To move the wine, we hired a truck and loaded up empty barrels on barrel racks. To move the wine, we don’t use a pump—we rack barrel to barrel using nitrogen pressure. We filled the barrels on the truck, which were offloaded with a forklift at San Esteban. Our friends Craig and Eduardo came up from Santiago to help out.

Our other preparations for harvest include buying a new press. Ed has had the old press since before I knew him. He and Pat Henderson (now head winemaker at Kenwood Vineyard) used to make wine in their garage on Boyes Blvd in Sonoma. Pat shipped us the press when we started making Flaherty in 2004. Because it’s so small, it took several press loads to press out a bin , which made for a very long day. The new press will speed up the process and allow us to press more thoroughly. A disadvantage, however, is that the thing is really heavy, so we won’t be able to move it around the fermentation pad as needed. We therefore picked up a reconditioned pallet jack, which will allow us to move the bins to the press rather than vice versus. The kids had a great time using it to rearrange the bins. Finally, our new barrels arrived the same day we moved the wine to San Esteban. Craig Thornbury of Tonelería Magreñan delivered two american oak and two romanian oak barrels. All these additions should help smooth out the winemaking process.

Our Tempranillo vineyard is ripening well. We had some water issues early in the growing season (too much water early on, then a short period of drought when the irrigation system had to be repaired). Note the grass between the rows. This is mostly to improve the habitat for the birds, but it also helps to draw excess water out of the soil. In addition, Ed is letting the grapes shrivel a bit before harvesting, which will concentrate the flavors. We’ll probably be harvesting within a couple of weeks.

Regards,

Ed & Jen

A note on leeks: I used to get so frustrated when a recipe called for just the white part of the leeks. That is often only about an inch at the base! I use the greens for stock, but it still seems like such a waste to not use the bulk of the stalk in the recipe. I have thus taken to including a lot of the pale green section of the leek along with the white part, and I have never had a problem with the end result. (My pictures are rather dark today. We moved our clocks back a week ago, so dinner is now after sunset.)

Risotto-style pasta

250 grams (half pound) sausage
1/4 cup olive oil
3 or 4 TBSP butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 or 3 leeks, mostly white part, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1 can tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped (some juice is fine)
250 grams (half pound) of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
400 grams (one pound) Italian penne pasta
5–6 cups homemade chicken stock
120 grams (4 ounces) freshly grated parmesan cheese
fresh sage, chopped (basil is also nice)
salt and pepper

Precook the sausage by boiling (this removes a lot of the fat).

Bring the stock to a simmer in a small pot.

Heat the oil and butter in a separate pot, then add the onions and leaks. When the onion has softened, add the garlic and briefly saute. Add the wine and stew the leeks for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, and pasta, stirring to coat. Add about two cups stock and let simmer, stirring occasionally. As the stock is absorbed, add another ladleful. I keep more liquid in the pot than I would for a risotto, but the idea is the same—to gradually add the stock as it is absorbed, rather than boiling the pasta in a pot of liquid. When the pasta is al dente (15–20 minutes), gently fold in the cheese and herbs. Adjust the salt and pepper and serve. (I don’t add salt up front because the stock is lightly salted and the cheese contributes additional salt.)

Merquén is usually a blend of the smoked pepper, oregano, cumin, and salt, but the rich smoky flavor and spicy hot (picante) pepper dominate. It is available at some Whole Foods stores and also online. If you can’t find it, you might try substituting chipotle powder, which is also smoked but has a different flavor profile.

For the tartar sauce, I start with a blender mayonnaise, season with merquén, and then add capers, pickle, and green onion.

I fried the fish in caper oil and garnished with fried capers. This is a trick I learned from John Ash—frying takes the bite out of the capers and leaves a nicely flavored oil. Rinse the capers (about a tablespoon per person) and pat dry. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and deep fry the capers for a few minutes, until crisp, being careful not to burn the oil. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the capers to a paper towel to drain.

Now pour the oil into the pan you will use for the fish. (I suppose you could fry the capers in the fish pan, but you won’t get that deep-frying effect.) Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and lightly coat with flour. Pan fry in the caper oil a few minutes per side, until done. I cover the fish on the first side, to ensure it cooks through, then leave the cover off on the second side.

Serve with the merquén tartar sauce and a garnish of fried capers. Sra. Juana’s pebre is spectacular as a second sauce—the garlic and cilantro complement the tartar sauce beautifully. Our wine last night was a 2007 Equus Chardonnay, which was nicely balanced (although the label did not withstand the ice bucket, as evidenced in the photo).

Merquén tartar sauce

1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 TBSP white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 – 1 tsp ground merquén
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup (or more) vegetable oil (or use all olive oil)

3–4 TBSP dill pickle, chopped
2 TBSP parsley, minced
1 TBSP capers, chopped
1 TBSP green onion, minced

To make the mayonnaise: combine the egg, egg yolk, vinegar, mustard, salt, and 1/2 tsp merquén in a blender and process until smooth. With the blender on low, slowly pour in the olive oil and 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Add additional vegetable oil if needed for consistency. Taste and add additional merquén, as desired.

To finish the tartar sauce, stir in the pickle, parsley, capers, and green onion. Refrigerate until needed. Can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

www.LaCav.cl

My kids are still in that pesky phase when all sauces are suspect. More than suspect, they’re scary. So I usually either poach or pan fry the fish very simply, and then serve some sort of sauce or condiment for Ed and I.

This cilantro pesto is a favorite. It is very strongly flavored with garlic, green olives, pickles, and vinegar, which provide a good tangy complement to the subtle fish. Here, I battered and fried the fish and served it with ensalada chilena (made with white wine vinegar instead of red) and humitas. Humitas are basically a fresh-corn tamale served throughout summer in central Chile. The wine was a 2007 Sutil Sauvignon Blanc.

A note on cilantro: I used to painstakingly pick out all the stems and use only the leaves. What a waste of time! Small stems are fine and do not affect the texture, so just pick out the thicker stems. Be sure to wash well and spin dry, as it can be gritty (at least in our local markets).

Cilantro pesto

2 cups (packed) cilantro leaves
12 green olives, pitted (about a quarter cup roughly chopped)
1/4 cup chopped dill pickle
2 or 3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup cashews
1 slice bread (I use whole wheat sandwich bread, but any will do)
3 TBSP white wine vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (I don’t usually add salt, as our “unsalted” cashews are actually a bit salty)

Place the cilantro, olives, pickle, garlic, and cashews in a food processor. Cut the crusts off the bread. Drizzle one tablespoon vinegar over the bread; turn the bread over and repeat. Add the bread and the final tablespoon of vinegar to the food processor. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Process until smooth, adding more oil as needed. Refrigerator the pesto while you prepare the fish, which will allow the flavors to marry.

Peppermint chip ice cream

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup candy cane chips (from 5 or 6 medium-sized candy canes–the kind that are sold 12 to a box)

Whisk the eggs for one minute. Add the sugar and whisk for two more minutes, until the eggs turn light yellow in color. Add the cream, milk, and extract. Pour into an icecream maker and freeze according to the machine’s instructions. (Mine is electric, but requires ice and salt. I really, really want a fully automatic one… Maybe next Christmas?) When the ice cream is ready, fold in the candy cane chips.