The Wine Foundry

Pesto Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Pair with 2019 Stream of Consciousness

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
4 ounces arugula, stemmed, washed and dried
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 to 1/2 club extra virgin olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
8 oz. long pasta noodle of your choice

For the Pesto

Using either a mortar and pestle or food processor, mash the garlic cloves until they start to form a paste. Add the pine nuts and combine with garlic until the nuts are finely ground. Add the salt and arugula in handfuls that fit into the mortar, gently macerating them until the oils release. Once all the arugula has been broken down, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto has a fluid consistency. Stir in the cheese. 

For the Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Gently toss the halved cherry tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil, coarse sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. Roast the tomatoes, tossing once, for 20 - 25 minutes, until the tomatoes are blistered and beginning to burst.

Bring a salted pot of water to boiling temperature and cook the pasta per the pasta's instructions. 

Toss all to combine, topping with freshly grated parmesan.

Jul 22, 2022 at 11:41 AM Permalink

Quiz - Name the Album Cover

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Rock and Roll Trivia

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Saint Patrick's Day Food & Wine Pairings

Are you feeling the Luck of the Irish?
Capture all 4 pairing wines in our Four Leaf 4-Pack and receive free shipping!

Mar 9, 2021 at 11:45 AM Permalink

Sparkling Wines Over Which to Woo Your Valentine

Whether your Valentine’s Day plans entail time spent with a special someone, or a relaxing evening alone at home, the occasion provides a time to reflect on all of the love in your life. Celebrate that love with a toast to those who are always there for you, and fill your flute with one of these wonderful sparkling wines. Enjoyed with another, or relished solo, these bubbles can’t help but beguile.

Read the entire article here

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Presidential History Quiz

Test your knowledge of presidential history for a chance to receive a 10% off coupon code.

Jan 15, 2021 at 12:13 PM Permalink

Empanadas with Sweet Potato, Shitake & Portobello Mushrooms

Credit: Valerie Von Burg, founder of Anarchist Wine Co. & Foundry Wines

Pair with 2018 Foundry Chardonnay, Courtney's Vineyard

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet potato, steamed and sliced
2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon garlic, chopped
1/2 pound shitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced thin
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1 box puff pastry
4 oz. Gruyere, grated
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Egg wash
1 egg
1/4 cup water

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350°

Steam the potato until tender but not falling apart, let cool, then peel and slice thin and set aside. In a sauté pan add the olive oil and heat to medium, then add the mushrooms, garlic, shallots and basil. Sauté until tender, then add the sliced potato and toss a few times trying not to break the slices up. Season with salt and pepper to taste, let cool, and set aside.

Take the puff pastry and roll it to half its original thickness. Cut 5-inch circles or squares. Fill with the mixture and top with a little cheese, leaving space around the edges. Brush edges with egg wash, fold the pastry and seal the edges with a fork. Brush the surface of the empanadas with egg wash and place on an oiled baking sheet.

Bake at 350° until golden brown. Enjoy with a beautiful glass of Foundry 2018 Chardonnay, Courtney’s Vineyard!

Nov 9, 2020 at 9:38 PM Permalink

Lobster Pasta by Soo Young Kim, Bistro Viz

Credit: Soo Young Kim, owner/chef of Bistro Viz in San Anselmo, CA

Pair with 2018 Foundry Chardonnay, Courtney's Vineyard

Serves 6

Ingredients: 

6 Maine lobster tails
1 fennel bulb, shaved
2 t. crushed garlic
1T butter, more to finish
4 T thinly shaved shallot
1/4 c white wine, pref chardonnay
2 T. chopped chives
Cooked pasta, preferablly Rustichella garganelle or de Cecco Pappardelle

Method:

1. In a small-medium saucepan that snugly holds three lobster tail,s, bring 1 c. water to a rapid boil.
place three tails and 1 cub fennel, sliced thinly, into pan.
2. Add enough water to just come to the top of the tails and bring to s slow boil and cook 5-7 minutes.
3. When the tail forms a 90 degree it's done.
4. Pull the first three tails out and place the next three tails in and repeat. Reserve fennel-lobster broth.
5. While tails cool, heat 1 T butter over medium heat and cook shallots until soft. Add garlic and cook one minute.
6. Add wine and boil until almost dry.
7. Use seafood scissors to extract meat from lobster tails and chop into pieces just over 1/2"
8. Add shells to the fennel-lobster broth and strain. You can do a second wash with plain water to extract more flavor.
9. Add shallot-wine mixture and reduce liquid to half the volume.
10. Add cooked pasta, lobster, chili flake to taste, a few grinds of black pepper and 3 T. butter to the sauce and stir.
11. Serve immediately, with chives.

Nov 9, 2020 at 1:08 PM Permalink

Inquisitive Sips: Harvest Edition 2020

Oct 1, 2020 at 6:56 PM Permalink

Current Releases from Anarchist Wine

By Daniel Mangin / Napa Valley, Places/Activities, Wine, Wine Reviews

Offbeat mashups and wise cellar choices make for appealing wines.

With a name like Anarchist Wine Co., there’s a lot to unpack. Is the anarchy just about varietal mashups, for instance, or also wild-and-crazy cellar techniques? With Anarchist, as well to consider are catchy names like Rosé Against the Machine and the labels, whose art is generated by algorithms based on data points related to a wine’s title. I sorted some of this out while sampling the three well-crafted  Anarchist wines described below.

Tasting Impressions

2019 Rosé Against the Machine (Clarksburg AVA). Rosé of Tempranillo (84%) isn’t unheard of, so perhaps it’s the 1% Pinot Noir (along with 15% Mourvèdre) that tips this light-on-its-feet blend into anarchy. Strawberry and not-quite-ripe watermelon notes predominate, with the acidity crisp but not puckering. A total sipper if you desire, it also plays well with food.

2016 Conspiracy Theory (North Coast AVA). The Petite Sirah (40%) and Syrah (25%) at this blend’s core assert themselves on the nose conventionally, but the other components—Malbec (14%), Sangiovese (11%), Zinfandel (10%)—interact in appealingly offbeat ways on the palate. The Sangiovese and Zinfandel’s red aspects, for instance, impishly challenge the Petite’s potency and the Syrah’s darker savory notes, but it’s all done with love. This wine with mixed-berry-pie richness loves extra-creamy cheese,  chicken aglio olio e peperoncino (shown), or a juicy pork chop with the fat left untrimmed.

2017 The Philosopher. Initial sips of this 99% Bordeaux blend (Cab Sauv 85%, Merlot 6%, Cab Franc 4%, Petit Verdot 4%, and Petite Sirah 1%) set me to wondering about the Cabernet Sauvignon’s sources. The strategy with the blending grapes seems to have been more to amplify the Cabernet’s characteristics than to fill in gaps. Wise choice.

Anarchist Wine Co. has a tasting room, shared w/sister winery The Wine Foundry) at the Vista Collina Resort’s The Village Napa Valley, about 4 miles south of downtown Napa.

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Sep 15, 2020 at 9:58 AM Permalink