Source: https://www.vsattui.com/blog/category/uncategorized/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 06:24:29+00:00

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Elaine + Ralph + VSW = True Love!
With December around the corner and the cold weather setting in, we draw comfort and warmth looking back on one of our favorite Summer 2016 weddings. Thanks to One Love Photography for capturing these beautiful shots!
Auction Napa Valley- Participate With Us!
It’s great to be in Napa Valley any time of year, but this week is a bit more colorful, glamorous, and generous. Auction Napa Valley begins Thursday, June 2nd, and runs through Sunday, June 5th. This is one of the most celebrated charity wine events, and the benefits from it linger much longer than just four days.
Auction Napa Valley is hosted by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) association, and with the generosity of bidders, vintners, event partners and volunteers, we are all creating a healthier community for children, families and adults. The NVV’s contributions to community health and children’s education nonprofits allow them to serve more than 100,000 clients of all ages annually.
At V. Sattui, we are proud to partner with the NVV and support these efforts to keep Napa County one of the best communities to live, work, and visit. We have created an E-Auction Lot, which allows both folks attending Auction Napa Valley, and those who cannot physically be here to participate in the event too. The E-Auction is open now and closes on Sunday, June 5th. Our lot is an Imperial sized bottle of 2012 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. This is equal to eight regular sized (750 ml) bottles of one of our best single vineyard Napa Valley Cabernets. It has won several awards and earned numerous points, including being named “Wine of the Year” and “Best Cabernet” by the 2016 Monterey International Wine Competition.
We hope you’ll make a bid on this E-Auction lot, and we hope you win!
WARNING: Consumption of this product may cause uncontrollable humming, skipping and dancing.
Happy Moscato Day! Millions of folks on the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea from Portugal and Spain to Italy and Greece can’t be wrong as it is widely grown and enjoyed. For many, a sip of Moscato is like a sip of sunshine. You just have to smile.
One place on which the wine world’s spotlight shines is Asti in Northern Italy’s Piemonte Region. Here, Asti Spumante is produced, which is moscato refermented into a sparkling wine with the same effervescent pressure as a Champagne – La Spuma is “the foam” in Italian. Numerous places throughout Italy produce a sparkling wine with less effervescence (about the same as Prosecco) called Moscato Frizzante – La frizza means “the gas” in Italian.
V. Sattui Moscato is fashioned in a very Italian style and the wine is “carbonated” naturally by a second fermentation in a sealed stainless steel tank which does not allow the natural bubbles to escape; just like Spumante. Fermenting in a bottle creates a yeasty wine because of the wine’s intimate contact with yeast. Fermenting in a much larger vessel reduces yeast contact to the point where the wine’s delicate fruitiness remains essentially intact.
Our Moscato Frizzante exudes the personality of the Muscat grape with peach, orange blossoms and melon. La Frizza creates a lovely edge in the wine which prevents the subtle sweetness from being cloying. A marvelous dessert wine on a hot summer night.
Please DO attempt this at home: cut a little pocket in a Mission fig and stuff it with a semi soft goat cheese. Wrap with prosciutto and affix it to the fig with a water soaked toothpick. Grill until the cheese runs a bit and the prosciutto becomes crisp. Place on a platter, serve V. Sattui Moscato and stand back so that you can watch your guests’ knees buckle.
V. Satttui Winery: A Slice of Italy in Napa – the Ultimate Wedding Destination!
No one can deny that Italians are passionate people, especially about art, family, food, wine and romance! Here at V. Sattui, we’re very proud of our Italian roots and the special touch they add to our weddings. That’s amore!
What could be more romantic than getting married in an Italian villa? Our stone buildings are charmingly rustic, and the rounded archways provide natural alters in our ceremony spaces.
Italians are known for their strong family bonds, and our brides and grooms feel the same way about their families too. With multiple options for hosting your ceremony, V. Sattui can comfortably accommodate up to 250 guests, so your whole family can celebrate with you!
When it comes to delicious food and wine, Italians definitely take the gold. Here at V. Sattui, we’re very lucky to have Michelin-star chef Stefano Masanti on hand to create incredible food that complements our fine wines. What brings people together better than a good meal and wine?
‘Tis the season to celebrate, and show friends and family how much we care about them. We encourage you to THINK BIG!
Large format bottles are the unsung heroes of the wine industry. Not only do they make an impression at the table, they age better than their standard counterparts, making for a wise and generous investment.
Many people save the larger bottles for very special occasions such as Christmas Dinner when all of the family is gathered around the table, or New Year’s Eve to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter. If you’ve been to V. Sattui Winery’s Harvest Ball, you know we choose that night as a great occasion to open our large format bottles of older vintages and share with our party guests.
We find the presence of a large format bottle can make any occasion a special, and successful, one – a gathering of friends, the first time meeting the parents, a weekend out-of-town. Our Vice President of Operations, John Winkelhaus, recently hosted a dinner party for 12 people where he opened a magnum of 2007 V. Sattui Morisoli Cabernet, and a magnum of our 2012 Crow Ridge Zinfandel.
Our large format bottles also make great gifts, especially for BIG occasions. One of V. Sattui’s longtime wine tenders, Marty Slavin, says he purchased a magnum to commemorate his son’s birth. He also gives them to salute marquee occasions like weddings and retirements.
And because they age so well, you have plenty of time to decide which occasion is the right one. Simply make sure they are stored on their side, so the cork stays wet, at cellar temperature (55°F). Our extensive portfolio of large format wines goes back decades. Our Magnum-sized offerings are the most diverse, though we do feature Double Magnums, Imperials and Nebuchadnezzars.
One magnum contains 1.5L of wine, which is the equivalent of two standard wine bottles. When is the last time you were in excellent company, enjoying one of those deep belly laughs, and loving the wine being shared, and a second or third bottle of wine needed to be opened? Those nights are perfect for large formats.
Be sure to keep an eye out for our new limited membership Magnum Club- which will launch in 2016!
New Year’s Eve Party in a Box!
New Year’s Eve. It’s happening. And all you need to know is bubbles, bubbles, bubbles… and brandy??
This sparkling wine is like getting the fancy French stuff with a cool California twist. We use the traditional French methode champenoise and apply it to our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes grown right here in Napa Valley. This is a labor of love, truly, where the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle to create those lovely bubbles, bubbles, bubbles. Then, we add a little sugar (known as dosage) to bring the sweetness up to a level known as brut (1.3% residual sugar [RS]). Et voilà! Pop the cork and get ready for green apple, some toasted notes and a pleasant yeastiness.
Made in the same methode champenoise as our Prestige Cuvée, we start off with Valdigué grapes (and a little Grenache). Valdigué is the same grape we use for our well-known and well-loved Gamay Rouge, so you know this sparkling wine will have those bright and juicy cherry and strawberry flavors. When it is time for the dosage, we add a little more sugar to this one (2.6% RS).
It’s a beautiful pink color, and perfect for those sparkling rose fans (you know who you are!).
Oh, Moscato. With it’s ticklishly tiny bubbles, this one is definitely a fan favorite. We start out with its namesake – Muscat grapes. It is made a little differently than the first two, using what is known as the charmat method. This means the secondary fermentation happens right in the tank, so we can keep the wine nice and light and fruity. And it shows – orange blossom, peach, apricot and lychee burst forth from this fun wine. We keep the alcohol low, and the sugars a little higher (8.1% RS), for an effervescent experience.
So here’s where the brandy comes in. We take that sweet and delicate Muscat grape juice (not wine, just juice) and throw in some brandy, just to step it up a bit. The result is this ambrosial liquid. It tastes like honey, toasted hazelnuts, and vanilla. Oh heaven! And it so versatile – serve warm, serve chilled; in glass or on ice cream, or you can even add it to a glass of Moscato for a crazy delicious drink! And once it’s opened, it will last for six months to a year. So if you decide to hide it away halfway through the party to save it for yourself for later… don’t worry, we won’t tell – we completely understand!
Order your New Year’s Eve wines here!
It’s that time of year when we all want to “do good”. Maybe it’s the crazy things happening in our world, maybe it’s the colder weather that forces us to be inside with each other longer, or maybe it’s because we were trained to “be good” for Santa at a very young age.
At V. Sattui Winery, we are giving you, (and us!), a very easy way to “do good”. Bring a children’s book, help a local child, and receive a free tasting. The books will be donated to Napa County Child Start Inc.’s Raising a Reader Program, which promotes lifelong learning for children. We’re off to a good start, having asked our employees to donate books at our recent holiday party. We’d love to get your help in collecting hundreds more to give to local kids in our community.
Your new, unwrapped children’s book (ages 0-9 years) will eventually be sent home with a child to share with their parents and families. While Raising a Reader is targeted to preschool children, the benefits are family‐wide as reading supports parent-child interaction, enhances a child’s ability to listen, and encourages a family routine of having “special time” together.
Just hearing a loving adult read, helps children expand their vocabulary, knowledge and imagination. It also makes them aware of the spoken and written language. It helps children listen better (wouldn’t we all love that?).
We will collect the children’s books in our Main Tasting Room through the month of December. We are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except December 24th when the winery closes at 3 p.m., and we are closed for business on Christmas Day.
Guests who donate a book will receive a complimentary tasting at the winery.
Let’s give the gift of reading! We hope to see you soon!
A great Cabernet calls for a great cut of meat; cooked to perfection and paired with a smooth sauce and succulent side dishes. Our favorite side dishes for this recipe are creamy polenta and asparagus, and we love pairing this dish with our Mt Veeder Cabernet. The grapes for this mountain-bred Cabernet come from the upper blocks of our beautiful and historic Henry Ranch property.
Heat your grill and rub the filets with half the oil and season with salt and pepper. Set the filets aside while you prepare the sauce.
In a small sauce pan add the shallot and red wine. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the stock and reduce by half. Add the vinegar and sugar. Stir to combine. Add the thyme, parsley and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer while you grill the steaks.
Grill the steaks to your desired temperature. It should take about 12-15 minutes to reach medium rare.
Place a steak on each of four warmed plates, spoon the sauce over each steak and serve with your side dishes.
Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you are enjoying some time with friends, family, and of course, some great V. Sattui wine! Think you might have some turkey leftover after your big feast tomorrow? We enlisted some help from local chef John Ash.
In addition to being a renowned chef, author, and food and wine educator, many refer to Chef John Ash as the “Father of Wine Country Cuisine”. In 1980 he opened his namesake restaurant, John Ash & Company, in Santa Rosa, CA. It was the first restaurant in Northern California wine country to focus on local, seasonal ingredients used to create dishes that complemented the wines being made in the region. It continues to be critically acclaimed today.
John travels the world teaching cooking classes to both home cooks and professionals. And for John, wine is always considered an essential part of the flavors of a meal.
The following recipe is from John’s Culinary Birds cookbook. Tortillitas are a little-known savory pancake from Spain that make delicious little tapas. They are meant to be served with Romesco Sauce (recipe is also below), and John recommends serving them with our Dry Riesling. Enjoy–and use up that turkey!
Combine turkey with cumin, coriander and black pepper and mix. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a small skillet over medium heat and cook the turkey until lightly browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season to your taste with salt and set aside.
For the batter, in a bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 cup of water and stir to combine; consistency should resemble pancake batter (if batter is too thick, add more water, a tablespoon at a time). Stir in the scallions, cooked turkey and any juices and the herbs.
Add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil to a 9 or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, pour one-third of the batter into the center of the pan and tilt to form a pancake, spreading the batter gently with a spatula if necessary.
Cook until the pancake is set around the edges, about 1 minute. Flip the pancake and continue cooking for another couple of minutes, then flip it again and cook for another 30 seconds or so, until it is crisp on the outside but still moist inside. Remove from the pan and serve immediately, cut into wedges, Romesco sauce on the side to spoon over top. Cook the remaining pancakes in the same way and serve warm.
Place the tomatoes under a hot broiler and roast until lightly charred and softened. Chop them and set aside, saving all the juices.
While the tomatoes are roasting, slice the chile open lengthwise and discard the stem and seeds; then tear the chile into small pieces. Heat the oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, add the chile, and cook, stirring until the oil is fragrant and the chile turns a brighter red, about 20 seconds. Transfer the chile with a slotted spoon to a heatproof bowl.
Add the hazelnuts to the skillet along with the almonds, bread, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the bread and garlic are golden, 2-3 minutes. Add the mixture (including oil) to the chile in the bowl and let cool.
Combine the chile mixture, piquillos, and vinegar in food processor and purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional vinegar if needed. Thin with water if desired. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored covered and refrigerated. Serve at room temperature.
A terrible blight (read mold) called Powdery Odium ravaged much of France in the mid 1800’s. By the time this disease was eradicated, the vines were weakened and set up for the next scourge which was even worse. It was a root louse called Phylloxera Vastatrix which wiped out almost all of the vineyards in Europe and greatly affected the New World. Hold this thought because this will constitute a future Ramblings.
Syrah is particularly prone to mold because the grape clusters are rather tight. By the time mold is manifest, it’s too late because it grew from the inside out. This prompted specialists to find a way to better ventilate the clusters by hybridizing.
Bear in mind that genetic engineering didn’t exist back then and hybridizing was a long trial-by-trial, exhausting task. Pollen had to be collected from the stamen of the trial plant with a small painter’s brush and applied to the sticky surface of the pistil of the host plant which is located just above that blossom’s ovary. When the cluster has been pollinated, a bag is placed over it to prevent any foreign pollen from getting involved. Then the fruit development and ripening pattern have to be analyzed and ultimately, a wine had to be made, analyzed and, of course, tasted. Try going through a hundred or so trials, keeping copious notes and records. It gives me the notion that nurserymen of that period didn’t live long lives.
It was Dr. Francois Duriff who successfully hybridized Syrah with a local (Rhone Valley) darling called the Peloursin. The new varietal was named Duriff after the good doctor and it goes by that name in Australia to this day. This combination produced smaller berries which allowed for better control of various molds. Smaller berries also accelerated the juice-to-skin ratio which extracted much more color and flavor from the skins, creating dense, intense, full bodied, huge (read brooding) wines. Early on, the wines were gritty, tannic monsters (so monstrous that bottles have been known to grow fur). Vintners soon learned to pick later rather than earlier and to press the skins gently, sending aggressive pressings to the distiller.
Soon, balanced, robust, rich, age-worthy wines were on shelves throughout France. Inevitably, this grape made it to Californian shores (circa 1915) and the “old timers” (like John Parducci) would plant Petite Sirah with other varietals to make Field Blends much like the Grenache vineyards in the South of France. A field blend is picking everything from that vineyard, keeping and fermenting it together and the field becomes the wine. Ultimately, Petite Sirah thrived in the dry, Mediterranean climate of California which is similar to that of Southern France.
American marketers were searching for a name that would give the wine “shelf appeal” in the self service supermarket environment. They thought Duriff could not be associated with anything, much less wine. They grappled with Peloursin and thought not a chance. Finally, one bright, young “exec” thought smaller berries; why not Petite Sirah? As a final touch in relating to but separating from Syrah, they altered the spelling.
Here is an analogy that will help you. Would you see a movie starring Marion Morrison? What if that person was John Wayne??!! How about Bernie Schwartz? I’ll bet you would pay quickly to see that person as Tony Curtiss. It’s all about marketable, friendly names that can be easily associated with and related to.
The British Empire which ruled the seas and filled them with trade vessels was masterful in naming wines with difficult market appeal. Here are a few examples.
Bordeaux: This region had hundreds of Chateaus with French names – one harder to pronounce than the next, if you were not French. They simply dubbed the wines as a category called Claret (pronounced CLA- ret). By the way, they were instrumental in creating the famous Classified Growths of Bordeaux Vineyards in 1855.
Then, there is Germany with hundreds of vineyards equally hard to pronounce, if you are not German. The Brits called these wines along the Rhein and Mosel Rivers Hock Wines named after the town of Hochheim where that signature, slender Hock bottle was designed – green for Mosel and brown for Rhein (Rhine). To demonstrate confusion there are almost 200 villages along these rivers that end in heim.
Now the tongue twister for champions which again was rescued by British marketers: It was a region in the very dry part of Andalusia in southern Spain visited by the Greeks and called Xeres or Dry Land (witness Xerox or dry process). Later, it was invaded by the Moors and they called it Sherrisch. Finally, with the help of a Crusade, the locals reclaimed the land and called it Jerez de la Frontera (pronounced hay-RETH day lah fron-TER-ah). Who could possibly relate to that? So the Brits simply called the wines of the region Sherry and sub-classified the wines as Dry Sherry, Fino, Cream Sherry, etc. “Shall we ave a spoh a sheddeh”?
And, let’s never forget that the British classified and grouped all of those non-descript, average Country Wines or table wines as PLONK, which means the carafe was simply plonked on the table without comment, much less fanfare.
And, here’s a name that involved a Brit in the New World which will jog your memory every time you are in a supermarket produce section. Sir William Thompson came to California bringing with him two mating pairs of starlings for which we have never forgiven him. He also brought along some grapes that grew in England’s “Banana Belt” around Bath called Lady de Coverly which he planted along the San Joaquin River in California’s Central Valley. A devastating flood occurred one year, as in those days the San Joaquin was a significant river. (Today, it’s merely a trickle.) Sir William was prompted to say: “Well that ends my grapegrowing.
A couple of years later, he returned to the flood scene and noticed wild grapes growing in profusion. He, naturally, tasted a berry and it was delicious WITH NO SEEDS….!!! It was a mutation initiated by the flood waters and it was called Thompson Seedless and Sir William became known as Seedless Thompson, albeit he sired 12 kids.
Here are the aroma/flavor profiles of this Rhone style varietal.
Meat: Here is a wine created for carnivores. From slow-cooked briskets, to smoked sausage to rich braises and stews. Charcoal grilled steaks or burgers. Boldly flavored meats are especially good like Mongolian barbecue, Mexican Mole or Beef Chili and Asado. Red meats with a sweet edge like Teriyaki or a barbecue sauce (in Pulled Pork) show especially well. And, don’t forget Mom’s Meatloaf.
Cheese: Surprisingly, Petite Sirah pairs with a wide range of cheeses and you can even bend the rule a bit by serving a mild blue veined cheese without causing a tannic collision with the salty cheese. The larger-than-life presentation of Petite Sirah and the perceived sweetness in its juicy fruitiness allows this marriage. So, without trepidation, serve a Camembert, Teleggio, Aged Cheddar, Liverot, Morbier or Chaumes.
Game: The assertiveness of game meats matches well with the boldness of Petite Sirah – perfect with venison, elk, boar and even moose.
Spice: Slightly spicy Asian dishes such as Garlic Beef or Tandoori Lamb Kabobs and most Southwestern fare.
Humble Foods: Burgers, hot dogs (Mustard based dishes), smoked meats, most sandwiches and just about any red meat with Ketchup on it.
Chocolate: A good wine to pair with 80% Cocoa Chocolate, if so inclined.
By itself: Like most powerhouse red wines, Petite Sirah begs to have a munchable companion. It’s no fun to drink this wine by itself or alone, for that matter.
With Fiery Hot Food: Remember alcohol only exacerbates capsaicin and/or the heat in spice. The combination could be memorable, but not in a good way.
With Delicate Food: The robust nature of this wine will simply overrun any shy flavors.
With Fish: The tannins inherent in this wine will give fish a metallic flavor.
When Old: When Petite Sirah is young it is flavor-packed and explosive. When aged, its prowess diminishes and it should be paired as one would with an older Syrah or Zinfandel.
This wine harkens from the fabled Rutherford Appellation as well as our certified organic Vittorio’s Vineyard adjacent to the winery. Dark and deeply colored, it sports highly extracted flavors of blackberries and wild plums with underlying, enticing, barrel notes of vanilla, pepper and smoke. Full bodied and muscular, the wine has abundant tannins but not those that grip your tonsils; so the wine is approachable now with a bottle promise of at least 10 years. So lay it down with your gorgeous Cabernets with confidence.
Looking forward, American marketers will always have their plates filled with foreign grape/wine names to Americanize and familiarize for a long time ahead. There are thousands of grapes and local, darling wines that are totally unknown a scant 100 miles from their source(s) and their magic is just waiting to be discovered. Consider a book just published listing Italy’s 624 local and indigenous grape varieties heretofore unknown, and you’ll get an idea of what excitement lies ahead for consumers and marketers alike. Maybe, God will grant me another 25 years of life to witness and record these new dimensions added to our wondrous world of wines. Of course, much depends on regularly (and moderately) taking my medicines of the vine and you know I’ll be sharing my findings with you.

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