good variety of styles for merlot. At the end of the night when asked about overall enjoyment, flight 2 overall was an almost unamimous favorite. As we moved from merlot to merlot, most of the group found it difficult to pick a favorite since they all showed so well. Their favorite changed each time they tasted or retasted a wine.

Some notes on flight 2 merlots:
(all were noses were clean and wines clear - for Tyson)
All were opened and double-decanted just prior to pouring.
All had at least a medium-long finish with palate and finish very closely following the initial nose.

#1 Seven Hills - great balance and terrific mouthfeel.
earth (for me the defining Walla Walla kind), cherries and some dark fruits on both the nose and palate with some pleasing herbal and fall leafy notes. still very good color, not fading at all. Good acidity and freshness factor. excellent. Their wines are so well balanced with the alcohol as usual being below 14% somewhere (label says 13%).

#2 Januik - integrated and well-balanced aromas and flavors of pure and intense dark red fruit with notes of cedar, toast, vanilla. The fruit had a spicy element to it. Full in mouthfeel, expansive fruit, and just plain delicious. There's a reason Mike earned the name Mr. Merlot along the way. Intense color of red/ruby.

#3 Leonetti - exotic and almost flamboyant on the amazingly pure and lifted fruity nose. The darkest of the bunch with a brilliant color leaning into the purple spectrum along with dark reds thrown in. This almost levitated out of the glass. It was slightly lower in acidity than the others in the flight which bouyed the fruit. This did not detract as the finish increased in length and complexity with time in the glass. I think one person would have jumped into the glass if that was possible. Layered in flavors with red fruits complimenting the dominant darker ones. Not showing it's slightly higher alcohol .

#4 Cadence - The lightest in color and mouthfeel (as in no chance for an extracted mess). As usual from Ben, very aromatic from birth probably. Very good balance and flavor in the red fruit spectrum. It was hard to give up one of the previous 3 glasses in order to pour this one, so it did not get the time in the glass it deserved. Over 14% alc but not showing it at all. Ben's last vintage of Klipsun as his Cara Mia Red Mtn. vineyard is now producing fruit.

All were outstanding.

This is one of our favorite summertime meals on the deck. They are easy to make and very tasty. Serve with cantelope/strawberry fruit salad and a nice fruit forward glass of merlot.

Grilled Chicken Caprese' Sandwiches (makes 6, serves 3-6)
1/2 cup light olive oil (Extra virgin tends to be too strongly flavored)
5 Tbs fresh lemon juice
8 garlic cloves, pressed or mashed
1 1/2 Tbs thyme, crushed
1 packed Tbs fresh basil, finely chopped
pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the ingredients above and set aside. Then, prepare

2-3 tomatoes, thinly sliced (18 slices)
8 ounces fresh (buffalo) mozzarella, sliced into 18 slices

Place the tomatoes and the fresh mozzarella in a bowl and pour half of the marinade over the top. Lightly toss and let sit for 30 minutes.

6 1/2" thick boneless chicken breast cutlets (3 large breasts fileted in half)

Place the chicken in a bowl or a one gallon zip lock bag. Add the remaining marinade and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

3 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half, or as follows (our favorite)

1 refrigerated tube of pizza dough. Open and spread out. Cut dough into 6 eaqual parts, forming into 4" by 6" pieces. They will be about 1/2" thick. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder. Follow package directions for baking, but reduce baking time by 3 minutes. They should barely be browned on the bottom.

While baking, light a charcoal or gas grill. When ready, grill the chicken breast cutlets just until done, about 5 minutes per side. Then, place the ciabatta rolls (lightly brushed with olive oil) cut side down on the grill and grill until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes. If using the pizza dough, place top side down on the grill for about 2 minutes, until nice grill marks appear.

Plate the ciabatta/pizza bread. Top with a piece of chicken, followed by three slices of the mozzarella and three slices of tomato. Drizzle some of the marinade from the tomatoes and mozzarella over each sandwich until gone. Lightly sprinkle with salt if desired. Top with fresh sliced basil if desired (I use lots!) and serve with fresh fruit and plenty of fruit forward merlot for a wonderful summertime meal.

This is a great, simple recipe, and much of it can be made ahead of time. Enjoy!

Cheers!
Tim