Red Wine Slow Cooked Pork Loin

The weather has fully turned to autumn and that means lots of slow cooker meals on those days I work from home. This week at the end of #winechat Marie (Life of Vines Blog & #winechat host) mentioned that the topic for next week’s chat will seasonal drinking and the shift to cooler weather. I’m not a seasonal drinker per se, but I do see the shift in action when I observe other people’s habits. In my post at CBS Boston earlier this year about Summer Beverage Trends I did share my thought on lighter beers and drinks with carbonation prevailing during the warm weather. I drink red wine and dark, heavy beers all year round, but the key for me is being able to serve red wine the right temperature, even in the heat. If you can’t, it isn’t worth wasting a good bottle of red wine served at 80 degrees!

I am a seasonal eater however, and the shift in recipes does involve cooking with red wine, something I did for the first time this season, this week. The meals are often heartier including root vegetables, reductions of the braising juices from the slow cooker and bread. Paired with an equally hearty red wine these meals are always quite satisfying.

This week I took a couple wines from Bonny Doon Vineyard for a spin, using one to cook three pounds of pork loin, and the other to pair with the finished product. I’ll review the wines first and then finish with the recipe for pork.

Le Cigare Volant 2007

Complex nose with lots of dark red and black fruits. Hints of warmth from the oak. Raspberry and plum in the mouth. There is also spice, earth and a vegetal character in the mouth. The complexity continues through the finish. Nice balance and it really demands to be enjoyed! I’ve heard plenty about this wine and was just too lazy up until recently to get some in house. This is a solid Rhone style blend from a California producer that I am just getting to know. A blend of 60% Grenache, 32% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre and 4% Cinsault.

Clos de Gilroy 2010

Central Coast Grenache. I’m not sure about this particular wine. It is young and if it is going to develop any austerity and nuance I didn’t get a hint of it from my tasting. Sometimes bottles don’t travel well, and bottle #2 will be allowed to sit well into 2012 to see that happens. I found it to be fruity, light, with soft tannins and pretty basic. I did feel it was tasty enough and at a reasonable price point to cook with, and that’s just what I did.

Red Wine Slow Cooked Pork

Rub for the pork

½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp salt

½ tsp instant coffee powder

¼ tsp all spice

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp chipotle powder

3 pound pork loin roast

Cooking liquid

1 cup Bonny Doon Clos de Gilroy 2010

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp honey

Mix all of the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the pork loin, including the bottom

and sides of the roast with the prepared dry rub. Allow the meat to sit for at least an hour.

Setup your slow cooker, coat the inside of it with cooking spray and set on high. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat with olive oil. Sear the roast on all sides until nicely browned. Remove from heat. Pour all of the cooking liquid ingredients into a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat until just hot.

Place the roast in the slow cooker. Pour the warm cooking liquid over top. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat and cook on low for 6 hours, or until it reaches the desired consistency.

Remove the pork from the slow cooker, and let rest, covered with tin foil, while you prepare the glaze form the leftover cooking liquid. Pour the liquid from the bottom of the slow cooker into a small pot on the stove, and bring to a boil. Let the liquid simmer and reduce for 10 minutes or so, until it thickens.

The pork came out of the slow cooker almost falling apart and by the time the plates were prepared a fork cut right through it. I plated the pork with sauteed onions, the sauce, mashed parsnip & potato and butter/dill carrots. The bread was a rosemary white bread made using a killer no-knead recipe taken from the book “My Bread, The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method”. The bread really is easy and the smell of warm rosemary while it was cooking was very pleasing!

The pairing with the Le Cigare Volant was spot on. The match for the spices in the rub and those in the wine was the central tie for me. The richness of the sauce over the pork was complimented by the complexity of the wine. The only sad part has been eating the leftovers at my desk at work without the wine!

Cheers!

Jason

A Rhone By Any Other Name

I am participating in Wine Blogging Wednesday for the first time this month, and having recently returned from a trip to the Southern Rhone valley, the topic for installment #71 of the event is fitting. “Rhones Not From The Rhône” is this month’s topic, offering a pretty broad space to work in. Wines made from any Rhone varietal, or several, but not made in France ‘s Rhone valley was the charge. The wine could be white, red, pink, a varietal bottling or a blend.

What’s the big deal with Rhône wines you say? If you don’t know the wines at all it might be hard for me to explain it in a meaningful way, but I’ll try. If you are hardcore Cabernet lover, don’t sway from your beloved Chardonnay or are currently on a Pinot kick you might likely be missing something. Nothing is wrong with those wines, I drink all of them, but wines from the Rhone Valley (and those made from the same grapes and in similar styles elsewhere in the world) offer different experiences. The wines from the Rhone I most enjoyed on my recent trip were the red blends. Their complexity and breadth of aromas and flavors was captivating. I found violets up next to licorice and powerful combinations of smoke, leather and pepper that were definitely unique for me. Some of the grapes used in the Rhone are minor players, or are unused, elsewhere in the world. But from the Rhone you can experience them at their finest. These truths are known in other wine producing countries, like Spain and Australia, but are still emerging in the United States, where varietal usages of grapes like Syrah and Viognier are the norm.

I have actually made blends in this style at home three times in the last few years. They have added a nice diversity to my collection and have been strong crowd pleasers. The first two I made were from a Southern Rhone style winemaking kit that was primarily Syrah with Mourvedre. The most recent occasion was a different kit with Syrah, Mourvedre and influence from Grenache and other grapes typically found in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape blends. While the last one wasn’t as good as the first two, it has been a solid drinker and is almost gone! Suffice it to say that I am quite fond of wines made from these grapes.

For my wine review for #WBW71 I planned to taste and share a domestic Rhone style red blend. Finding one in a pinch turned out to be harder than I had expected, but that reality is notable as I will describe below. I searched for a selection from California in several stores with no luck. Unfortunately, I didn’t give myself enough time to source one that would require shipping so I had to alter my search. I had recently enjoyed a taste of the Penfolds Bin 138 GMS (Grenach/Mourvedre/Shiraz) and after a quick search found it at a nearby store. I certainly could have picked a varietal like Viognier or Petit Sirah and had several domestic offerings to choose from, but picking a blend gave me the opportunity to think back to the Rhone wines I recently tasted and see how one made elsewhere stacks up.

Penfolds Bin 138 GMS 2007

66% Grenache, 21% Mourvedre, 13% Shiraz
Garnet colored with some variation from rim to center. Pink/orange on the rim to garnet in the center.
Powerful aromas of blackberry, licorice, wildflowers and earth.
Spicy & juicy red fruits with some mushrooms and almost meaty flavors.
Sleek, with velvety tannins and a moderate finish.
The total package is assertive, but not abusive.

I could have sat and smelled this wine forever. I did want to taste it so I had to switch gears eventually. The structure of the wine is really notable. It is very sleek and focused, but not weak. The moderate acidity plays the role it should in the balance of the wine and demonstrates the beauty of the blend. This is definitely a different wine from those we tasted in Provence. It is juicier and fruitier than all but the youngest Rhone wines we tasted. The trade-off is more fruit for less earth, between the Aussie and French styles, but that isn’t surprising.

Interest in wine is exploding in the US so it might not seem like any one wine or style of wine would need cheerleaders, but Rhone style wines have them. Enter the Rhone Rangers, a non-profit organization that promotes American Rhone varietal wines. Qualifying Rhone Ranger wines do have to contain 75% or more of one or more Rhone varietals, which opens up many possibilities. The group sponsors tastings and educational events with member wineries all over the country. The membership is diverse with producers in California and Washington as you would expect, but also producers from the Central and Eastern US. Members include producers, growers, distributors, wine shops and fans. I recently joined as a Sidekick (consumer) member and will definitely be looking to visit member wineries when I am in VA and OR later in the year!
I suspect my difficulty in finding the type of blend I was looking for can be explained pretty simply. When it comes to domestic wines we are very varietally focused. Even with awareness of Bordeaux, Burgundy and wines from the Rhone I am betting that the knowledge of domestic Rhone style blends is less on the East Coast, where they aren’t produced, and shops don’t carry them or stock them heavily as a result. Writing about them and requesting them from the area shops will certainly go a long way to changing that.

I can’t wait to take a stroll through the other posts from #WBW71 and discover some new wines to try.

Cheers!

Jason

Ancient Fire Wine Tastings Are Back!

( Brian has a great eye for a shot. )

It’s been a while since we had wine tasting at our place. There weren’t any particular reasons for that, it just kind of happened. This past Saturday we gathered a crew of new and veteran Ancient Fire tasters together to enjoy some good food, good wine and great conversation.

( Smiles are always a good sign! )

There were two themes with this tasting, snacks with cheese in them and blind tasting. The blind tasting was based around a mix of commercial and homemade wines and would offer everyone the opportunity to see how many wines they could classify correctly. I was interested in how well I would recognize my own wines against similar styles from commercial producers.

( Just waiting for us to dig in! )

The wine lineup consisted of the following:

• Ancient Fire 2010 Strawberry
• Ancient Fire 2008 Riesling/Gewurztraminer Blend
• Ancient Fire 2009 Petit Verdot
• Ancient Fire 2009 Chateau du Roi (Southern Rhone style blend)
• Ancient Fire 2010 Oaked Chardonnay
• Ancient Fire 2010 South African Chenin Blanc
• Isaaks of Salem 2010 Popp Road Raspberry Mead
• Rodney Strong 2008 Chalk Hill Chardonnay
• Chateau Beauchene 2008 Cotes du Rhone
• Columbia Winery 2007 Cellmaster’s Riesling

I was excited to have Brian from A Thought For Food join us for the tasting. His interest in my Jalapeno Dessert and Chocolate Raspberry Port wines resulted in us meeting up for drinks a while back. We both enjoyed the social time and agreed it shouldn’t be the last time. Both he and Eric made the trip up from Southie to party with us, and I am pretty sure a positive impression was mutual! The rest of the tasting crew, Ed, Jim, Amy, Brian, Wayne, Meredith, Richard, Missy, Melanie and Margot have all enjoyed a number of our wines before and always approach our tastings with curiosity and excitement.

We had just enough food (it seems so often we have way too much) and an excellent diversity to enjoy with the wines.

Rosemary Cheddar Straws (I made these, and will share the recipe later in the week)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Baked Camembert w/ Carmelized Onions & Sage

Mini Cheesecakes w/ Burgundy or Rum Orange glazes

Italian Skewers w/ 3 cheeses, tortellini, tomatoes and vinaigrette dressing

Make your own fruit skewers

The best pairing was the Chenin Blanc with the baked Camembert. That wine was a late addition after Wayne asked me about the Vouvray Margot reccomended he try. We had had it at Christmas and she loved it so much she was passing on a solid find. While not quite the same style, my South African Chenin is nice and soft with lemon flavors and just a hint of residual sugar. Up against the earthy cheese and sage affected onions, all were taken to a new level. The cheesecakes with the Strawberry wine were also a good match, but I felt the cheesecakes were too good on their own. The cheese straws were best for me with the reds, especially the Chateau du Roi. The rosemary and baked cheddar flavor weren't lost in the wine, which added a bit of spice to amp up the cheese flavor.

( Some bottles got hit harder than others. My reds poured well this time too. )

Margot bagged up the wines so that I wouldn’t know what was what. I did however know what was included so it wasn’t truly blind for me. I was able to guess 8 out of 10, with the two I swapped creating a good deal of curiosity as several others mixed up the same commercial and homemade selections. These two ended up being the Rhone blends. I thought for sure the drier, more acidic selection was my own, but it ended up being the Chateau Beauchene. Having spent the last week tasting Cotes du Rhone wines I was heartened to find that my own version was truer to those I had tasted from the source. I’d surely make that wine again because I definitely enjoy the style.

( One empty and one almost. Definitely a message! )

My strawberry wine is an easy giveaway, but my purpose for including it was to get feedback on the newest vintage which again underwent some recipe tweaking from the year before. The consensus is that I have truly nailed it and improved on it once again. Accomplishing this mission for my flagship wine is a very proud moment for me. Otherwise it was pretty much split as to how many folks could classify the wines as mine or from a commercial producer. My Riesling/Gewurztraminer Blend fooled several folks and based on the feedback should be on my “make” list for 2011.

My heavily oaked Chardonnay wasn’t a big hit, too smoky and too buttery, but when I asked how many people had drank that style in the 70’s and 80’s (we are all too young!) and explained that is was in vogue for a time, it helped with a little context. I also added that there will be some excellent summer BBQ parings, like turkey burgers and smoked turkey, most tasters agreed to revisit it and see how it goes. The Rodney Strong Chardonnay was also oaked, just not as much, and a few tasters compared it and felt that the difference was noticeable, but not extreme. I expect, and hope, my version will calm down a little bit in a few months.

( Richard was digging my Chateau du Roi and appears to be studying it. )

We had a second unfortunate experience with mead from Isaak’s of Salem. The bottle of Popp Road Raspberry poured like a champagne and after two hours of breathing it still poured the same way. There were no flavors in the mead, it was immensely dry and had some off aromas, something Margot likened to perfume or rubbing alcohol. Clearly something has gone wrong and the remedy offered in response to the first experience we had with the carbonation in the Sweet Tooth, let it decant for 30 minutes, was not successful here. I tasted this several months ago and was able to enjoy the raspberry flavor and subtle honeyed sweetness that was intended for this product. I was sad that I didn’t end up being able to share that with my friends.

As always the socialization and conversation was the most fun element to the tasting. Margot and I had the chance to share tales from France with the slideshow going on the computer. Being able to say you stood inside a building that is 1,000 years old, is pretty cool any day of the week!

Our next wine tasting on March 26th will be a fundraiser for our Relay For Life event. Margot and I will supply the food and wine as a thank you to our family and friends for supporting us. Guests are being asked to make a $20 donation, either by check or online, as admission to the tasting. I am also hoping to have folks join us on Twitter during the tasting, raising a glass in support of the fight against cancer.

I also have to thank Brian for taking several great photos (#'s 1,3,4 and 8 in this post) and applying a set of stunning effects to make the pictures look vintage. Be sure and check out his portfolio of photography at http://www.briansamuelsphotography.com/.

Cheers!

Jason