The Winter Gold
We’ve been earning our winter Olympic medals all across the country this year. Winemaker Gary Wooton has been carrying the Croze and Smith Wooton torch and finding new allies from North Carolina to California to Minnesota to Tennessee and beyond. Our wine club continues to grow and soon we’ll be a force to reckon with in both our numbers and our colorfulness as we march into the opening ceremony of the next season.
We’ve been longing to get out into the flirty sunshine of spring, but as mother nature would have it, that won’t be quite yet. In the meantime we are sending our wine club members something to warm from the inside out. To feed the very center of your gluttony and fire your internal furnace until the first bud break of spring you’ll be sipping on Smith Wooton Syrah and Croze Cabernet Sauvignon Port.
Our wine club is a quarterly shipment of two bottles paired with tasty recipe ideas and technical information on the wines. It is a great introduction to our old world style of winemaking paired with our new world fun palates. Please contact us or sign up on our website to be part of the team. As an introductory offer we are giving you
½ OFF YOUR FIRST SHIPMENT!!!
"Nothing is so effective in keeping one young and full of lust as a discriminating palate thoroughly satisfied at least once a day."
- Angelo Pelligrini
Tuscan Lamb and Smith Wooton Syrah
6-8 lamb rib chops (separated)
2-3 tbls olive oil for pan
4 cloves garlic (or more to taste)
1 drained can of Cannellini or white small beans
1 cup organic drained canned or fresh diced tomatoes
1 tbls balsamic vinegar
A few pinches EACH dried rosemary, oregano & basil to taste (or use fresh)
salt & pepper
In large skillet, cook chops in olive oil over medium heat for about 8 minutes (depending on thickness). Add salt & pepper to chops to taste. Remove and keep warm.
Add chopped garlic to the drippings, cook and stir for 1 minute.
Add beans, tomatoes, spices and vinegar, simmer for 3 minutes.
Spoon bean mixture onto individual plates and arrange chops on top.
Chocolate Ganache Layered Cake and Croze Port
For cake layers
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon instant-espresso powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups packed dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
For ganache filling and glaze
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
20 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped in a food processor
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PreparationMake cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 3 (7- or 8-inch, 2-inch-deep) round cake pans and line bottoms with rounds of wax or parchment paper. Butter paper and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.
Whisk together water, cocoa, and espresso powder until smooth, then whisk in milk and vanilla.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture in batches, beginning and ending with flour and mixing at low speed until just combined.
Divide batter among pans (about 2 1/3 cups per pan), smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes for 7-inch pans or 20 to 25 minutes for 8-inch. Cool in pans on a rack 30 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove paper, and cool completely.
Make ganache while cakes bake:
Bring cream to a simmer in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Transfer ganache to a bowl and chill, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened but spreadable, about 4 hours. (If ganache becomes too thick, let stand at room temperature until slightly softened.)
Assemble cake:
Arrange 1 layer on a cake stand or plate and spread 2/3 cup ganache evenly over it. Top with another cake layer and 2/3 cup ganache, spreading evenly, then third cake layer. (Chill ganache if necessary to keep at a spreadable consistency.) Chill cake until ganache filling is firm, about 1 hour. Keep remaining ganache at a spreadable consistency, chilling when necessary.
Spread a thin layer of ganache over top and sides of cake to seal in crumbs, then chill 30 minutes. Spread remaining ganache evenly over top and sides of cake.
In Vino Veritas,
The Wootons
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