Rhonda Cloos - Under the Texan Sun: The Best Recipes from Lone Star Wineries

Under the Texan Sun

The Best Recipes
from Lone Star Wineries

RHONDA CLOOS

Copyright 2005 by Rhonda Cloos
First Taylor Trade Publishing edition 2005

This Taylor Trade Publishing paperback edition of Under the Texan Sun is an original publication. It is published by arrangement with the author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

Published by Taylor Trade Publishing

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200

Lanham, MD 20706

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cloos, Rhonda.

Under the Texan sun : the best recipes from lone star wineries / Rhonda Cloos.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN: 978-1-58979-158-9

1. Cookery. 2. WineriesTexas. 3. Wine and winemakingTexas. I. Title.

TX714.C6377 2005

641.5dc22

2004020056

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

To
Mark, my partner in wine;
Michael, champion cork thrower; and
Marlee, who stomps grapes with grace and style.

Barbara Gore, my sister,
and her husband Ken and son Ben
all inspirations for me.

Pamela Cohen, sommelier extraordinaire, cherished
cousin and dear friend.

And to all the great chefs in my family,
past, present, and future.

by Pamela Cohen, Sommelier

The Cork in the Road... Musings on Food and Wine

Pamela Cohen, Sommelier

There are those serendipitous moments in life that can alter your course forever. Such was the moment in 1987 when the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild brought her wines to my city for a tasting event. When a friend suggested that I volunteer to assist, I jumped at the opportunity, even though my progressive wine experience had only taken me from the unctuous sweet jug wines of my childhood, to the University of Mateus. Who knew that by the end of that day, I would have tasted some of the greatest wines Mouton had produced over the past fifty years.

As luck would have it, the baroness, like a doting mother, stayed to the end to ensure that not a drop went to waste. There were several opened bottles, not yet empty, so she insisted that I pack up the remainders and give them a good home, and this gesture proved to be the proverbial cork in the road.

Those remaining bottles resulted in the picnic of the decade, where I amazed my friends with great wine and probably the worst refrigerator leftovers those vintages had ever seen. I dont remember the food, but the lineup of brown bags sitting atop a large log at the beach drew a lot of smiles, and, ultimately, the interest of the local mounted police. Thankfully, this meeting resulted only in a brief lecture on the finer points of discretion when bringing wine to the beach. It would be many years again before I tasted any wines that even came close to that magical experience, though it was not for lack of trying. Lack of budget prevented fair comparison, but it did begin an evolutionary process of trying new wines and asking for recommendations. I was particularly puzzled by the fact that, over the years, my increasing knowledge of cooking and enjoying a good restaurant experience was not matched by my still very basic wine knowledge. It frustrated me that I could easily identify foie gras and epoisse on the menu, but the wine list was still a mystery. I didnt really have a clue about wine and food pairing, and any time I hit on the perfect synergy between food and wine, it was wholly by accident. So, I began to read wine magazines, wine books, and wine labelsfinally leading to wine classes.

I found an introductory course at a local culinary school, and I was hooked. Even as the only non-industry student in the class, I became as impassioned as the other students who worked with the miracle elixir every day. One evening class led to another, and finally, the decision to become a sommelier led to a leave of absence from my bureaucratic career to attend full-day classes for six months to earn my diploma. I was not only the sole non-industry student in the class, but the oldest. My young compatriots took me under wing when it came time to learn to properly open and decant an old port, or pull the cork on a bottle of champagne with only a mere whisper. I, in turn, took charge of ensuring that my small study group, formed on day one, maintained its pace each week. It was a grueling schedule of taking notes and leading discussions at our twice-weekly blind tastings, hosted on a rotating basis at one of our homes, coupled with endless chatter about such things as the differences between the soil types of Burgundy and the Rhone Valley.

We nervously prepared for our sommelier exams, comprised of essays, multiple-choice questions, food and wine pairing, service expertise, and the all too intimidating blind tasting. Over a period of two full days, we defended our individual wine and food pairings to an ever-questioning adjudicator. We decanted and served, sniffed, swirled, tasted, and provided detailed notes on our tasting results; wrote essays on wine regions many of us had yet to visit; and answered seemingly endless questions about unpronounceable wine varieties in obscure regions of the world. I wondered, more than once, why I would put myself through such a process. While the answer has revealed itself to me on many occasions since, I had managed to run on adrenaline for the weeks leading up to the exam. Sleep didnt seem to be an option. I was standing over my kitchen sink at 4 a.m. the morning of the tasting portion of the exam, comparing wines that had been challenging me for the past six months. Taste... spit... taste... spit (spitting becomes a ritualistic habit and second nature when tasting a number of wines, though not to be repeated in restaurants).

The work paid off, and while my exam results were rewarding, nothing could have prepared me for the unanticipated doors that have opened. That cork in the road has led to concurrent endeavors in teaching wine courses for the International Sommelier Guild, tour guiding through the worlds wine regions, becoming a director of my local wine club, organizing and pouring at wine tasting events, judging sommelier exams, and occasionally working at my favorite wine store. I mention this only to illustrate the diversity of possibilities within the industry, and to emphatically refuse to ever accept the notion that Im an expert when it comes to wine. I am a perpetual student and appreciative amateur who readily recognizes how little I truly know about a vast and diverse subject.

Nevertheless, its fun, and best of all, a glass of wine shared among friends is one of the best feelings in the world.

I would encourage you to experiment as you read this book. Look at the suggested pairings and recipes offered by those who have taken the time to match their wines to the regional cuisine of Texasor match their cuisine to the wines of Texas!

There are many wonderful books on the subject of food and wine pairing. My personal heroes and experts include Jancis Robinson, Andrea Immer, and Joanna Simons. Each has much to offer, but keep in mind that no one but you has your palate and taste sensibility. So, Ill offer some simple suggestions that may help you on your way, but the rest of the journey is up to you.