Wine Tasting - The Sense of Touch
Touch is an important category of taste sensation. This is where we try to feel the wine on the palate. Here we seek to find impressions of such things as texture, body, temperature, and astringency. The aftertaste, finish, and length of a wine are all things we feel on our palate. We are looking for how the wine feels in weight (light, medium, full) and texture (silky, coarse, velvety). Try to observe how long the sensations last in your mouth. Most will tell you the longer it lasts, the better the wine!
Locals - A Collective Tasting Room
Come visit us at Locals located at the gateway to Alexander Valley in the once sleepy hamlet of Geyserville. Locals is a collective tasting room featuring the wines of 6 local boutique wineries. Taste over 30 unique wines from talented and noted neighborhood winemakers. These are small-scale producers making premium quality and hard to find award-winning wines.
While sampling these unique selections, discover the works of area black and white photographers, listen to music from local Sonoma Country musicians and be intrigued by Locals whimsical collection of art moderne wine accessories. It all combines to create an eclectic and tasty environment.
www.tastelocalwines.com
707.857.4900
yummy@tastelocalwines.com
Sassafras roast breast and potted
leg of duck with figs, olives and pumpkin spoonbread (serves 6)
Recipe courtesy of Sassafras
Restaurant & Wine Bar,
Santa Rosa, CA
• 3-6 duck breasts, de-boned and cleaned-total weight 24-36
oz
• 2-3 potted (confit) duck legs, skin and bone removed
(Sassafras potted duck recipe attached)
Sauce:
• 12-14 dried Black mission figs, soaked in 3/4 Cup red
wine for several hours, then cut in half.
• 1 1/4 C pitted Kalamata or black oil-cured olives, soaked
in cold water for • 20 minutes,rinsed, then soaked in 3/4
Cup red wine for 1/2 hour.
• 4 shallots, thinly sliced
• 3 C gelatinous duck stock or half-and-half mixture of
chicken stock and brownveal stock
• 2 T butter, unsalted
• salt and pepper to taste
Drain figs and olived, reserve the figs, olives and wine separately. Reduce the wine with the shallots by half; add the stock. Reduce by half again, adding the figs and olives 5 minutes. Before the reduction is complete, taste for seasoning. Swirl in butter, add the potted legmeat and warm through.
Meanwhile, cook the duck breasts: score the skin; season. Brown the breasts by starting them skin side down in a pan over medium heat to render some of the fat. Turn over and brown the flesh side slightly. Turn over again and finish in a medium-hot oven. Do not cook past medium rare.
Let rest several minutes, then slice the breasts into 1/8" thick slices.
Serve with the confit-and-sauce mixture, the spoonbread (make 1/4 recipe) and a mild flavored green vegetable (e.g. peas, spinach)
Sassafras duck confit
• filtered, rendered duck fat
• 12 duck legs
• 5 T salt
• 4 T shallots
• 4 T parsley
• 2 T black pepper
• 4 bay leaves, crushed
• 2 T chopped garlic
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 t cloves
• 4 t coriander
• 2 cinnamon sticks, coarsely ground
Rub salt into flesh side of duck legs followed by remaining dry
ingredients
Cure 24 hours. Wipe legs of cure. Melt duck fat. Add 16 cloves
garlic, 4 bay leaves, 8 sprigs thyme. Add duck legs. Cover. Cook
in 250 degree oven at least 45 minutes, until flesh almost falls
away from bone.
Sassafras pumpkin spoonbread
• 5 C milk
• 4 C half and half
• 2 T salt
• 2 T sugar
Scald above ingredients
• 2 C cornmeal
• 1 C flour
• 1 C butter, cut into pieces
Whisk cornmeal and flour into scalded milk mixture, cook until
smooth and creamy, remove from heat. Stir in butter.
• 12 eggs, separated
• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 1 1/2 C pumpkin puree
Butter a 6 quart, shallow casserole.
Combine egg yolks and cream, beat. Season generously.
Beat egg whites until stiff, not dry. Add egg yolk/cream mixture
to cornmeal mixture. Add pumpkin puree. Fold in egg whites.
Spread into casserole. Bake until golden brown and
just set, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees
