Vindulge

Donati Family Vineyards

This post is long overdue.  I first encountered the wines of Donati Family Vineyards when I attended the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) last July.  I happened to be in search for a roommate when I met Brandy Bell, of Donati Family Vineyards, through the WBC forum and we formally met at the conference where I had the opportunity to learn about their wines.

Donati Family’s tasting room is located in the Paso Robles Wine Country, but they source fruit from their vineyards further north in Paicines, in California's Central Coast.  This is situated between San Jose and Monterey CA, where they are the only brand making wines for this appellation. 

According to their website, their winemaking philosophy is “to grow grapes of the highest possible quality, so that wines made from our fruit can meet the quality expectations of our customers,” says Matt Donati. “This requires attention to detail, evaluation of new grape growing and winemaking methods and technologies, and a passion for serving our customers.”

One thing I can say for sure, from my experience with them, is their attention to detail for serving their customers.  They are among a few wineries to be successfully utilizing a variety of social media outlets to connect and build relationships with their customers.  In fact, Brandy was asked to lead a conference session on effectively using social media for wineries.  You can check out their social media space, called Wine Space, where customers and staff are open to share recipes, blog posts, and forums in one location, or on their website.  You can also follow Donati Family Vineyards on Twitter.

As for their wine, I was able to sample a few at the conference and took two bottles home with me to try. 

2005 Merlot, Estate Vineyard, Paicines 
$30.00
Blend: 92% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot

My first impression with the Merlot was that the wine had a strong and pungent nose, almost medicinal.  But that quickly went away after a few more swirls and instead opened up into a very aromatic explosion of dark fruit.  The wine had aromas varying from black cherry, cassis, plum, blueberry, ground black pepper and baking spices to vanilla and chocolate.   In the mouth the wine was spicy, and by that I mean strong hints of fresh ground pepper and smoke.  Something screaming for a rich peppered steak perhaps. 

On the second day the spice had smoothed and balanced into an intriguing mix of mellow dark fruit, rich body, and softened tannins.  The wine was still big and bold but the flavors seemed better integrated together.   I loved the wine on the second day.  My only regret was that I saved just enough for one glass.  It was, however, enough to spark my interest in wanting to buy more of this particular wine.  Especially now since winter is here.  I can see this being a fantastic winter wine, especially one to drink while decorating your house for the holidays. Must be the spice component of the wine that reminded me of the holidays or just the fact that I have holidays on the mind!   I do recommend decanting this wine, or opening it at least ½ hour before you plan to drink it, as it takes some time for the wine to open. 


2006 Syrah, Paicines 
$25.00

I immediately noted bacon fat on the nose, along with dark fruit, black cherry, blackberries, smoke, pepper, along with hints of dark chocolate.  The wine was medium bodied, yet had a deep lushness to it.  I drank the wine without a food pairing, but imagine it would taste great with grilled or smoked meats.  I would love to try it with smoked ribs or smoked beef brisket. 

One of the benefits about attending conferences like WBC is the opportunity to meet people from wineries I may not otherwise have known about, get to know more about their history, wines, and people.  As a sommeIier and educator I always try encourage anyone to try new wines, new regions and most importantly find their own expression in the wines that they like.  Because of my experience with Donati Family (along with many other wines I was able to taste during the conference) I too was able to experience a new AVA and varietals that I am familiar with but with great nuances and hope more people will try to seek out their wines.

I definitely recommend checking out Donati Family wines if you ever get the chance.  If you are in California you can find their wines distributed throughout the state or by visiting the tasting room.  Outside of CA you can find a list where they ship to here.  I hope they find an Oregon distributor soon so we can get some of their wines up here!

Cheers!

Smokin’ up a Father’s Day Feast

What I smoked today

This past Sunday was Father’s Day, so it was only fitting (and highly stereotypical) to make a manly feast of meat and potatoes for dinner…. and yes we smoked it on our super cool Traeger smoker!  

My own father and step father both reside in AZ, and although I do not have any children of my own I do have 2 amazing Chihuahuas that my husband helps to take great care of (he's a Doggie Daddy), therefore I thought it would be fun to celebrate Father's Day in honor of all the cool Pop’s out there… besides I try to find an excuse to celebrate any and all holidays!   So for Father’s Day this year we smoked up some baby back ribs and paired them with a lusciously rich Syrah.  Yum! 

Now, I’m not gonna lie to you, I am not a huge meat eater.  In fact I’ve gone the past 12 years in a pseudo vegetarian state (a very loose form of vegetarianism where I would eat some fish and poultry but never red meat).  I have since moved past that phase and have reintroduced meats of all kinds back into my diet (thanks to some amazing meals I have had at some of my favorite restaurants around the globe… including Chef Mavro in Honolulu who I blame for turning me back into a carnivore)!  Because of this former fear of meat, I am not used to cooking it… so for this meal, I turned to the master of the grill, Mr. Sean Martin (aka my husband), for the recipe I am about to share with you. 
I did, however, make all the sides, and as always the wine selection. 

For the second edition of “What did I Smoke Today?”
(I actually smoked it on Sunday, but who’s really paying attention?)

Spicy Baby Back Pork Ribs paired with the 2005 Zerba Syrah

Serves many

Sean’s Smoking Secrets 
Warning: Sean is not a trained “chef” so this recipe was basically a concoction that he put together, hence no exact measurements... he also wrote the below recipe (seriously, would I ever use the word "wicked" as an adjective? The answer is no!)

Meat:  Baby Back Ribs, 2 racks (approx 5-7 lbs total)
Preparation:  Peel the layer of tendon off the bone side of the ribs  You can start with a sharp knife to lift it, and then pull with a paper towel.  It should all come off to allow the smoke to penetrate the ribs.  Google it for more details.  Then review the mop recipe below for basting tips while it’s smoking on the grill.
Dry Rub:  Used Honey Dijon Mustard on both sides.  Then add to each side:  salt, pepper, and store bought pre-mixed dry rub (throw together some dried spices or buy one pre-made).
Cover and put it back in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

Preheat smoker to 200-225 degrees.
Place the ribs (bone side down) on the smoker.
Cook for two hours at 200-225 degrees.  Watching your cover, apply mop every 30 minutes... be sure to quickly apply the mop so you limit how much smoke and heat you lose when you open the cover.
Pull off smoker when temperature on the thickest part of rib is 165, and then wrap in foil for 30 minutes. This will set the juice and keep the ribs nice and tender.
Total cook time will vary based upon size of ribs, but I did two racks at 5 lbs each and it took 5 hours plus the time for it to sit in foil.

Mop:  ½ cup water
          ½ cup white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
          1 tbsp whole grain mustard
          2 tbsp mustard seed oil (olive will work too)
          1 tbsp cayenne pepper (this made it wicked hot so try 1 tsp for some minor heat)
          1 tbsp chili powder
          1 tbsp honey

Mix all the ingredients together and whisk.  Apply to the ribs every 30 minutes and re-stir each time.  Apply with a brush.

 

Notes on the meal:
The ribs came out awesome (this coming from the recovering vegetarian). They were tender, rich, smoky and full of flavor!  This made A LOT of ribs, but we were able to share with many of our neighbors, and have some for leftovers the next day.

Notes on the wine:
2005 Zerba Syrah, Columbia Valley

Zerba Cellars is located in Milton-Freewater, OR, just south of Walla Walla, WA.
Retail:  I believe it was somewhere around $30.

I took a risk in pairing this wine with the ribs since I sampled the meat first and found that there was a bit of heat to the ribs, yet a rich juicy tenderness to them as well, so I wanted to find something to go with the richness yet hold up to the heat.  I bought this wine from the winery about a year ago so I couldn’t really remember exactly how it tasted, but I do remember thinking it was a very rich and fruity Syrah… and a year later it left the same impression! 

The wine was rich and had concentrated black fruit, blackberries, dark raspberry, black cherry and vanilla.  Along with that it had a slight smokiness, spice, and a hint of bacon fat!  Pork ribs w/bacon fat notes to the wine? Sounds like a match made in heaven!  The mouth was rich, full, spicy, and fruity and was a winner with the full flavored pork ribs!  Dee-lish.

Cheers