Mar 20 2013

What’s in a Vineyard?

Published by at 6:54 pm under Beef,Cabernet Sauvignon,Food,Potato,Red Wine,Salad,Steak

The obvious answer is grapes.  A vineyard, however, is so much more as it ties to a specific place, a specific soil composition and a specific climate.   Those elements combined with the skilled hand of an artful winemaker can produce a bottle of wine that is so unique that you will recognize that vineyard’s fruit by capturing a whiff of the bouquet or tasting a simple sip of wine.   If you have visited the specific vineyard, you have a tangible memory associated therewith to transport you to a sunny harvest afternoon when its fruit perfumes the air or a damp winter day when its soil’s essence hangs heavy in the air.

Last week while dining with others, a bottle of a red blend wine was served.   Unaware of the origin of the blending grapes, with a sniff and a sip, I was immediately mentally transported beneath a grove of eucalyptus trees near a specific vineyard in Napa Valley where I have taken many scenery photographs for my articles.  More importantly, this was the same specific vineyard supplying the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit in that particular red blend wine.  There is something nice about knowing the origin of wine grapes.  It helps tell a wine’s story.  It helps the consumer understand a bit more why a winemaker may toil more over a single vineyard bottling than a blend.  Most importantly, it helps the consumer learn and identify what attributes, aromas, flavors, tannins, acidity and texture that he or she specifically likes in a wine.

While I could have focused more on the red blend wine that was enjoyed that evening, this concept of what is in a vineyard did remind me of a wonderful single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon vintage that was shared with my siblings last fall over a simple dinner at home.  If you are visiting Napa Valley and wishing to learn more about Cabernet Sauvignon, I do recommend that among your stops that you include Sequoia Grove Winery (located along Highway 29) as winemaker Mike Trujillo is known for not only making wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon but adeptly reflecting the unique characteristics of special vineyards in his single vineyard bottlings.  During the dinner with my brothers, we elected to open a special bottle of wine by this talented vintner, the 2005 Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner Select Healy Vineyard (“2005 Healy”).


The Healy Vineyard is located in St. Helena and the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that originate from this vineyard are robust yet in an individual way.  The St. Helena appellation, sitting north of the famous Rutherford Bench (known for produces outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon), is its own American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) and is situated in the narrowest part of Napa Valley.   Sitting in this narrow valley floor of Napa Valley, the vineyards located there are subject to more heat reflected off the hillsides that flank the valley moreso than any other AVA in the valley.  Similarly with mountains to the west and east, the St. Helena AVA also has less fog or wind intrusion.  The grapes that reside in these vineyards soak up that uninterrupted heat and will have a much different profile of characteristics than those from other AVAs.   The soil at this part of the valley varies between being sedimentary and gravel or clay like at one end and volcanic and fertile in the northern part of the AVA.  This can easily define a Cabernet Sauvignon, and particularly a specific vineyard.  When the heat climbs in Napa Valley, the alcohol content rises in the wine and Cabernet Sauvignon has a jammier taste to it.  Yet if the soil is not fertile and the grapevine has to struggle to get water, suddenly the berries are smaller yielding more intense flavors.  In the St. Helena AVA, Cabernet Sauvignon fruit can also have an acidic quality along with firm tannins to it making it an excellent candidate for cellar aging.

The 2005 Healy had been cellaring for about 7 years when we decided to open a bottle and by Cabernet Sauvignon standards, that is still young.  The bouquet is still just as bequiling as the winery initially described it:  sweet blueberries, caramel, vanilla, cassis and cocoa.   The flavor profile is beginning to change however as the acidity is taming and the layers of blackberry fruit are now rich and smooth yet tinged with a dash of cherry cola flavor.  Similarly at this stage of aging the bouquet hints aromas of pencil shavings and the wine on the palate delivers a pleasant white pepper flavor.   The coloring of the wine similarly shows a lovely red ruby color at the edges which is also traditional of this appellation and particularly this vineyard.   Without question, this 2005 Healy is a decadent wine.  It is one that could be easily enjoyed alone but as noted, we elected to share it over a meal. 

While Cabernet Sauvignon is traditionally known for its steak pairing appeal, as the wine ages, less fat should be included in the meal.   As the wine ages, its bold fruit generally lessens, its tannins become better integrated and what once might have required a fatty steak or heavy cream-based cheese, now instead requires something leaner.  This is actually an excellent opportunity to pair grass-fed beef if you are so inclined.  In our dinner, we chose a lean cut of petite sirloin steak.  Our menu yielded:

1)      Side Salad with Avocado, Vermont White Cheddar Dressed with Maple Syrup Balsamic Vinaigrette;

2)     Pan Seared Petite Sirloin Steak (undressed);

3)     Garlicky Green Beans Almondine; and

4)     Herb Roasted Red Potatoes.


 

Our starter side salad was a twist on the steakhouse classic.   We chopped fresh bitter romaine lettuce, added grape tomatoes, thin slices of avocado, bits of aged Vermont Cheddar Cheese and dressed the salad with a maple syrup balsamic vinaigrette.   This salad combines a bit of sweet, fat, depth, acidity and bitterness to pair neatly with an aging Cabernet Sauvignon.  While the cheese is a fat, it is a dry aged cheddar so it does not disturb the tannin balance in the aging wine.  Similarly, to ensure that a little bit of fat is included, avocado steps in instead of heavy palate-overwhelming blue cheese dressing.  


So we started with a simple pan seared petite sirloin steak seasoned only with seasoning salt.   There was no pan reduction sauce needed as we wanted to let this lean cut of meat stand on its own flavorwise and see how it matched up to this aging elegant 2005 Healy Cabernet Sauvignon.  The beef is purposefully sliced thin so that it melts in your mouth and similarly matches texturally to the wine.  The steak and the wine taken together could have made a heavenly pairing alone but we had more to explore.


Garlicky green beans almondine are a wonderful side dish for pairing with Cabernet Sauvignon.  First the almonds serve as a bit of fat.  Some Cabernet Sauvignons have a slightly more vegetal profile if grown in a cooler climate or if a growing year has been cooler than others.   In this case, the garlic actually allows the wine to open up more and allows different flavor nuances to come forward.


Typically I hesitate to pair potatoes with wine because the starch frequently makes the wine taste sweeter or better than it actually does.  However, in this case, roasting red potatoes with herbs creates a savory side dish that balances well with Cabernet Sauvignon.  Here, sage lingers on the back of the palate and when a sip of wine follows, it enthusiastically meets its soulful match.   The flavors in the wine explode forth and your senses get wrapped up in the rosemary and sage of the potatoes. 

As the wine and food finishes side by side, the aromas and flavors could not get any closer to those of a harvest lunch on a sunny St. Helena afternoon in Napa Valley.

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