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Barrel Tasting at San Antonio Winery

If you've been to San Antonio Winery in downtown Los Angeles, perhaps it was just to attend a company party, a birthday lunch or a wedding reception (I saw a bride there the other day--that's good luck, I think).

Or you've met friends for a pasta lunch at Maddalena Restaurant or bellied up to the tasting bar and carried out boxes of Stella Rosa wine for a bash at home. 

But do you really know what goes on there? Those barrels lining the restaurant wall aren't just decorations. Beyond is enough space to house 150 stainless steel fermenting tanks and close to 4,000 oak barrels, because this is a genuine working winery.

If you take a tour, you'll see the equipment, but the 50 or so people who toured last Saturday (at the top) didn't just look. They tasted the contents of some of those tanks and barrels.

You can't do this every day. The barrel sampling was a one-time special event. If the winery does it again next year, be sure to sign up, because you'll get a real education in wine-making. 

The tour started with appetizers--spanakopita--and pours of the 2013 San Simeon Viognier from Paso Robles in the Heritage Cellar (above).

Next, off to the tanks and barrels, one group led by Arnaud Debons, head winemaker (above and at the top), and the other by assistant winemaker Steve Feke.

These are bottles of unfiltered 2014 Viognier from a tank in the bottling line area. The wine is fermented very cold to preserve its peachy, flowery characteristics, Debons said. The taste was more acidic and bold with fruit than the same wine taken from a barrel.  Then why ferment in a barrel?--to work on "texture," Debons said. 

Now back to Heritage Cellar to eat sirloin mini sliders with chimichurri sauce and turkey and chicken sliders with Gruyere and honey mustard, accompanied by the 2013 Windstream Chardonnay from Sarmento Vineyard in Monterey (at right in the ice bucket).

Then off to the White Barrel Room to sample the 2014 Windstream Chardonnay straight from the barrel, extracted with a glass wine thief (above).

Rather than stainless steel, the Chards are fermented entirely in barrels, which are made for the winery by 20 coopers. They're used for five or six years, then sold. Want one? It'll cost you $110, but what a nice patio ornament.

Now the curriculum was getting more advanced. The group was asked to study the difference between the San Simeon Chardonnay and the Windstream Chardonnay, both from Monterey.

The San Simeon seemed more round and creamy, because some of its grapes came from a lower altitude, Debons explained, and because it had completed more of the malolactic fermentation, which converts malic acid into softer lactic acid.

All of the Windstream grapes came from a high cool vineyard exposed to winds. Fermented entirely in new oak, the wine went through less malolactic fermentation. Debons described it as "angular, precise," showing "more complexity of aromas, one after another."

Next, he asked for comments on the difference between wine aged in American oak (more bold) and French oak (creamier, softer tannins). He then discussed topping up barrels to replace wine lost in fermentation and showed how to stir up the lees, the dead cells from fermentation, using a see-through demonstration barrel (above). 

Then back to Heritage Cellar for more sliders (above), curry chicken skewers, garlic fries and southwest vegetarian spring rolls with a cilantro ranch dipping sauce. 

Hearty sustenance was important, because the next stop was the intensely cold Empire Barrel Room. Here, the group sampled the four components  of the 2011 vintage of San Antonio's Bordeaux blend, Cask 520. This wine, said Debons, is "more the concept of European wines," And he should know--he's from the south of France.

The four components, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot, were  pretty good on their own. "This is tasting amazing," said Debons of the Malbec. Merlot, he said, is what you should give someone who is just getting into red wines, because it's soft and fruity, not overly tannic and low in acidity. Easy to drink, in other words. 

Petit Verdot, on the other hand, shows strong, powerful tannins. "Fruit is not the essential part," Debons said. His plan was to use Petit Verdot as a blending grape replacing Petite Sirah, which is so distinctive it dominates other wines, he said.

This didn't work out. "We have a problem," Debons reported at the time. The wine was so good it deserved to be bottled on its own rather than merged into a blend.

The last stop was a comparison  of three vintages of the Opaque Petit Verdot from Paso Robles--2011, 2012, and 2013--all in French oak. And a taste of a really wonderful Petit Verdot from Napa--sorry, that one's only for members of the newly formed Riboli Family Artisan Wine Club (the Ribolis own the winery). If you want to get in on that, click here.   

Back in Heritage Cellar, the tour ended with cakes, fruit tarts and coffee. The real attraction, though, was generous pouring of the San Simeon Merlot 2011, the 2010 Cask 520 blend and the Opaque Petit Verdot 2010, all from Paso Robles (above).

What you didn't see on the tour was grapes, because they're grown, harvested and crushed elsewhere. White wines arrive as juice to be fermented. The reds are brought to Los Angeles after fermentation and placed in barrels to age.

It's a shame if you missed the tour. The good news is, you can sign up for another wine education course. It's a "Blend Your Own Wine" class Saturday, Sept. 26 at the winery. And there are other fun wine events that you can attend. Click here to learn what they are.   

Making Curtido the Slow Way

If you've eaten pupusas, the Salvadoran masa cakes (above), you've eaten curtido, because this shredded cabbage relish always comes with them.

A sort of vinegary slaw, curtido is easy to make--just combine cabbage, onion, carrot strands, oregano, vinegar, salt, perhaps some chile and you have a quick version. 

However, there's another style of curtido that you won't find in a Salvadoran restaurant or in a busy household. It's naturally fermented and requires no vinegar, because it forms its own tangy juices as it stands. Vinegar is a quick fix so that curtido can be eaten right away. Natural fermentation takes days.

How to get natural curtido? Make it yourself. A container is on my kitchen counter right now, thanks to a class in fermentation at Melissa's Produce.

The hands-on session was taught by Ernest Miller (above), master preserver, co-leader of Slow Food L.A., educator and chef. In front of him are sauerkraut-pickled deviled eggs and muffaletta with fermented giardiniera, showing how handy fermented ingredients can be.  

Fermentation is easy. I had expected something complicated, like canning. But there's no fussing with sterilizing jars and boiling them in a water bath. You don't even have to sterilize the container you use, just wash it well in soapy water.  

For the little work involved, you get a load of benefits, such as vitamins and natural probiotics.  "Fermented food is actually more nutritious than raw," Miller said. It's safer too, because proper fermentation kills bad bacteria. "And It just darn tastes good."

Here is the class at work, cutting up cabbages, carrots, onions and other produce supplied by Melissa's. Part of the class made curtido, the rest kimchi. 

These are the makings of curtido. Jalapeños give it a spicy kick.

And here is a neat-looking bowl of kimchi ingredients. 

After cutting up the vegetables, we sprinkled them with salt to extract the juices. Then we packed the vegetables in jars and added brine to cover. This is where you have to be accurate. The salt and water must be pure, with no additives. The amount of salt is critical. And the brine has to be prepared according to an exact formula.

Once you master the procedure, you can produce fermented vegetables as decorative as they are delicious (above).

For parties, you can add them to crudités for a spectacular display, like this one at Melissa's.

You do need the proper equipment, like Miller's airlock lacto-fermentation kit, which you can get through his company, Rancho La Merced Provisions, and from some stores. The airlock that you see on top of the jars lets out gasses and prevents oxygen from getting in and spoiling the contents. 

Here is my curtido, before the brine was added. It won't be ready for more than a week.  But it looks so nice on the kitchen counter that I'd like to leave it as a decoration, except I have to move on--to kimchi.  

There's no point in giving Miller's curtido recipe here, because to make it successfully, you have to have the correct equipment and follow instructions. Toss the ingredients together in a bowl or jar, add some brine and let it stand and you won't have curtido. You'll have a mess. 

Big Flavors from a Small Winery

What delightful aromas and flavors--butterscotch, caramel, red fruit jam, lingonberries and tea.

This wasn't a pastry shop or a tea party.  It was a wine tasting, and these were nuances I found in wines poured by Mark Crawford Horvath of Crawford Family Wines in Buellton. 

Butterscotch? That came from the 2013 Crawford Tin Shack, Rita's Crown Chardonnay (above), sourced from a tiny parcel in the highest part of the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. The beautiful deep golden color suggests an old-fashioned, buttery, oaky wine, but that isn't Horvath's  style.

Actually, it's the opposite of what he wants. While I experienced butterscotch, Horvath talked about crisp minerality, lemon zest, lean structure and "baking spices" from 11 months on the lees. Oak was negligible. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and went into neutral French oak at the end of fermentation.

Red jam? I sensed that in the 2013 Radian Vineyard Pinot Noir, which Horvath is pouring from a decanter (above). This dark, rich Pinot from the Santa Rita Hills has layers of texture, acidity, minerality and a sort of tannic structure that will meld into one. That's his analysis, not mine.

The wine also has "a tea-like quality that I think is really cool," Horvath said.  Not Earl Grey, but definitely premium. 

Caramel? I was overwhelmed with that by the 2012 Walk Slow Pinot Noir, also from the Santa Rita Hills. As soon as I swirled and sniffed, I was off to dessert heaven.

The 2013 Walk Slow is more austere, made from grapes picked a little less ripe. This is where I got red fruit--lingonberries.

The Walk Slow Pinots are assembled from the best barrels in the cellar for each vintage. The name Walk Slow "is our way of encouraging you to take your time enjoying the wine," Horvath's tasting notes explain. 

Whether you can taste these wines depends upon how resourceful you are, because they are not widely available. Crawford Family Wines produces just 800 cases a year in a tiny facility in Buellton. Only 104 cases of the 2013 Chardonnay were made, 97 of the Radian Pinot Noir and 100 of Walk Slow 2012. The biggie was the 2013 Walk Slow Pinot at 194 cases. 

Horvath (above)  specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills within 10 miles of his winery. He's now branching out to Rhone blends. The first is the 2013 Second Street Cuvée from Ballard Canyon, a blend of 65% Syrah and 35% Grenache. "The idea was food friendliness," he said, and "letting the fruit shine through."  The wine was fermented in neutral barrels and bottled after four months.

Pouring for the LA Wine Writers at Hotel Angeleno, Horvath brought out a barrel sample of his 2014 Mourvedre, a fruity, dark, acidic wine with a hint of effervescence at this point.

And he treated the group to the Crawford 2014 Santa Barbara County Rosé (above), made from Pinot Noir and Grenache grapes. It's his first Rosé, and there are only 34 cases.

"Rosé should be a wine to buy and enjoy and not take too seriously," he said. Here's his shopping tip: Rosés should be priced under $20. If more, move on. Crawford's is $18.

Horvath came to Santa Barbara County in 1997 after working for Carmenet Vineyards in Sonoma and studying at UC Davis. Starting out at Babcock Winery, he launched a partnership venture, Kenneth Crawford Wines, which lasted until 2008. Then he founded Crawford Family Wines with the aid of his wife, three kids and a brother-in-law who provided photos for the labels (above).

Horvath also consults for private owners of small vineyards and works for other wineries. "Harvest is insane," he said, because he's all over the place tending to his gigs. Never mind lack of sleep. "I feed off that energy," he said.  

Eat Lightly and Well at Binh Minh

If you want exquisite, light, beautifully-flavored food, don't take off for some chef-driven restaurant but for Binh Minh in Little Saigon.

Thanks to a recommendation from a Vietnamese woman who lives in the area, I had two exceptional dishes there, worth the trip no matter how far you have to drive. 

The first was bun cha Ha Noi--Hanoi special charbroiled pork with rice noodles (at the top). It's a marvelous combination  of smoky grilled pork slices and little cakes of ground pork in a bowl of sweet, slightly tangy, clear sauce with crisp vegetables on top. 

An extra bowl of sauce is on the side, and you'll need this, because the flavor is addictive.  You combine a mouthful of the meat with a few slim rice noodles, cooked so they're resistant to the bite, not soft or gummy, and then finish off with fresh raw greens from a heap on a platter (above). It's a brilliant way to eat, a perfect balance of flavors, and so light and fresh. 

The other dish is banh tom co ngu--deep fried shrimps and yam (above). This is not a plate of fried shrimp, but sweet potato fries--the most brilliant orange fries you can imagine--with a few shrimp attached.  

Still hungry? My Vietnamese informant also recommended bun oc--cooked snails and rice noodle soup, but I left that for another visit. This food is inexpensive. Share all three dishes with a friend, and you'll pay a little more than $10 each.  

Binh Minh is anything but fancy. It's plain and functional, almost empty in the photo above, because it was mid-afternoon, and the lunch crowd had left. People kept coming in, though, and the dish I saw most often when the trays went past was--you guessed it--Hanoi special charbroiled pork.

Binh Minh Restaurant, 9908 Westminster Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92844. Tel: (714) 636-7103. 

Tasting Wine in a Haunted Mansion

WOOOOOOOOOO--Ghosts were definitely present when the winery Artisan Uprising staged a tasting of its latest releases. 

The site was a vast, dark Hollywood estate that sprawls across a Los Feliz hillside. Once a retreat house, mother house and novitiate for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it is empty now, except for a caretaker—or is it?

Corridors that twist and turn, secret doors, bedrooms without occupants, narrow winding stairways, an escape tunnel, a floor panel concealing an elevator that descends to an empty wine cellar, gloomy stone walls--what better place could there be for a haunting--especially when you learn that Charles Manson got inside, and that the LaBianca murders took place in the house next door?

Built in 1927 for business magnate and philanthropist Earle C. Anthony, the mansion has eerie traces of its former days, like a figure of the Virgin Mary in the shadowy entry hall. She’s soft and pretty, like a pin-up girl lost in a mausoleum. 

The wines and cheeses she’s looking down on were set out by David and William Vondrasek, the founders and winemakers of Artisan Uprising in Paso Robles. The guests were a handful of LA wine writers.   

One woman, familiar with the paranormal, felt presences and heard unearthly talking—Latin names, she said. Even now, as I write this, the story vanished from my computer and I had to rewrite it from memory. That’s really scary.

As we followed each other through an endless series of rooms, climbing from one level to another, someone mentioned “The Shining.” We saw a dining room that had been turned into a chapel with kneelers still there, waiting for nuns who never come--at least not in a form that we can see.

Outside, a vast terrace leads to a view stretching from Glendale to downtown Los Angeles and beyond. That’s my glass of Artisan Uprising Merlot Rosé on the edge of the  fountain there.

We watched the last of the sunset, then left the darkness for what seemed to be a cheerful, normal kitchen, where we set out our potluck dinner. I contributed the Turkish bulgur pilaf in the foreground, an intruder in a menu that was mainly Italian—lasagne, penne with New York steak, roast chicken, an arugula salad with cheese and chocolate cookies with bacon.

In the dining room next to the kitchen, the Vondraseks had lined up their 2013 releases, including a Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Merlot and Malbec.  At least that’s what I think they were. It was very dark in that corner.

William Vondrasek, who’s pouring in the photo, says the brothers are thinking about getting into whiskey too. A shot of that might have eased the chills in my spine. Just hearing about the experience scared a friend I had lunch with the next day, and I didn't give her all the details.

As I sit here writing this, what is that muttering I hear behind me? Why did my cat screech and run out of her room? And why is that door creaking? Is it only the wind?

Cardamom: Not Ordinary Indian Food

Thank God for Cardamom. I can walk there, and that's reason enough to be grateful.  Even better is the extensive wine list, which you don't ordinarily find in an Indian restaurant.  

Smart and sleek--the work of a French designer--it's a cool place to eat your chicken tikka, but not to chow down on cheap Indian buffet food.  Cardamom doesn't sink to that level. It does, however, offer a lunch special for $11.95 based on dishes from the regular menu.

That chicken tikka, murgh tikka to use the Indian name, is nicely presented, with grilled red and green bell peppers and a yogurt-mint sauce (above). It's yellow from the spicing, not tinted red with food color, which isn't allowed in this kitchen. If you insist on red tandoori chicken, go elsewhere.  

Red chiles printed on the menu indicate spiciness, from one chile for subtly spiced to four for extremely hot. I found gosht (lamb) bhuna and Chetinad murgh, chicken in south Indian spiced coconut sauce, to be hotter than I expected from their single chiles.

Jhinga patia, tiger shrimp in a showy red sauce (above), didn't rate a single chile, despite its spiciness.

This was a good opportunity to see what wines could hold up to such food. Interestingly, a light, acidic French red wine, Chanson Le Bourgongne Pinot Noir 2011, which seemed unimpressive on its own, won out over a very good Malbec, Salentein Reserve 2013.

In another pairing, Marc Brédif Vouvray Classic 2012, a light, faintly sweet wine that seemed meant for Indian food, lost out to the more assertive minerality of Domaine Michel Girault Sancerre La Silicieuse 2012.   

These two white wines fought it out over an appetizer plate (above) that included what I thought was the best dish of the day--jhinga koliwada. Crunchy and a little spicy, this is Mumbai style shrimp, seasoned with garlic, ginger and other spices and fried. It's at upper right in the photo. 

In front of the shrimp, Cardamom's vegetable samosa is much lighter than the usual heavy potato samosas that fill you up so you can't eat anything more.

Similarly, among the desserts, gulab jamun (above) are light and fresh, not heavy balls of fried dough. Appealing in its subtlety, malai ice cream is made just with milk, no added flavorings, although it tasted richer than that. Another dessert, gajar ka halwa, or carrot halwa, is barely sweet. You could even serve it as a side dish at Thanksgiving dinner. 

Cardamom opened a few months ago, replacing India's Oven. The long menu veers away from standard Indian food to dishes you won't find elsewhere, like its rendition of Chetinad murgh (above).

Care has been taken with the seasonings. For example, the spicy lamb bhuna (above) could have been a one-note dish, but it tastes of sweet spices too, and I saw curry leaves in the pot.

I've not been inspired to eat much Indian food lately, because it's so routine and sometimes over-priced in relation to quality. That's why I'm glad Cardamom is in my neighborhood.

Cardamom, 7233 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. (323) 936-1000. Check its website for more information.

Greece's Xinomavro: A Wine to Try

Xinomavro. Never heard the word? Then you'd better learn it, if you want to try some easy drinking, affordable wines.

To pronounce it, say, very quickly and slightly muffled, SuhNOma-VRO, accenting the second and last syllables. This is close enough so you can ask for it without embarrassment.

What is it? Xinomavro is a Greek grape that produces bright, dry, acidic red wines that go with almost anything--lamb, pork belly, pizza, shepherd's pie, burgers and so on. The price is anywhere from $10 to around $35. 

To make sure we know about it, a Greek wine team blitzed the country last week. Los Angeles tastings included one for the LA Wine Writers at Hotel Angeleno and another the following day at République.

The wine writers tasted 14 examples of Xinomavro, presented by winemakers from Naoussa (say Now-suh) in Macedonia, which specializes in this grape. Naoussa is a small region, 25 to 30 miles in length, encompassing terroirs that range from low elevation to high. Its 20 wineries are mostly small and family owned, except for the cooperative Vaeni Naoussa. Twenty per cent of them are organic.

Naoussa was made a PDO region (Protected Designation of Origin) in 1971, and this led to a revival of the vineyards there, which had been decimated by phylloxera decades earlier. All the Xinomavros in the tastings were PDO wines, which is the highest designation in Greece.  

Six to look for (and this is not a "best of" list) are: 

1. Vaeni Naoussa 2010. This is a super affordable, young-tasting wine for $10 or less, the least expensive of the group tasted. For a higher level wine, try Vaeni's Grand Reserve.

2. Diamantakos Naoussa 2008. Pleasant, balanced, low in alcohol (13.4%). That's George Diamantakos at the top, pouring at the République tasting. 

3. Thymiopoulos Uranos 2011. Soft and fruity, from old vines. Lovely to drink, this wine spent 18 months in barrels. The price is about $29.

4. Estate Foundi 2006. Earthy and interesting, for $25 to $28. Some 30,000 bottles were produced. 

5. Kokkinos Xinomavro 2011. From a small family-owned winery, this Xinomavro spent a year in oak. It's only the third vintage from this winery. 

6. Elinos 2007. Richly fruity with peaty overtones, the wine is fine to try now, but Christos Taralas of Elinos says it can age at least seven years longer. 

Xinomavro is one of Greece's 330 indigenous grapes, only 78 of which have been recorded. About 40 of these have been imported to the United States, according to  Michael Pavlidis vice president of sales of Old World Vines, who accompanied the touring winemakers. 

A winery from another region also took part in the République tasting, pouring wines made from two of Greece's oldest indigenous varietals. This was Domaine Porto Carras, located in the PDO Slopes of Meliton.

Its historic white is Assyrtiko, said to be the oldest white wine varietal on the planet. It's shown with other Porto Carras white wines including Athiri, an indigenous grape that produces a fruity wine perfect for light foods and summer quaffing.  

An even more ancient grape variety is Limnio, reputed to be at least 6,500 years old and a favorite of Plato, Aristophanes and other eminent Greeks. The Porto Carras Limnio is a dry red that you can get for under $20.

Porto Carras also produces a Bordeaux style wine, Chateau Porto Carras, blended from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Limnio and Merlot. The 2005 poured at the tasting sells for $35 to $37. It's an elegant, serious red that will age well, "a French style wine with a Greek character,"  said Pavlidis.

The winery also produces a Limnio-Cabernet Sauvignon blend, a Merlot, a Syrah and a Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon blend called Magnus Baccata. 

Greek wines may not have been on your radar, but start looking for them. If the touring winemakers were persuasive enough, more should become available.