Wine Traditions

With the Holidays coming up, I started being nostalgic, and began reminiscing about my family's traditions. I began remembering how we would put out cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph, and on Christmas morning the cookies would be gone and the carrot would be...half gone. Each Thanksgiving my Aunt makes Pineapple Stuffing, even if we don't have ham, because it's everyone's favorite.  We drink "glurg" at my Great Aunts annual holiday party, which is hot mulled wine with rum, lots of rum. I'm sure you've noticed that most of my memories revolve around food, and after thinking about eating all these holiday treats I began thinking about...wine.

Wine has many traditions as well. Some have been phased out, but others still hold true even if their original purpose doesn't. In lieu of the season of so many traditions, I wanted to share some of wine's fun, far fetched and interesting traditions and history.

While foil caps are now used to make a bottle of wine look polished and nicely packaged, its original purpose was something quite different.  Originally, foil caps on wine bottles were made out of lead. The reason for the lead caps was to deter the rats from eating through the corks and spoiling the wine. The lead, being poisonous, killed the rats and thus saved the wine.

Ever notice the large indentation at the bottom of your bottle? Well I can confirm its not a rouse to cheat you out of wine. There are actually quite a few theories on the origin of this dimple, which is called a "punt" .One theory was that the punt was originally used for riddling. Riddling is the act of rotating Champagne bottles so that the sediment would settle in the neck of the bottle, making it easier to extract. Another theory is that when bottles were being hand blown, the punt made it so the bottle would not topple over as easily and the seam of the glass would not scratch the table. Now the punt is used for packaging purposes, but also makes pouring wine with one hand much easier.

Now this one has not been proven yet, but it seemed too fun to not mention. And this is the tradition of toasting glasses. It has been said that the purpose for clinking glasses was so that the liquid inside the glass would spill into one another and make sure no one tried to poison just one glass. I don't know if it's true, but it sure is interesting!

One holiday tradition we have here at San Pasqual winery is our Mulled Wine. We make it using our
Passion fruit wine and our Cabernet Syrah blend. We infuse it with mulling spices and sparkling apple cider. It is the perfect drink for those chilly winter nights. Come in and enjoy a glass or grab a " Mulled Wine Kit" to take home and enjoy on your couch. Until the days become longer again, one way to enjoy the long night is by sipping some mulled wine.

Our Petite Syrah Harvest

                This year’s crush was very different for us. As we don't harvest our own grapes, this year was special. We got the opportunity to go out to a local vineyard and pick some of this year’s crop. This may not sound out of the ordinary for a winery but in our case it was. San Pasqual Winery is an urban winery. Meaning we don't have a vineyard, we buy our grapes from growers around California.  So getting the chance to go out into the vineyards and participate in harvesting the grapes ourselves was quite an adventure.

 San Pasqual Winery, as many of you know, is a small family owned winery. So, our picking crew consisted of the owners, their two adult children, and a couple winery workers. We started the second day of picking at 6am.  The vineyard in the morning was beautiful. It felt like a dream when we watched the day’s first sun light flow over the hills and awaken the vines. The cool fog that enveloped the valley in the morning was not only stunning, its coolness helped to make the picking easier. We found ourselves laughing and singing as we parted the foliage of the vine, searching for the dark purple treasures that were just waiting to be found.

The grapes we searched for were tight clustered and deep purple with somewhat large berries. They were bountiful and beautiful. It was amazing to me, how these small berries are just the beginning. After all, it takes a long time to make wine, but this supple fruit is already promising something amazing. We were not alone in our appreciation of this bounty. Birds had already sampled many of the berries and as the sun rose over the hills and the morning air warmed, we were joined by other friends, honey bees. They would gather around the grapes that the birds have opened, and as they drink, they would seem to be drunk on the juice. I’d pick a bunch only to find 5 to 6 bees feeding, and undisturbed by me cutting the cluster from the vine. These I set down carefully, there are plenty of grapes for all. These little neighbors of ours deserve their fair share of the harvest, for the all services they give us.

The vineyard was in Dulzura. Six miles from the Tecate border. It was refreshing to be surrounded by a landscape that feels like it hasn’t changed in a century.  It was evident that nature here goes undisturbed, especially as someone caught a glimpse of we think was either a fox or coyote darting in to one of the vine rows. This place holds magic and as you spend time here, it is revealed. If you find yourself with an opportunity to pick grapes for a winery, please do. You may find yourself falling in love with more than what is found in the bottle.

By Darrell Grant                                               

East meets West....Food Style

By Margot Wass

            As many of you may know I am originally a Bostonian. (Although you can’t tell from my non regional accent.) I have now been a San Diegan for almost a year. I am going to be honest, I love Boston, but I do not miss living there. I do not miss snow, humidity, potholes, or defensive driving, but I miss the food.

 Don’t get me wrong I love California cuisine. Everything is so fresh and local. Fish tacos are life changing and whoever came up with putting french fries in a burrito should get an award. But there are things I never knew I’d miss from home. One is a lobster roll with claw meat, roast beef three way, New England Clam Chowder, and steak tips! Now I may have obsessed a little bit over this, but I have found places in Southern California that have this cuisine and….it’s so good you’d think you got it from Gloucester.

First off, the clam chowder thing is a touchy subject. Everyone has different preferences on their chowder. There are variations, we won’t even go into red chowder because we’re talking strictly New England, and it is cream based. But I personally like my chowder creamy, flavored with a little bacon, with potatoes and lots of clams. I’ve tried quite a few but one notable one is PointLoma Seafoods. It’s perfectly balanced and very inexpensive, at only $3.25 for a cup.  

Now, a lobster roll back east is a summer staple. A grilled and buttered roll with lots of fresh lobster meat is heaven on a hot night. A Bite of Boston in La Jolla offers a killer lobster roll. They use fresh Maine lobster, little bit of mayo and celery on a buttered roll. They have two locations and their lobster roll is only $12.95. (That’s cheaper than Kelly’s Roast Beef!)

I have been on the hunt for steak tips. I never realized these weren’t common. I have called butcher shops across San Diego, and you would think I was speaking in code. I have been offered cuts of meat from tri tips to carne asada. I finally remembered a place in Mass that was expanding to California.The Meat House is a franchise. They are a gourmet specialty butcher and market. They have chicken, ribs and most importantly they have four different variations of marinated steak tips.  I personally like the house marinade which is peppery with a hint of lemon. The meat is tender, flavorful and just melts in your mouth. Perfect for a summer BBQ! 

Of course for these mouth watering treats you need something to drink with it. Since I work for San Pasqual winery, I have all this wine at my fingertips. With the clam chowder, the creaminess from our San Diego Albariño complimented the dish perfectly. Our 2005 Syrah has a peppery finish, with the steak tips, it  created the perfect marriage, and the lobster roll….well I won’t lie that goes great with a beer. 

For those of you wondering about the roast beef three way......the search continues. If you know of a place, please let me know! *

*Arby's doesn't count*

A Little Spice Makes Our Wine Nice!

            Many believe that the habanero pepper is the hottest pepper in the world.  In fact, the habanero pepper is not the hottest, it is however one of the most popular peppers. There is debate on the hottest pepper, some say it’s the Naga Viper pepper, and others claim it’s the Scorpion butch T pepper.  To give you an idea on exactly how hot these peppers are, we will refer to the Scoville Rating system.

            The Scoville Rating is a system of testing a pepper’s heat. What makes a pepper so hot is the oil that is found inside the fruit. This oil is called capsaicin. When this oil makes it inside your mouth, it immediately affects the pain receptors in your tongue. These receptors also cause the burning sensation from alcohol. The rating system can sometimes be inaccurate because it uses a panel of five human tasters. How it works is that they take the capsaicin and incrementally dilute the oil using sugar water. They dilute it down until it has no more detectable heat. If they dilute the capsaicin 100 times, then that is it’s rating on the scale.

            Just to give you an idea of how hot these peppers can be here are some comparisons. Green peppers for example are sweet, so they have a rating of zero Scoville heat units.  A Jalapeño pepper has a rating between 3,500 – 8,000 units.  Habanero is estimated to be around 300,000 units!  The Naga Viper and Scorpion Butch T are estimated to be over 1,000,000 units, which isn’t too far from pepper spray which is over 5 million units. 

            The origin of the habanero is still a mystery. Many believe it is from Cuba, while others think it could be Jamaica or the Bahamas. However, the largest producer of habanero is the Yucatan Peninsula, mainly in Mexico but also in Belize. This pepper thrives in heat, with little water. Making San Diego an optimal growing place for habanero. Indeed it is! The habaneros grown for our Hot Habanero Passion Fruit wine are grown in Escondido. Flavorful, bright and with a nice spicy kick, these peppers give our tangy and refreshing wine a colorful twist.

            Our Hot Passion is a beautiful watermelon color with a nose full of hibiscus flower and passion fruit. The flavor is both slightly sweet with a little heat on the finish. A perfect pairing for sushi, light chicken dishes, and best of all chocolate. We retail this at $15 a bottle and $ 12 for our wine club members.  Dominican priest Francisco Ximenez wrote in 1722,” This pepper is so strong that a single pod would make a bull unable to eat.” This infamous reputation makes the habanero one of the most sought after peppers in the world.

Save on gas! Taste wine in San Diego!

Cordiano Winery in Escondido.

          We are very lucky here in San Diego. Not only do we boast the best weather. We now have a thriving, vibrant wine culture that is in its infancy and growing.  As I explore the back country of San Diego I keep finding hidden vineyards when I’m not expecting it. From Jamul, to the mountains around Julian, boutique wineries are sprouting up all over the county. I am drawn to this. I guess it’s the hidden farmer in me that loves new growth.  But with 50 wineries already established to explore; how do we choose which wineries to try? Well fear not, there is a solution my friends.

   Now that the San Diego Summer Passports are available there is an opportunity to experience full wine tasting at 5  San Diego wineries for only $25.00. This is a great opportunity to sample 5 of our local wineries first hand for half the normal price. This year on the passport are; San Pasqual Winery,  Bernardo Winery, Hacienda de las Rosas, Cordiano and Belle Marie. These very different wineries are all right here in our own back yard. Each celebrating a different expression of wine making, that we San Diegans can call our own. We no longer need to travel to Napa, Santa Barbara, or even to Temecula to drink fun and exciting wines.

Don’t get me wrong I love wine tasting all over California when I travel. But now I have a whole new wine world to explore right here in town.  These wine tasting passports give you an inexpensive option to wine tasting and are valid through Sept 5, 2011. They are available at San Pasqual Winery’s Tasting Room in La Mesa, as well at the main Winery in Pacific Beach.  Enjoy your summer exploring San Diego’s Winery’s with friends or by yourself. I know you will be surprised by the quality of wines, the people, and the fun you will have.
                                        By Darrell Grant

A glimpse into my wine world

Like many folks, I thought the wine industry here in San Diego would be miniscule if it even existed.. And I am eating my words now, or should I say drinking them.  Did you know there are over 50 wineries in San Diego county?  And that number is growing.

My mission is to share local wine tidbits. Whether it be fun stories from other San Diego wineries, food pairing from local restaurants or something fun we're trying here at the winery. But before we get into all that I want to properly introduce myself so you may get to know a little bit about how I came into the San Diego wine world. So here we go....

My name is Margot and it has now been 10 months since my boyfriend and I made the move to San Diego. Having grown up in Massachusetts, life is very different here in Southern California.  Instead of waking up to a morning filled with the smell of pine trees and Dunkin Donuts; I now wake up to palm trees and breakfast burritos.

Finding work here was extremely difficult. After almost of month of searching, I came across this quaint winery, called San Pasqual Winery. It sounded perfect, it was small, had a female winemaker, it was close to my new apartment and....not hiring.

I talked with their Tasting Room Manager and landed myself an interview. I came in one night and met with the owners; A married couple who are also the wine makers. After talking, I asked them, "Let's just say you did hire me, when could I start working?"  Their response, “Well how about tomorrow?"  I did in fact start working for them the very next day.

I have since been working for them for the last 10 months. I mainly work in their tasting room, pouring wine for guests and assisting in coordinating events. Occasionally I help at the winery,  I have so far assisted in racking, bottling, making passion fruit wine and cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. I have come to learn that the art of wine making is 75% cleaning and only about 25% actually making wine.

My first day at the winery we were racking our 2007 Cabernet /Syrah blend. I had heard of the process and studied it in my wine class, but now it makes much more sense. What happens is that as wine ages the solids in the wine settle to the bottom of the barrel. In order to have beautiful clear wine, we must remove that sediment. So we pump the clear juice to another tank, clean the barrel and put the wine back in. It sounds like a simple process but it’s actually very time consuming. We spent almost 10 hours that day racking 2 barrels! And we rack each barrel a few times throughout its life in the barrel.  Just to give you an idea of what that day was like; I went home tired, my hands covered in wine, my shoes soaked from the power washer, and I'll be honest I felt glorious!

Since that day, I've gotten to assist the winemaker and her team in winery work. I feel like I am learning a lot and enjoying every moment of it. We have since released our 2007 Cabernet Syrah blend, its full bodied rich in dark fruit with a subtle pepper spice on the finish. Come visit our tasting room to try our new release that I have proudly had a hand in making.