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Stir-Fried Five-Spice Pork with Lettuce Cups

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, outer fat trimmed and pork cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 small onion, cut into 1/3-inch dice

1 carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 celery rib, thinly sliced on the bias

3/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1/3 cup canned whole water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons chicken stock or low-sodium broth

2 1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

8 basil leaves, torn into pieces

2 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Iceberg lettuce leaves, for serving

In a large skillet, heat the peanut oil until shimmering. Add the diced pork shoulder and stir-fry over high heat until browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pork to a plate.

Add the onion, carrot and celery to the skillet and cook over moderate heat until tender, about 4 minutes, Add the five-spice powder and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the water chestnuts, stock and hoisin sauce, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Return the pork to the skillet and stir-fry until heated through and coated with the sauce, about 1 minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in the basil, scallions and sesame oil; season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pork into bowls and serve with lettuce leaves for wrapping.

Serve with steamed brown rise or white rice

Pair It

Small Vines Wines Estate Cuvée Russian River Valley Pinot Noir; $55

Pinot noir is the perfect varietal to pair with Chinese food. Its tannins and freshness help to degrease many fatty Chinese dishes. The Asian flavors such as sweet/spicy, earth-toned or mildly bitter Asian flavors for instance star anise, wasabi, hoisin, seaweeds, fennel, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, shiitakes, and even mild teriyaki marinades and glazes perfectly pair with our Pinot Noir. All of these can actually bring out the mildly sweet, zippy, toasty, earthy, and wonderfully beefy qualities of Pinot Noir, just as the wine can bring out the same qualities in the food. Small Vines’ Vigneron, Paul Sloan, hand selected our best barrels and crafted from obsessively tended vines. This precise cuvée marries our excellent estate vineyards together.

A great evening of wine tasting and dinner pairing with friends…

We were recently included in a fantastic wine tasting and dinner pairing with a wine group in Charlottesville, Virginia. Thank you for including our wine with your tasting and we hope you all enjoyed the tasting.

Below is the post on the WestCoastWine.net forum and blog.

My regular wine group met at our place in Charlottesville on Saturday. We’ve been together longer than any of us are sure (over twenty years in total and over 15 with the current members). We started in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. Even though one couple has moved to Pennsylvania and Pat and I to Charlottesville, we have stayed together. We travel and sleep over (kind of a slumber party with wine). Since one couple moved to Santa Fe last year (a bit far for even our commuting orientation) we have taken to having the host invite another couple to keep our numbers at 10. Saturday we were joined by Boyce Brannock (“BEB” here on the board) and his lovely wife, Deneen.

This was a bit of an unusual gathering for our group. Pat and our friend, Joan Hyde, will be celebrating milestone birthdays in a couple of weeks. So we decided to make a celebration of it and had a chef (Ben, whom we knew already) from our favorite caterer come in to prepare the meal, matching the food to the wines I selected. Made life a lot easier for Pat and me and what a meal he created! At times there was a cooking class going on in the kitchen since folks were interested and Ben was delighted to explain what he was doing. The wine theme was the traditional “wines that don’t suck”. I pulled wines I love and put them in flights of two with each course.

Before dinner we gathered out on our back porch and enjoyed a splendid evening and a great view. We sampled four Chardonnays Pat and I picked up from our trip to California in late April. They were accompanied by two spreads (artichoke and smoked trout) and olives (the only food Ben did not prepare – we wanted to keep it simple and light).

2012 Copain Chardonnay Tous Ensemble
2012 Small Vines Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
2012 Daou Reserve Chardonnay, Paso Robles
2012 Mauritson Chadonnay, Alexander Valley

No notes, but a few impressions. None of these was overly oaked (which Pat and I hate). I loved the Copain for its crisp, clean presentation; this all about fruit and acid and balance. The Small Vines was a lovely balance of fruit with the faintest bit of oak and very nice acidity. The Daou showed the most oak (which is not to say a lot), but the fruit handled it and the acidity framed the fruit nicely; it you are a total oakaphobe my guess is you will not like this one, but if you like a bit of oak as a spice, it has a lot to offer. The Mauritson was a bit of a disappointment. I like the Mauritson reds (notably some great zins), but this chardonnay, while not offensive in any way, just seemed outclassed.

On to the dinner table. The whites with the first course were kept in the cellar and then placed in the refrigerator for 15 minutes immediately before serving.

First Course

Oven-seared Halibut with minted pearl pasta, fennel compote in a smoked heirloom tomato broth. A gorgeous dish. Two Rhone whites to go with this and the pairing was excellent.

2007 Chapoutier Ermitage le Meal Blanc

A truly great wine. A lovely golden color. Hints of lemon on the nose. The palate shows butterscotch, lemon, minerals and tarragon. It finishes long and lovely with beautiful minerality and notes of lemon. Lovely acidity and balance. This wine is intense and beautiful with a long life ahead of it. It certainly is not at peak but it gives great pleasure even at 7 years old. My wine of the night across both the whites and the reds. 14.5% ABV. “A+”

2006 Chave Hermitage Blanc

More floral on the nose than the Chapoutier, but with the same deep gold color. Deep, brilliant fruit with a hint of peaches, honey, minerals and an herbal note I had trouble pinning down. Long, long finish. Great acidity. 14.5% ABV. “A-“

A quick notes on the reds. All were decanted abut 5:00 PM and then double decanted back into the rinsed bottles about an hour later. They stayed in the cellar until they were served. The wines with the main course were served about 8:15 PM and those with the cheese course were served about 9:15 PM.

Main Course

Moulard Breast of Duck wrapped in Swiss Chard with red plum reduction, eggplant caponata and saffron potatoes.

Two domestic cabs from two of my favorite producers accompanied the duck. This may have been the best preparation of duck I have ever had, from presentation to taste.

2010 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon

I know this wine was only recently released and will improve with age, but I was just too tempted to try it now. I have loved the Spottswoode cabs for years. For whatever reasons, they don’t get the love that the trophy cabs get – probably because Spottswoode tries to make great wine and not trophies. Tonight the nose was a complex blend of cherries, cinnamon and mint. Even this young the wine shows hints of the elegance it will have in 10+ years. Blackberries, prominent but not harsh tannins, intense fruit and great balance. The wine brightens with time in the glass. 14.5% ABV. “A“ right now, but it has all the makings of an “A+” wine.

2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Another long-time favorite (I have a 20 year vertical lurking in the cellar). Black cherries and mint on the nose. The palate is all dark fruits and herbs with a bit of roasted coffee coming through. Still tannic but with great acidity and balance. This wine needs 5+ years, but was great to drink now nevertheless. 14.9% ABV. Like the Spottswoode, “A-“ now but I am confident it will be an “A+” later.

Cheese Course

14 year old aged cheddar, Saint Agur Bleu, and Saint Nectaire.

Ben and I consulted on the cheese course to find cheeses that would work with the two Australian Shiraz. The pairings worked very well. The Saint Agur was a revelation.

2005 Clarendon Hills Astralis

My notes are a bit sketchy (or I can’t read my handwriting!), but two words stand out: “Bright” and “brilliant”. There is big, sweet (not RS) red fruit across the palate here. Roasted meat and a bit of blackberry is added to the mix as it hits the mid-palate. Surprisingly to me the tannins seems more resolved than I would have anticipated. The balance is definitely there and I’ll guess this will only improve with more age. Sorry, no notes (or memory) on the nose. 14.5% ABV. “A”

2005 Torbreck Run Rig

My wine of the night among the reds. Big, dark and tannic it may be, but the fruit is so rich and beautiful. The nose was a bit hesitant at first but developed blueberry notes with some floral notes (perhaps from the 3% Viognier blended in). Great acidity and balance. Blueberry and pepper on the palate. Mint notes develop with a bit of time in the glass. Even at this stage it shows the trade mark elegance of the best Torbreck reds. No need to hurry on this one, but a great wine already. 14.5% ABV. “A+”

Dessert

Lemon Pudding Cake with fresh berries.

The cake was almost like a soufflé and it was perfect, not too heavy and a great ending to the meal. But there was a surprise waiting….

2005 Cuvee Emile Willm Gewurztraminer, Selection de Grains Nobles

I wasn’t planning to serve a dessert wine. When no one at the table wanted coffee with dessert, I foolishly asked if anyone was interested in a bonus wine. You can guess the result of that inquiry. A quick rush to the cellar produced port glasses and this wine. I served at cellar temperature (obviously) and took no notes. However, I can say it was a lovely wine, not overly intense, with (if I recall correctly) honey and orange notes and enough acidity to balance it nicely and carry through the moderate RS. That’s all I got and it’s not fair to grade it, but my memory says it was lovely and I would be glad to have it again.

A great evening with friends and in celebration of two lovely ladies. And I know you’re too polite to ask which milestone birthdays they were!

Charlie (more…)

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops

With Creamy Mascarpone Polenta and Warm Roasted Pepper Salad

6 sea scallops
6 bacon strips
1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut into thick strips
2½ cups chicken stock
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon piment d’Espelette or paprika
¾ cup instant polenta
3 tablespoons mascarpone
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup dry white wine
4 large basil leaves, torn
Salt to taste

Wrap a strip of bacon around each scallop. Slide rosemary twigs or bamboo skewers into the scallops to secure the bacon and to make the scallops easier to turn when sautéing. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Toast the garlic in the olive oil until light golden-brown, swirling the pan constantly. Add the peppers and season with salt to taste. Cook just long enough to heat the peppers through, then tip them onto a plate and set aside.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Season with salt and piment d’Espelette. Whisk in the polenta and cook for 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and fold in the mascarpone. Adjust the seasoning. Set aside, covered, until ready to serve. If the polenta cools, it will stiffen up. If this happens, reheat the polenta over low heat as you vigorously whisk in a little more stock to restore the creamy texture.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick sauté pan until smoking. Season the scallops (leave them on the skewers) with salt and pepper. Sear the scallops, and then reduce the heat to medium-high once they’ve begun to color around the edges.

Shake the pan gently so the oil gets under the scallops; this helps them sear and color evenly. Flip after 3 minutes and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove the scallops from the pan and keep in a warm place loosely tented with aluminum foil.

Pour the wine into the pan and simmer for 1 minute, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the peppers, and cook until the wine has fully reduced. Remove from heat and toss in the basil.

Spoon a pool of polenta onto heated plates. Lay a skewer of scallops over the polenta and then pull out the skewer. Serve the warm pepper salad on the side. Serves 2.

Pair It

Small Vines Wines Estate Cuvée Russian River Valley Pinot Noir; $50

The scallops call out for an elegantly structured Pinot from the Russian River Valley or Sonoma Coast. The cooler imprint of these regions will impart a smattering of spicy pepper to the wines, subtly accenting the pepper salad without overpowering the delicacy of the scallop. Small Vines’ Vigneron, Paul Sloan, hand selected our best barrels and crafted from obsessively tended vines. This precise Cuvée marries our excellent Estate vineyards together. The 2012 vintage blessed us with perfect weather throughout the farming season. Excellent fruit set resulted in dense clusters requiring meticulous vine-canopy management to organically protect the fruit. Adhering to strict Grand Cru standards, we hand selected each cluster and berry by starting with a framework of no more than 10 buds per vine followed by over twenty hand-work passes through the vineyard. This obsessive attention to detail in the vineyard gave us wines of amazing concentration and structure, with exquisite balance.

Recipe courtesy Charlie Palmer, chef and owner, Dry Creek Kitchen

We recently received this wonderful review from a Pinot Noir lover who hosted a wine and dinner pairing party in Southwest Florida. They reviewed wines from Sea Smoke Estate Vineyards, Peay Vineyards and also our very own Small Vines Wines all from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 vintages. We would like to thank Linda for writing this great review and loving all of these fantastic California wines. Below is her review.

“On May 18, my husband and I, plus 6 of our wine and food loving friends, had a California Pinot Noir vertical wine tasting and dinner. They were all 2008, 2009, and 2010 vintages as well as some of our favorites!

We started off with 3 years of Sea Smoke Ten, moved up the coast and poured 3 years of Peay Scallop Shelf, then dove right into Russian River Valley with 3 years of Small Vines Wines. Of course all of the wines were fabulous and they paired beautifully with everything from wild mushroom soup, seared tuna, salmon in raspberry glaze, to pork tenderloin in blueberry glacé and grilled lamb chops. I did have to move over to Napa for dessert as we had a Vineyard 29 Aida late harvest Zinfandel that certainly was delicious with my torta de Barozzi.

Everyone raved about our pinots and rightfully so. We have visited with both you (Small Vines) and Andy Peay (Peay Vineyards) and love your wines. While we are not big wine collectors ( just a lowly 500 bottle collection) we always purchase a few every year. Please keep those great wines coming.

I have attached a few pictures. Some of us in Southwest Florida really love great wine and food!!!!

Linda, Fort Myers, Florida”

Every year the Martha Stewart American Made Awards honor makers across the country for excellence and innovation in their field. The awards spotlight handmade, local, innovative and care-filled production of everything from furniture to food. This year, we’re happy to announce that we are a Martha Stewart American Made nominee!

The audience votes on six category winners who will be featured on the Martha Stewart Living Website and one grand prize winner. You can see our profile and vote for us HERE or by clicking the official badge posted to the left!

“MAKE ROOM IN YOUR CELLAR”
for the 2008 MK Vineyard
95 points-Pinot Report

“SMART BUY.”2008 Russian River
93 points
-Pinot Report

We are so excited to share with you the most recent reveiws of our 2008 wines!

Here is what the current Pinot Report had to say:

Small Vines Wines Just about anyone who’s active in North Coast Pinot Noir production has heard of Paul and Kathryn Sloan. Their vineyard farming and development company, Small Vines Viticulture, has earned the young couple quite a bit of attention for its application and adaptation of Burgundian viticultural techniques and sustainable practices to California vineyards. With the success of their vineyard management, Paul and Kathryn decided to apply what they have learned about growing Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and set out to make their own artisan Pinot Noir. Current Pinot bottlings include regional Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast Pinots and a vineyard designate from the MK Vineyard. These are delicious Pinots made with care and passion by terrific people.

Small Vines Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2008 Medium-deep ruby color; deep, intense red cherry, spice and cola aromas; rich, ripe, complex red cherry and berry flavors with spice and cola notes; some oak; silky texture; good structure and balance; long finish. Beautifully rich and ripe Pinot that needs a little time in the glass and tastes great while you wait for it.452 cases made $50 Score: 93

SmallVines PinotNoir Sonoma Coast MK Vineyard 2008 Medium-deep ruby color;bit closed but deep and complex aromas of dark cherry and forest floor; deep, rich black cherry flavors with lots of complex earthy, forest floor notes: silky texture; nice oak; some tannin; good structure and balance; long finish. Very complex Pinot. Give it at least an hour of air and serve it with a braised meat dish- beef short ribs would be perfect. 147 cases made $65 Score: 95
http://www.pinotreport.com/

Josh Raynolds writes for Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar. This is the second time Josh has reviewed our wines and he seems to like our style. Thanks Josh! We always enjoy having you out!

Kathryn andPaul Sloan’s vineyard management company, called Small Vines Viticulture, oversees a number of sites throughout theRussianRiverValleyandSonomaCoast. The Sloan’s began making small quantities of their own pinot noir with the 2006 vintage. They plant their vineyards in a tight 4 by 4 foot spacing or even 4 by 3 fashion after a traditional Burgundy model (as opposed to the more common 8 by 12 foot spacing of many California vineyards) and the vines are cropped for minimal fruit load, which is compensated for by the higher number of vines planted per acre-about double to triple the standard number. This planting regimen requires a serious investment in manpower as most vineyard machinery is designed to work with wider vine spacing.Paul Sloantold me that in the 2008 season, for example, a ton of grapes from vines that they manage cost around $9,000 to farm, which means that anybody willing to make such a substantial investment in their grapes is clearly shooting for the top of the market.

2008 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

($50) Vivid red. Vibrant aromas of raspberry, flowers and Asian spices, with a hint of anise. Sappy red fruit, pepper and spice flavors stain the palate and are lifted by tangy minerality, picking up silky tannins with air. This coats the mouth with flavor but seems weightless. Finishes with resonating notes of minerals and spices and very good clarity.

2008 Small Vines Wines Pinot Noir MK Vineyard Sonoma Coast

($65) Saturated red. Highly expressive scents of raspberry, Asian spices, blood orange and sexy oak. Youthfully tight on entry but gains sweetness and flesh in the mid-palate, offering lively red berry and cherry flavors, a hint of candied rose and late-arriving tannins. Attractively sweet on the finish, leaving behind spice, red fruit and floral notes. (JR)