This year I still plan for us to tour California and hit appellations that do not always earn their way to the spotlight, but first we need to use a couple of wines I committed to last year that arrived earlier than expected. The theme this month is blends, made by winemakers who put them together in different ways. As a result they show the superb dimension and polish that can only be achieved when the winemaker gets to fine tune the wine before bottling. These are two very different wines but are very useful for a wide range of food pairings.
Download Full Club Write-upBedrock The Whole Shebang XVI
The wines from Bedrock, a partnership with Morgan Twain Peterson and Chris Cottrell, are some of my favorites in the Golden State because of their deep respect for the history of viticulture of Northern California. While I can’t speak for Chris I know that Morgan gets his appreciation honestly, as the son of Joel Peterson who built and then sold the Ravenswood winery during the early years of my career. Joel built his brand as a master of the Zinfandel variety with his single vineyard bottlings; Dickerson, Belloni-Wood Road and Old Hill. When Joel sold the winery to Constellation, who recently sold it to Gallo, Morgan was beginning his winemaking career and decided to focus on wines from historic, heirloom vineyards like the ones Joel supported, hence the name Bedrock.
Like Ravenswood, at the heart of the Bedrock program are some of the most legendary vineyards in California. While it is cool to geek out about the wine from the old gnarly vines that have been passed through the generations, most need something known as Chateau de Cash Flow. For Bedrock that is The Whole Shebang, this wine is based on Zinfandel with declassified lots of Syrah and Petite Sirah not used for other wines. A wine like this is made by taste, as Morgan and Chris taste and tweak the blend until they get the character they are looking for. Once they dial in the blend the wine is then aged in older French oak barrels for a year to smooth the edges. What always strikes me when I tasted each new release is how fresh and lively each bottling is when so often blends like this come off clunky and even a little sweet.
Since it is a screw cap you will want to decant this wine for a few minutes to let the bouquet develop and during this time give it a quick stop in the refrigerator. When you pour a glass it is like a giant bowl of summer berries all smashed together, with notes of clove, cinnamon and black pepper. This is gulpable stuff with a nice sense of restraint making it the perfect have-with-anything wine to serve with everything from pizza and meatloaf to take out Chinese or Indian.
2021 Altocedro La Consulta Select
This is not our first feature from this winery, which is owned by Lebanese-Argentinian Karim Mussi Saffie, and named for the tall cedar that looms over the winery. To him the cedar is a tie to his heritage and symbol for how far his, and the wines of Argentina, can reach. This wine is produced as a “best of the cellar” blend for the grapes he grows in his Valle de Uco subzone called La Consulta.
It was California winemaker Paul Hobbs who is first credited with identifying the Valle de Uco as a superior area while consulting with Nicolas Catena in the early 1990s. He recognized that the poor soils, dry climate and high elevation were the perfect combination for ripening thick skinned grape varieties like Malbec. At nearly 4000 feet above sea level the UV rays are much more intense than at ground level, and the climate is much cooler as well. As a result the grapes develop thicker skins and ripen slower, which produces wines with better intensity and concentration.
Unlike the wine above where each component is made and the blend is produced from the different wines, this bottling is made by harvesting all of the individual grapes at the same time and fermenting them together. The blend for this wine is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec, 22% Tempranillo and 16% Syrah. The wine was then placed in French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling. Decant it for a half hour and the nose offers notes of dried cherry, cooked cranberry, dried orange peel and tobacco. On the palate it does not suffer for concentration, but there is a good sense of freshness and lift that keeps it from becoming ponderous. This is a wine that you can serve with everything from tacos al pastor to seared tuna steaks and I suggest drinking it from 2025-2029.
Skillet Mac-n-Cheese
I am a big fan of podcasts and recently started listening to The Recipe with Kenji and Deb. Kenji is Kenji Lopez-Alt, currently one of the most popular food writers across several platforms including two excellent cookbooks and articles in the New York Times. Deb is Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen blog and cookbooks. Their banter is fun and light hearted but the real mojo happens with their recipes. Lopez-Alt is a master of time saving short cuts and coaxing uncommon depth of flavor from his dishes. Perelman is a good all around writer and I find her recipes to be well thought out and quite delicious. This version from Smitten Kitchen is her rift on the topic of their first podcast, Macaroni and Cheese. This dish works great as a side with roast chicken, baked fish or do what I have been known to do, mix in cooked, crumbled ground meat for a single pan dinner. The directions call for preparing this in a 10 inch oven proof skillet but you can also make in a Dutch oven.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (30 grams) panko-style breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons (30 grams) plus 3 tablespoons (45 grams) unsalted butter
Kosher salt
1/2 pound (8 ounces or 225 grams) dried elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces or 170 grams) coarsely grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) coarsely grated gruyère, comte, jack, gouda, fontina, or raclette
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces or 55 grams) finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) milk, any kind
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
Many grinds of black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
A pinch or two of freshly grated nutmeg
Preparation
Heat oven: To 375°F (190°C).
Toast the crumbs: In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (I’m using this one), melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and add the breadcrumbs. Toast the crumbs in the butter, stirring, until they’re a light golden brown. Season with a pinch of salt and scrape crumbs into a dish to set aside. Swipe out the pan with a paper towel to clean it.
Soak your pasta: Place uncooked pasta in a large bowl and cover with hot tap water. Soak for 10 minutes then drain it, shaking the pasta out to release any trapped water.
Make the sauce and assemble: Combine the three cheeses right on the paper or board you’ve grated them onto.
Return your ovenproof skillet to the stove over medium-high heat and melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in it. Add the flour, whisking to combine. Add milk, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking to combine each addition with the butter-flour mixture until smooth. When all milk is added, season with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond brand; use half of any other brand), many grinds of black pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg, and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to a simmer and begins to thicken. Once simmering, cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Turn the burner off.
Setting aside 2/3 cup of the cheese mixture, add the rest of the cheeses to the sauce, stirring just until it has melted. Taste the sauce (carefully!) here and adjust seasonings if needed to taste. Stir in drained pasta until evenly coated. Sprinkle the surface with reserved cheese, followed by the toasted breadcrumbs.
Bake: Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. You can fish out a piece of macaroni just to confirm it’s cooked through, but I’ve never found this to be an issue. Add another 5 minutes in the oven, if needed for it to soften. If you want it a little more browned on top, run the pan briefly under your broiler for a minute.
Serve: Let rest for 2 to 3 minutes, then serve right away.