Category Archives: Food
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
Chateau Montelena Sauvignon Blanc deserves an ideal companion for pairing. Fresh lime, aromatic herbs, and shellfish compliment the bright palate and crisp finish of this varietal. For me, it’s a light lunch or first course of Bodega Bay Crab Vietnamese Spring Rolls. Our 2009 Sauvignon Blanc has a great acidity that champions both the citrus and the crunch in these delectable fresh rolls! No worries if you’re too far from Bodega – any fresh crabmeat rocks this dish, and so does shrimp. You can omit protein altogether for a veggie version-try adding sliced avocado! I use a spicy peanut sauce for dipping, but any Asian-inspired sauce (mango, lemon, or other prepared sauces) can boost your own kitchen creativity. These rolls take less than 30 minutes to make and plate if you have your ingredients prepped – but you do need to prepare them within 90 minutes of serving. Like sushi rolls, they will get soggy if you try to make them too far ahead.* The good news? Nutritious, delicious, low cal and a perfect match-up for our Chateau Montelena Sauvignon Blanc!
Serves 4 as a light lunch or 8 as an appetizer (makes 8 rolls)
- 1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
- 3/4 cup carrots, fine julienne
- 1/4 cup green onions, fine julienne
- ½ English cucumber, fine julienne
- ¼ cup snipped fresh cilantro, reserve whole leaves for garnish
- ¼ cup snipped fresh mint, reserve whole leaves for garnish
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 8 8-inch round spring roll wrappers
- 8 ounces fresh or frozen crab claw meat
- Prepared peanut sauce for dipping
- Juice of 1 lime
- For filling, in a large bowl combine cabbage, carrots, green onions, cucumber, cilantro and mint. Dissolve the sugar in the rice vinegar; combine with soy sauce. Toss lightly with the vegetables to coat.
- For the dipping sauce: in a small bowl stir together 1/2 cup of peanut sauce and juice of one lime; season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Place 1 cup of luke-warm water in a shallow dish. As you prepare each roll, dip each wrapper in warm water for 7-10 seconds until limp (as a cooked lasagna noodle). Place on damp dish towel for filling and rolling. Don’t over-soak; they will tear or rip if over-soaked.
- Center 1/3 cup of filling about 1 inch from bottom edge of one of the moistened spring roll wrappers. Top with 2 tablespoons crab meat. Driizzle with a bit of dipping sauce. Fold the bottom edge of the wrapper over the filling. Fold in sides. Gently, roll up tightly as you would a burrito, keeping filling snug. Repeat with remaining filling and spring roll wrappers. Cut in half on a diagonal; serve with dipping sauce. *Do-ahead tip: Prep all the veggies as early as the night before and submerge in ice water; drain well on paper towels before assembling the rolls.
Louisiana Saturday Night…
Well, you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow,
Kick off your shoes and you throw ‘em on the floor.
Dance in the kitchen ’til the morning light:
Louisiana Saturday night…….
Montelena’s Estate Zinfandel truly is a versatile wine!
Thanks to my sister Hannah for sending me this picture!
Movable Feast 2011
We closed the winery down on Saturday the 21st, as we do every year on the third Saturday in May, for our annual party to end all parties – the Movable Feast. This party allows us an opportunity to celebrate our CellarMaster members, enjoy fantastic food and pull some of our older bottles out of the cellar to enjoy with friends old and new. We hosted one of our largest groups in recent history – over 260 party attendees came to eat, drink, and be merry at Movable Feast 2011. With Cajun-themed food (think gumbo), music courtesy of the talented Louisiana-based band L’Angelus and an impromptu conga line, it was a very memorable afternoon. To make a special occasion even more so, Author George Taber (formerly a writer for TIME magazine and the only journalist present at the 1976 Paris Tasting) was able to join in the festivities to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the 1976 Paris Tasting that put Chateau Montelena on the world wine map. It’ll be a tough one to beat, but we’re ambitious enough to try to make Movable Feast 2012 even better.
The scene is set
The Movable part of the Feast
Lunch is served
The conga line snakes around the tent
Hope to see you here next year!
Have you gotten your ticket yet?
Well…have you? Who wouldn’t want to come up to wine country for one of the hottest parties of the year? To everyone down in San Francisco and all the Bay Area, get up here….just for the fun of it. Check out the event website at http://francnblanc.eventbrite.com/ to get your tickets and more information. Why not?
Luxury in Calistoga: It Does Exist
If you’ve had the pleasure to visit the quaint little town of Calistoga, then you’ve enjoyed a throw back community to the new modern towns of US of A. The town is rich with little shops, bed and breakfasts, casual dining; and most famous for the geothermal geography, which leads way to the mud and mineral baths. But amongst the relaxed and personal charm of the laid back community, you’ll find Solage Resort and Spa, next to the old Calistoga Water plant on Silverado Trail. This is a true oasis of luxury in a community full of country lovin’.
While Solage boasts 4 star accomodations and spa treatments, it’s not over the top. I call it minimalist elegance. It is built to not intrude upon the natural surroundings. All one story buildings with little invasion into its natural surroundings.
And if you don’t want to stay overnight, stop in to SolBar, their restaurant with amazing food; amazing settings. I’ve taken many out of towners there for lunch who simply said without saying by the expressions on their faces, this is paradise.
Ok, southern Napa Valley has a some of the finest dining in the country, but don’t overlook/underestimate what the little town charm of Calistoga has to offer.
Solage's SolBar Restaurant
Best Sushi In SF? YES
Ever heard of the Dog Patch District in San Francisco? It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood just minutes south of the Giants ballpark. This used to be the neighborhood of shipping commerce, canners, butchers…. and the story goes, homeless dogs roamed these parts in search of scraps. Well, that’s what I’m told. Today, it’s a part of SF’s resurgent urban development with loft condos, bay view offices, and restaurants. Not to miss on the corner of 3rd and 18th is a small, unassuming Sushi Restaurant called Moshi Moshi. And yes, the freshness and variety of their sushi is really second to none, especially when you consider the reasonable prices. If you’re not a sushi eater, their broths for any of the noodle soup dishes are made on premise, with such perfection it’s hard to pass that up on a “cold Summer day” in San Francisco. Do yourself a favor and stop in.
And shameless plug: have a glass of our Zin or Riesling, which they serve there by the glass! There’s a reason why we targeted this restaurant to carry our wine: so we can go there!!
Are You Franc or Blanc?
Have you ever wanted to taste the wines that we make just for the fun of it? Now you can. The winery will host a first-of-its-kind party called Franc&Blanc on Saturday, June 25, 2011 from 3:00 to 7:00 pm where we’ll be pouring two of our limited-production wines – Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc – along with other wines such as our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Napa Valley Chardonnay. There may even be a few other surprise wines here and there.
We’ll have a DJ, food trucks providing plenty of bites that pair with the wines, barrel tasting, a photobooth, vineyard tours, wine classes, games and prizes and much, much more! The Montelena Family will be there too (because we love a great party) and we’re closing the winery down just for this special event.
Tickets are on sale now for general admission and VIP (*note that VIP tickets include transportation to/from the winery and access to a private VIP lounge). Come and join us and declare your preference by wearing red (franc) or white (blanc).
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We just finished enjoying a scrumptious Irish feast, prepared by our talented Chef Britny: corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and soda bread. Then we topped off the afternoon with a deliciously rich and moist Guinness cake. Isn’t dessert the best part of every meal?
From all of us at Team Montelena, we wish you a very happy St. Patty’s Day! How will you be celebrating the luck of the Irish today?
courtesty of englishinguiabasico.com
Are you a Club Member?
Are you a CellarMaster member? If so, here is an additional benefit that you might not be aware of when visiting the tasting room – specialized tasting catered to club members and their guests only. Enjoy your tasting of library wines and an exclusive club wine with other club members in a private setting. All paired with bite size food, (cheese and charcuterie).
These tastings are by appointment only and are offered Thursday through Sunday. Please contact one of our Club representatives at 800-222-7288 or email: wineclubs@montelena.com, for more information or to reserve your spot.
