Rock Canyon Vineyards

Rock Canyon Vineyards

It’s not just winetasting, it’s an adventure.

Rock Canyon Vineyards Cellar Room

Looking west- many, many rocks!

Driving east through the back roads of San Diego County, through Alpine, hang a right, keep going south and east, then on to a dirt road, way to the end of the road, that’s where you’ll find Tim Petersen and Rock Canyon Vineyards.

Two happy Andalusian horses live here.

There’s a reason is has the name it has. There are rocks everywhere. Miles and miles of rocks. Even the winery is built into a large rock.

Vignette in the Cellar Room

You can tell that creative people live here.  Mona Petersen is an artist. She specializes in animals and designed the winery labels. Many vignettes. Beautiful aesthetics. Art is everywhere. There is nature and beauty and animals and art everywhere you turn.

Roxy the Rescue Burro

 “Many wineries have horses or dogs on their labels. I wanted to set ourselves apart, so I said, ‘How about putting Roxy, the rescue burro on our labels?’” Mona designed a few labels but couldn’t get them from looking sad. “So, she put a clump of grapes in her mouth” and Voila!

Roxy's Mama 

                                                                                                                                                                                                   










I’m just a city girl, but they DO actually bray. What a crazy sound.

Tim began making wine as a garagiste- out of his garage. In 2000 he planted his first grapes, Zinfandel. Then came the Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo. Now in 2014 Rock Canyon Vineyards is a fully bonded, operating winery. Today they have 2500 plants, just under two acres.Tim produces between 700-1000 cases per year.

Taking advantage of the profuse Southern California sunlight, the ranch is fully solar with a rooftop solar system.  The cellar room stays at an average temperature of 60 degrees.

All of Rock Canyon Vineyard's Wines (with a burro thrown in)

Today's Lineup

Rock Canyon’s Merlot is stellar. Typically a Merlot is a bit lighter than other reds, but in our little paradise of southern Cal, they are bold and intense and extremely flavorful. Many flavors cherry, and leather come to mind. It is definitely how I like a Merlot.

The estate Zinfandel is also stellar. Rich and fruity. It is not like Paso Robles Zinfandels. Not peppery but very fruit forward. The Roxy’s Red Suave Syrah is just that – suave.  

The Suave Syrah

Roxy with the grapes in her mouth

Tim has made some interesting blends, at first I thought he was saying it wrong. Typically you hear GSM Grenache, Syrah Mouvedre, but Tim said GMS. Grenache, Mouvedre, Syrah. He calls it his Triple Donkey GMS blend. "You list the grapes in order of volume," he explains.

Locally in San Diego you can find his wines at:

Whole Foods- Hillcrest and Encinitas

Windmill Farms – College Area

Costco- Santee

Stumps Market- Pt Loma

Albertsons- Alpine, Ramona and Rancho San Diego

Tim is a likeable man, very passionate about his wines. Wears a cowboy hat like no other.

Tim Petersen

Make sure you make an appointment to visit him. You can find him at http://www.rockcanyonvineyards.com/

Zinfandel

Cellar room- there's even art here!

Many barrels

 Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

3rd Annual Paso Robles Garagiste Festival

3rd Annual Paso Robles, Garagiste Festival

Enjoying Small lot Wineries from Central California

Hammersky  Vineyards

When I got invited to the Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles I jumped at the chance. I’ve been a huge fan of the region’s wines for years and years. Then, I scratched my head and said “What is a Garagiste?” So, I did what anyone in the 21^st century would do, I Googled it. Garagiste, pronounced gar-uh-zhe-stuh, refers to artisan wine producers, originally from the Bordeaux wine region in France. These “garage” winemakers are small lot vintners who produce 1,200 case of wine per year or less.

Originally the term was a derogatory word meant to denigrate renegade winemaking neighbors, who refused to follow the “rules”. Thanks to Robert Parker tasting and rating some of these big and bold wines, many of these winemakers went on to be recognized as making some of the best wine in the world.  America has a growing population of stunning small lot producers and the heart of this renegade group is in Paso Robles.

Paso Robles has emerged as the new star in the constellation of New World wines, with its Tuscany-like hillsides, an ocean-air climate and calcareous shale soil (which California generally lacks). The idea of trying an entirely new batch of wines from the area was enough to get me to make the 8-hour trek from San Diego. Many of these winemakers are incredibly talented and hopefully will be propelled into becoming well-known, gaining enough collateral to open their own winery or tasting room. Talking with different winemakers in the barn was exciting to share their passion and the fruits of their labors.

The Grand Tasting , the a culmination of a weeklong city-wide event focusing on engaging, educational and unique winemaker panels and testing seminars, was held at Windfall Farms, a 724-acre thoroughbred horse farm east of Paso Robles. The farm has a Kentucky- style feel with white walls, red brick and steeples. The tasting festivities were held in the horse barn- which is not a horse barn like I’ve seen before. Each large brick stall with ¾ walls, accommodated four different wineries. These small quarters allowed people to discuss up close and personal with the winemakers about their wines.

Asuncion Ridge Winery

Festival co-founder Douglas Minnick is proud and excited to see his movement take flight. Says he, “More and more consumers are seeking out these extraordinary artisan winemakers and we are proud to provide the best and only place for consumers to experience the heart of this movement.”

The mission of the event visionaries is to promote Paso Robles as one of the friendliest and most innovative winemaking communities in the world. Garagiste is all about celebrating the little guy, discovering, promoting and showcasing the artisan winemaker. The Garagiste Festival: Southern Exposure is coming up on March 29, 2014 in Solvang CA. They will feature 30 of Santa Ynez Valley’s high-quality, small production winemakers. Register soon as this festival is sure to sell out. Go to http://californiagaragistes.com to register.

Paolillo Winery

La Filice Winery

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

10th Annual San Diego Food and Wine Festival: Southern California Wines Shine

10th Annual San Diego Food and Wine Festival: 

Southern California wines shine 

November in San Diego is always gorgeous and we can still enjoy warm weather and clear skies. The tourists for the most part have gone home and we have our city to ourselves… That is until the Food and Wine Festival happens. People come from all over the USA to attend Southern California’s largest and most talked about food and wine festival. This is the chance to experience firsthand the culinary genius of our city’s chefs, as well as the delicious wines that local and regional winemakers are crafting.

With Coronado Island and the Bay Bridge as a back drop, Embarcadero Marina Park, directly behind Seaport Village, is the perfect location for the festival’s finale, the Grand Tasting. Feel the ocean breeze as you walk through the grounds listening to music, tasting food and wine, chatting with winemakers and chefs.

Happy chefs!

The lovely outdoor venue

The Grand Tasting is the finale of a 7–day epicurean delight—a food and wine  (and this year beer) lover’s paradise, that showcases 170 wine and spirit purveyors and 70 of San Diego’s top chefs. Temecula wines were well represented. Callaway Winery, South Coast Winery, Wilson Creek Winery and Danza del Sol Winery and Europa  Village were showcasing some of their latest releases. While you only get a small taste of beer, wines and hard alcohol, many participants follow-up by going out to breweries and wineries and experiencing full tastings.

While this has traditionally been solely a wine festival, this year because San Diego has become a craft beer mecca, beer tasting was added to the fest. The first week of November, the city celebrated Beer Week. Brewers continued to educate participants of our burgeoning craft beer industry.

The city’s most talented chefs vie for the Chef of the Fest Competition, during the week. The winner is announced at the Grand Finale. This is a great opportunity for local chefs to compete with their favorite recipes and get their name known around town.

Shrimp and Avocado appetizer

Chef Rich Sweeney, from R-Gang Eatery and the soon-to-be-opened Southpaw Social Club was crowned “Chef of the Fest”. He won the competition with his Duck Fat-Fried Beignets with Burnt Orange Cream, Smoked Duck “Dust” and Crispy Glazed Duck Skin. The cash prize of $50,000 and other prizes will come in handy for him as he starts his new restaurant in downtown San Diego.

The entire week of this event includes cooking demonstrations, a Fit Foodie 5K run, a variety of wine tasting seminars and a sliders “take down”. In total there were 25 culinary and beverage events held throughout San Diego.

Southern California is becoming known for more than just great weather and good surf. Now we have an emerging wine region, talented craft beer brewers and a plethora of talented chefs tempting and satisfying our palates.            

Sliders

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Jeremy’s on the Hill Food and Wine Pairing

Jeremy’s on the Hill Food and Wine Pairing

An afternoon with Chef de Cuisine, Jeremy Manley

Jeremy's on the Hill

Jeremy Manley is one talented chef. And busy. As the owner of Jeremy’s on the Hill in Wynola, cooking isn’t foreign to him. At the age of ten, Jeremy started working in his mother’s business kitchen at Angels Landing Country Inn, first washing dishes and then around age eleven, he chopped and diced with a family member, Karla Ludtke. Under her tutelage he worked with many different types of food from Italian to African, learned to carve fruits and create beautiful displays. By age thirteen he took over cooking, catering weddings and retreats.

“Sometimes, we would have a wedding in the main area, a retreat going up in the conference room and a rehearsal dinner up in the Lilac Suite.  Very often, days would start at 6:00am and end at 10:00pm. Jeremy has quite the stamina,” says his mother, Teresa Keller.

After graduating from Julian High School, Jeremy headed to San Francisco to study at the world famous Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. After an externship at Mill Fleur in Rancho Santa Fe, he was ready to start his own adventure. In March 2008 he opened Jeremy’s on the Hill, a true family affair, with his sister, Brigida, mother Teresa, grandparents and cousin Karla all part of the restaurant.

Jeremy Manley

After the Julian Union High School District was awarded one of Michelle Obama’s Farm-to-Table grants, Jeremy was selected to offer the lunch program for the schools.  Starting this fall, he will make food at his restaurant and distribute it to the schools in the district.

Recently, in spite of his busy schedule, I was lucky enough to enjoy a food and wine pairing that Jeremy prepared for a group of food and wine writers. This memorable meal was paired with local wines making it all the more special.

Flash Fried Brussel Sprouts

The amuse-bouche, offered to tease and cleanse our palates, was crispy flash-fried Brussels sprouts with Jeremy’s tangy ponzu sauce (a soy sauce infused with citrus) and an orange slice to soften the flavors. This made the usually ordinary greens absolutely luscious. The burst of flavor in my mouth was an excellent starter to the meal. I was told that this recipe was a result of a mistake, and what a wonderful mistake it was.

The first course was a Festival of Radish Salad and homemade blistered jalapeno stuffed with hunter sausage. Jeremy makes his sausages with pork from Cook Pigs Ranch in Julian. The medleys of radishes were delightfully light and fresh and served on a bed of spicy radish leaves. Perfectly matched with a Grenache Blanc from Turtle Rock Ridge Winery in Ramona, this surprisingly rich and full white wine had plenty of crisp acid to hold up to the radishes.

In between courses we were introduced to each entrée and regaled with stories of Jeremy’s life, his friends, what he’s up to and all the fun he’s having with his food truck. This summer he has been out at Turtle Rock Ridge Winery offering foods for guests on the patio.

Next up was an heirloom tomato salad with smoked eggplant, Maytag blue cheese, red onions and sage balsamic vinaigrette. This was paired with a Warner Springs Hawk Watch 2010 Syrah. Jeremy smoked the eggplant because he felt that the Syrah was smoky and the two would complement each other. He was right. Summertime and lush tomatoes go hand in hand. This pairing was the group’s favorite.

Heirloom tomato salad with smoked eggplant

The main course was a house made sage fettuccine with a summer vegetable ratatouille, featuring locally grown vegetables and house cured Pancetta (bacon) from Cook Pigs Ranch and sprinkled with a thinly sliced Manchego cheese. Warner Springs was well-represented with a 2008 La Serenissima Cabernet Franc. Tony, the winemaker, has craft this bold and complex wine that held up nicely with all the flavors of the entrée.

We finished with a Strawberry Shortcake Jeremy Style. Peach preserves, oregano and mint garnished with shaved chocolate. Aah! Paired with 2012 Menghini Winery Julian Gold Muscat Canelli, this dessert melted in our mouths.

This fall when you’re headed to Julian for Apple Days or Pumpkin picking, make sure that you stop in Wynola for a spectacular meal. You can thank me later.

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Three San Diego Urban Wineries: Abnormal Wine, Witch Creek Winery and San Pasqual Winery

One of the exciting things happening the San Diego wine scene is the phenomenon of “urban” wineries. Urban Wineries are popping up all over the county, as well as many city settings around the United States. An urban winery purchases its grapes from the countryside and produces the wines in the city. An urban winery doesn’t require a drive to the countryside (although we all love a drive out in the countryside), and urban wineries usually have a tasting room with facilities to sit and have a glass of wine after you’ve found your favorite wine. Urban wineries usually offer all of the amenities of estate wineries including wine clubs, wine events.

We will explore three urban wineries in San Diego:

Abnormal Wine Company/ Rancho Bernardo:

Located in a commercial building complex in Rancho Bernardo this winery strives to push the boundaries of what people think about wine and how it is presented. They label their wines by number (as opposed to varietals), therefore making their wines more approachable to people who can’t pronounce or don’t know about a particular varietal or who might be scared to try a new or different wine. Owners James Malone and Matt DeLoach say the core of their drive is the knowledge of creating something new. They want to change the way people think about the current wine culture.

Abnormal's Wines

Co-Owner Matt

“We’re not doing things the traditional way,” Matt says. “We’re working on using essences. We have a Chocolate berry port and Chocolate citrus port and we’re working on a coffee port.” Tip: Try the #18. Matt says there are #18 fan clubs.

No. 19

Also a strong focus for these two men is education. They call themselves novice winemakers and feel that the time is now to get into the wine industry in San Diego.

Enjoy their lovely tasting room/lounge Wednesday through Sunday 2-6pm (9pm on Thursdays and Fridays). For more information go to: http://abnormalwine.com/

Witch Creek Winery/ Carlsbad:

Tasting Room in Julian, CA.

The first urban winery in San Diego, Witch Creek has expanded to two tasting room locations. Founded in 1993 they have a tasting room on Main Street in Julian and on Highway 101 in Carlsbad in 1996, just two blocks from the beach. Owner Dave Wodehouse, was the winemaker until he fired himself.  Now the winemaker is Ryan Baker assisted by Ryan Scott.

Their Carlsbad tasting room is a working winery and tasting room combined. It is a walk-up tasting room. There are no chairs and tables to sit at and sip wine. When you taste there you are among their barrels, making you feel like you’re a part of the production process. The barrels are all covered with fun trivia, like it takes 75-100 grapes to make a glass of wine or one acre of land averages 797 gallons of wine.

Fun trivia at Witch Creek Winery

Carlsbad Winetasting room

This winery currently sources their grapes from Clarksburg, by the Sacramento River in Northern California, and Baja California’s Guadalupe Valley. This summer they have been tasting seven red wines,  two whites and two sweet wines. For those big, bold red wine lovers, definitely try their Montepulciano, Primitivo and Kathy’s Cuvee, a Meritage blend of Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Tasting hours in Carlsbad for the Fall are 11AM-5:30PM Sunday-Thursday. They stay open a half hour later on Fridays and Saturdays. The tasting room on Main Street in Julian is open 11AM-5PM daily.

San Pasqual Winery/La Mesa

La Mesa's own Winery

San Pasqual Winery has been on the move in 2013. In June owners Mike and Linda McWilliams augmented their Pacific Beach production facility and La Mesa storefront tasting room and added another much larger facility and tasting room on Center Street, just a few blocks away. The industrial neighborhood in La Mesa is very approachable with plenty of parking. A new 4,500 square-foot facility has room to process grapes, tanks for storage and a tasting room. The winery still offers music on weekend nights, come sip wine and listen to local musicians. They will also continue promoting local artists as well as their different arts programs where people create art projects in the winery. Watch for them to grow even more. This winery has quite a reputation for their quirky Passion Fruit/habanero wine. You must try it! Sure it’s just for fun; you can find other serious wines with grapes from Northern California: Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are plenty of sparkling, white and rose wines also. Currently the tasting room is open 12PM-8PM Monday through Thursday, 12PM-10PM Friday and Saturday and 12PM-5PM on Sunday. For current events go to: http://www.sanpasqualwinery.com/

If you’re researching urban wineries, San Diego has a newly formed urban winery alliance. Currently eight urban wineries are part of the alliance. http://sdurbanwineries.com/

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

A Taste of Coronado Cuisine and History: An Afternoon Walking Tour

A Taste of Coronado Cuisine and History

We girls are always looking for fun and unique things to do with our friends. We need our girl time away from daily life, time to chat and find out what each other is doing, how the kids are, the husband, parents, how the job is going plus time to get out and exercise, try some new foods and learn about different neighborhoods in San Diego. History and culinary tours in San Diego offer just that; a great girl’s outing and an afternoon with friends.

So Cal Food Tours currently offers two different itineraries: one for Friday afternoons and one for Sunday afternoons. This Sunday the group met at the Tent City Murals at Glorietta Bay Marina. Owner, tour guide and Coronado resident Barbara Trenchi told stories of life on Coronado in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s on a three-hour tour of the south end of the quaint island.

Murals of the Tent City Vacation Area

The tent murals are a tile mosaic marquis with photos transferred on to the tiles depicting the seaside resort of the Tent City, south of where the Hotel Del Coronado now stands.

Between 1900 and 1939 cost-conscious vacationers from around the world would flock to the seaside resort community of Coronado and stay in one of the 1,000 tents set up on the Coronado Strand. Started by sugar magnate John D. Spreckels this cost conscious vacation was priced at $5.00 a week. Although visitors staying in tents, it was much more than a rustic experience. This family destination boasted a trolley, carnival booths, a Ferris wheel, and a dance pavilion named “Casino”. Vacationers could attend a performance at the Pavilion theatre, stroll the boardwalk that led to a seal tank, visit an ostrich farm and see the monkey cages. Or they could simply swim in the ocean or bay, take your pick which side of the strand you wanted to enjoy. One of the many attractions was a 10-cent performance of a horse named Cash diving into a pool of water. Wyatt Earp even did gun fighting demonstrations in the shooting gallery.

The tour passed by the ubiquitous Hotel del Coronado, built by Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story between 1887 and 1897 with the goal of being the “talk of the Western World”. Built entirely of wood in the Queen Anne Revival style the hotel features whimsical turrets and an asymmetrical design. The Hotel Del Coronado currently has a turret wrapped up with a red bow in celebration of its 125 year anniversary. Mr. Spreckels bought the hotel and built his private residence across the street, which is now the Glorietta Bay Inn.

Next door is the El Cordova Hotel, originally built as Elisha Babcock’s retirement home and currently houses the charming and colorful patio restaurant, Miguel’s Cocina. Over appetizers tour members met and munched tasty chips, salsa and creamy white sauce. Some of our group enjoyed a margarita along with a sample platter of zesty Mexican antijitos (starters) of ceviche, rolled tacos and fried calamari.

Across the street we went to see the first house that was built in Coronado. It was built f the first couple who got married at the Hotel Del Coronado. Today a plaque proclaims it the “Home of a Naval Aviator”. On this day we were fortunate enough to meet the owner/aviator in front of his house and he regaled us with stories about flying navy planes with George H.W. Bush. Huge smiles on the group’s faces reflected the charm of this man and his stories. The house has neither heat nor insulation. It has been a labor of love to own it and try to bring it up to this century’s standards.

House where Frank L. Baum wrote 2 of the Wizard of Oz books

We passed by the house on Star Park Circle where Frank L. Baum wrote two of the Wizard of Oz books enroute to our next culinary stop, Coronado Taste of Oils, an olive oil and vinegar store on Orange Avenue.  

The group enjoyed meeting the owner, Roberta Korte, who gifted us with vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate balsamic vinegar. This heavenly concoction was a very creative use of vinegars. There were many “Oohs and Aahs”. We were given a paper with the top pairings and encouraged to roam and try some pairings. A favorite was Peach White Balsamic and Tuscan Herb Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You could really spend hours here trying different recipes. We left the store laden with treasures.   

Next stop was Alexander’s Pizza which has been voted “Best Pizza” of Coronado year after year. We enjoyed gooey Scooby Snack appetizers (dough balls with red sauce for dipping) and two pizzas, the highlight for all being a vegetarian pizza.

Refreshing artisan gelato was served at Bottega Italiano before walking to the house on Ocean Avenue that once belonged to Mr. Spreckels and now finds itself in the forefront of a murder/suicide mystery.

We dispersed from the charming boutique hotel, The Glorietta Bay Inn, overlooking Glorietta Bay and the Coronado Yacht Club. Mr. & Mrs. Spreckels sure knew how to live. This lovely property built with the classic simple lines of the Italian Renaissance style boasts many patios, an Elizabethan garden dotted with colorful bougainvilleas, a lap pool, a music room with a baby grand piano and an air of sophistication.

Coronado has much to be proud of and seeing a tiny bit of it on this tour whets the appetite to try the next tour. To enjoy a fun afternoon with your girlfriends go to: http://socalfoodtours.com/ or to reserve your space call 800-979-3370 or 212-209-3370. 

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Curds and Wine at Milagro Farms Vineyards and Winery

Cheese tray for sampling

Gi Claassen

Jim Hart offers us some barrel tasting

Curds and Wine at Milagro Farms Vineyards and Winery

Cheesemaking Demonstration and Wine Tasting

“The #1 rule of cheesemaking: don’t stop, keep going – even if you think something is going wrong. It WILL make A cheese!”  Gi Classen tells the group at Milagro Winery to peals of laughter. Nervous laughter, to be more exact. Gi’s eyes sparkle as she talks about the science of cheesemaking. Science was never so delicious as today’s cheesemaking demonstration and wine pairing.

On a lovely spring day, Milagro Winery hosted an afternoon in the vineyards with upstart business Curds and Wine. Milagro winemaker Jim Hart led a tour of the 10-acre property, showing us the different rows of many varietals that they grow before leading into a cool subterranean cave, decorated with red and white checkerboard tablecloths and soft amber lighting from the wall sconces.

Gisela Claassen- call her Gi, our cheese matron/chef/hostess left a career in cancer research. To be more specific the career left her after two research companies folded leaving her high and dry and wondering what to do next in life.  She continued her passion with science, but in a completely different avenue—cheese and wine. In November 2010 she opened Curds and Wine in San Diego and hasn’t looked back.

Cheese goes with wine like laughter goes with friends. But why does it go so well together? It’s all about tannins. Tannins are natural organic compounds found in grape skins, seeds and stems. Winemakers use tannin to give wines their distinctive flavors. Tannins are released either by squeezing the grapes or crushing them, depending on the desired flavor. Wines that improve with age will have plenty of tannins. The ageing process will soften the taste and reduce any bitter aftertaste. Long story short, scientists have found that high fat, high protein foods balance the taste of tannin. And that is why cheese pairs so perfectly with wine.

Deciding what cheese goes with which wine is an ongoing, ever-changing, highly subjective debate that can never be settled definitively. That, of course, leads to hours of cheesemaking (and wine drinking) fun and experimentation, which is what today’s event was all about.

Gi gave a brief science lesson on what happens to make cheese.

Step 1- Starter culture: Use either cultures or acids to make the chemical reaction needed to make cheese.

Step 1

Step 2- Cutting: Add to warm milk. This causes the protein to get charged, change shapes and fall away from the water (whey), leaving the fats behind to become cheese (curds).

Step 3- Add rennet, a milk-clotting enzyme, used to coagulate the milk, forming a custard-like mass.

Step 4- Stirring, heating and draining. We cooked the curds to a desired temperature and firmness. The whey is continually drained off, leaving a tightly formed curd.

Step 5- Seasoning:  add a special cheese salt (kosher salt, not iodine salt) for flavor, to control the moisture level and to make the bacteria very happy.

Step 6- Molding and pressing your cheeses. Here you get your characteristic shape of cheese and completes the curd formation. This can typically take between three and 12 hours. Some cheeses are hung to drip dry, some are pressed, to force out whey.

Step 7- Aging or curing . This process depends on the cheese you are making. Cheese is moved to a refrigerator (or locker) that is temperature controlled to 50-55 degrees (wine fridge makes a great cheese locker) and 80 percent humidity. It is imperative to keep a clean environment so that the bacteria stabilizes and doesn’t grow.

 

Gi shows us the process

“This is so easy to make its ridiculous,” Gi giggles, to more nervous laughter from the crowd.  “Today we are making goat’s milk chevre and ricotta.”

We filled our plates with cheese samples while the Milagro staff filled our wine glasses with Rosé of Sangiovese, for which winemaker Jim Hart won double gold.

During the demonstrations we stop to pair a new wine with a new cheese.

·         2012 Sauvignon Blanc with plain and dill Chevre.

·         2012 Rosé of Sangiovese with homemade Feta.

·         2010 Barbera, working man’s wine, full-bodied, dark and structured. Milagro won three gold medals on this wine. Paired with Ricotta Salata (with paprika) and Mimolette.  There were many rumblings of “Dang that Barbera’s good. I need a few bottles to go home with me” and “how long will it be until my ricotta is ready.”

·         2009 Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Noord Hollander, from the rich, green pastures of North Holland. Another perfect pairing. Rich with black cherry and leather flavors, Jim’s Cabernet Sauvignon is not to be missed. This wine deserves double gold, if it hasn’t already won it.

After this fun afternoon, many participants with similar interests formed new friendships, learned what curds and whey mean, and enjoyed a variety of Milagro award-winning wines. My husband said, “We’re SOOO going to do this.” We have already made our first visit to Curds and Wine.

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com