La pinta
Category: Aconcagua winemakingThe grapes are starting to turn color in our tempranillo vineyard, a phase called la pinta in Spanish or veraison in French. In English, we sort of bastardize the French term and call it “verasion” (still spelled veraison). In addition to taking on color, the grapes also soften at this point and start producing sugar. Some varieties change over faster than others, but tempranillo takes its time, resulting in some stunning photos. Our vineyard is particularly uneven, as some of the vines were stressed more than others last year. We thus have a few plants that still have hard green berries, while on others the clusters are nearly all plump and purple.
Year-end update
Category: Aconcagua winemakingThe end of the year is a quiet time in the winery. The 2009 lots all finished malolactic in mid-December—later than usual, but not quite as late as last year. The wines will now age in barrel for another year before bottling, with a move up to Viña San Esteban in March to make room in our cellar for the next harvest. The 2008 Limarí blend has been bottled, while the 2008 Aconcagua is in barrel up at Viña San Esteban, waiting to be bottled in late January. The 2006 is almost sold out, and the 2007 has officially been released and is selling in Santiago.
In the vineyard, we had a good fruit set. We are controlling irrigation, aiming for a balance between keeping the vines healthy without promoting too much vigor so the berries don’t plump up too much. Otherwise, we’re just letting the fruit develop until harvest in late March. The cool spring means the vineyard is about ten days behind it’s usual development, so we’re expecting a late harvest.
My favorite tri-tip marinade
Category: Jen's kitchenDecember is a really busy month around here. The kids start their summer vacation around the 10th, Ben’s birthday is the 14th, and of course there are Christmas preparations to arrange. I also have a lot of translating work this time of year, so I don’t get to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Quick and easy is the cuisine of the day.
For dinner tonight (Christmas Eve!) we’re having a big summer grill, with red and yellow peppers, eggplant, red onions, and a whole tri-tip, which is called punta picana in Chile. I have recently discovered a great organic beef producer—only available in Santiago, but with a little planning I can usually have it on hand. This marinade is really easy, and it makes a delicious sauce to serve with the meat. I can’t remember where I found the recipe (a magazine? it was at least ten years ago), so I can’t give credit where credit is due. I’ve only modified it slightly from the original (namely, I cut the sugar in half—it was way too sweet as published), although I do sometimes substitute merquén powder or Thai chili sauce for the Tobasco.
Bourbon marinade for whole tri-tip steak
1/2 cup bourbon
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/teaspoon Tobasco (or other chili powder or sauce)
Combine the ingredients and let sit for ten minutes to let the sugar dissolve. I use a plastic bag for marinating meats—not green, I know, but it’s one of the few things I use them for and it really is a great way to marinate. Add the tri-tip to the marinade and refrigerate. Marinate for several hours (ideally overnight), turning the meat occasionally to ensure even marinating. When you grill the steak, transfer the marinade to a small saucepan and boil until reduced by half. Serve the sauce with the steak.
Homemade yoghurt
Category: Jen's kitchenI started making my own yoghurt a couple of months ago,. Initially I just wanted to reduce our trash—all those little plastic yoghurt containers seemed so wasteful. But making yoghurt is so easy, and the result is so yummy, that it quickly became part of my routine. I’m now making a batch about once every week or ten days.
I had to play around with the recipe a bit. All the recipes in my cookbooks call for powdered milk, so that the yoghurt is thick enough to eat with a spoon. Unfortunately, that also makes the yoghurt taste like powdered milk. I tried eliminating the powdered milk altogether, but the result was very soupy, which is fine for smoothies, but not for serving with fruit or jam. I eventually settled on a combination of boiling the milk to reduce it (thereby concentrating the proteins) and adding just enough powdered milk to help thicken the yoghurt without spoiling the flavor. Boiling the milk also serves to denature (or unwind) the proteins. My first batch came out really slimy, which happens when the milk proteins aren’t unwound. Also note that since it is the protein content, not the fat, that is important for thickening the yoghurt, you can use either low fat or whole milk. Finally, I always use store-bought yoghurt for the starter, as a homemade batch is more likely to be contaminated with unwanted bacteria.
Homemade yoghurt
2 liters (2 quarts) milk
1/3 cup nonfat powdered milk
2/3 cup (one container) yoghurt (with a live culture)
Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy-bottomed pan, then continue simmering gently for 30 to 45 minutes, being careful not to scorch the milk. You can reduce the milk by as much as a quarter. Remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool to 44 C (111 F). Blend a little of the milk with the powdered milk to make a paste, then blend in about a cup of milk. Stir in the yoghurt, then add the yoghurt mix into the rest of the milk and stir well to incorporate. Pour into clean jars, wrap the jars in a kitchen towel for insulation, and set them in a warm place to ferment, In the summer, I just set the jars in a sunny spot (safe from the cats!). On cooler days, I set them under the heat lamp on the stove. The yoghurt will set in about six hours. The longer the yoghurt ferments, the more sour it will be, so I often leave it for eight or nine hours (overnight).
Flaherty in Brazil
Category: Aconcagua winemakingEd reports from Rio de Janeiro:
I just spent a week on a promotional tour for Tarapacá Gran Reservas in Brazil. I visited Vitória (the capital of Espírito Santo), Rio de Janeiro, and São Paolo. I understand just enough Portuguese to get myself into trouble, but the Brazilians were very forgiving of my odd gringo Chilean “Portuñol.” On Friday, instead of returning home to Chile, I flew back to Rio de Janeiro to help promote the arrival of Flaherty 2006 over the weekend. Marcio Moualla (the owner of Terramatter, our importer) and sommelier Alex Ordenes picked me up at the airport at 10:00 p.m., and from there we headed over to Ristorante Borsalino, where Flaherty 2006 was just put on the wine list. Sales Terramatter style means eating pizza and pasta with the restaurant owner and drinking cachaça with crushed lime and honey until four in the morning. The next morning (well, before noon anyway) I went for a walk along the Copacabana beach. My descriptions would not do Rio justice—I can only say that it is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. It has beaches, mountains, lagoons, parks, and historic buildings all in the city, but the great thing is the people and food. Chilean wine is the best seller in Brazil, and Flaherty is now being sold in restaurants in Rio and Brasilia.
So, if you are ever in Rio de Janeiro you can enjoy a glass of Flaherty at the following establishments:
Mr. Lam (in Bairro Lagoa). Don’t miss the Peking duck.
Térèze (at the Hotel Santa Teresa). Incredibly beautiful views of colonial Rio are matched by the food.
Forneria São Sebastião (in Bairro Ipanema). Casual dining and café in an open air room.
Esplanada Grill (in Bairro Ipanema). Elbow-to-elbow dining, with the best steak in Rio.
Borsalino Ristorante Italiano e Pizzeria (in Bairro Barra). Great Italian food.
Garcia & Rodrigues (a wine store, deli, and restaurant in Bairro Ipanema). Flaherty will soon be available at the shop and on the wine list.
Our ship has sailed!
Category: Aconcagua winemakingOur first export to England was shipped a little over a week ago. It’s been quite an experience in terms of learning the bureaucratic process involved in exporting wine. Alcohol sales are always more complicated than other products, and when two countries are involved, the process gets even more convoluted. Our customs agent has been central in explaining the process and getting all the documents approved. I couldn’t have done it on my own!
Our new distributor in England is Boutique Vintners L.L.P., a specialist importer of quality wine products from small producers. The company is co-owned by Nigel Murgatroyd, who is based in England, and Charles Hallifax, who divides his time between Chile and the U.K. The business combines direct sales to individuals and distribution to selected on-trade establishments.
Flowering
Category: Aconcagua winemakingOur tempranillo is in full flower. Flowering lasts about two weeks overall since it is staggered across the vineyard, with individual plants flowering earlier or later. The biggest concern during flowering is rain: a hard rain will knock the flowers off the plant before the fruit has a chance to set, which can devastate the year’s crop before it even gets started. Local vineyard managers tend to be a pessimistic lot, and most will tell you that it always rains in November. This year, Chile has experienced an unusually cool spring, so everyone is nervously waiting for flowering to finish. Rain was forecast last week, but Aconcagua made it through unscathed. We had precisely four minutes of light rain at around 9:00 Friday night. Valleys to the south received more, but there is no word yet as to whether crops were affected. In Cauquenes, any rain is good news for our new planting there, although it could be a problem for established vineyards.
Our other tasks over the past couple of weeks include tidying up the vineyard—weeding around the vines, tying up the drip lines, and removing suckers from the vine trunks. This is also an important period in terms of canopy management. Excess shoots need to be thinned out to ensure good sun exposure on the developing fruit and good air flow around the plants. The remaining shoots are trained straight up using guide wires, to promote even plant development.