Amador County Wine Tasting

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A few weeks ago, we visited Amador County (of the greater Sacramento area) for a weekend of wine tasting. Amador County grows some different varietals than other Northern California regions, so we had a very different wine tasting experience than our previous trips to Napa, Somona, or Russian River Valley. Here are some pictures, in no particular order with little or no significance. I didn't take that many pictures -- sort of got hammered as the afternoon progressed. Oops.


Old truck outside of Cooper Vineryards.


Old vines at Vino Noceto.



Half fell into the water while trying to take this shot. Like I said, hammered!


Amador City, the view outside of our hotel.


Main (and only) Street, Amador City -- an old gold mining town.


Kitty at the back patio of the hotel. We saw lots of cats over the weekend; most of them didn't care to be photographed.


Another picture outside of the hotel.


Old wine barrel at Sierra Vista.

Deep-Dish Pizza (Giordano's-style) (Vegan)

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Deep-dish pizza sometimes sounds tempting to me, but I think I like the idea of it more than the product (which I find usually ends up to be a greasy *cough*Uno and Malnati's*cough* or bready and corn-mealy *cough*Little Star*cough* mess). Two exceptions: Giordano's in the Chicago area (and apparently Florida) and Leonardo's (surprisingly good frozen--I've never had it in-store).

Anyway, I thought I'd give it a try at home. I've been mostly disappointed by homemade pizza in the past, as it usually ends up soggy for me, even with the help of a preheated stone. With that it mind, I was fanatical about keeping excess moisture out of the sauce and toppings, and I think it helped a lot as the final product was wonderfully crispy--crispy enough to not need a fork!

Dough

I googled a bit and found a message board, which includes a recipe (some errors in measuring units corrected in subsequent posts) that a few people swear by for a 10" version of Giordano's-style deep-dish pizza. I was a little taken aback by the amount of oil in the recipes that I found (even for the less-greasy, Giordano's-style pies), so I tweaked it a bit as follows:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 3/4 tsp. Kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp. brown sugar
• 5 tsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 6 Tbs. warm water

Proof the yeast in the warm water and mix all ingredients just enough to incorporate. Knead only for a minute or two (so as not to end up with bread--apparently the short knead is key to getting the crust right).

Let the dough rise for 4-8 hours (because of the short kneading time, it won't rise much).

When ready, roll the dough out thin and then fold the dough in quarters, letting it rest a bit before rolling it out again (it should be around 14" in diameter).

Once it's rolled thin, immediately put it into a lightly oiled 10" deep dish pan, pressing to make the edges rise to nearly the top of the pan. Immediately fill with cheese, toppings, and sauce and get it into the oven--don't let it rise again in the pan.

Upon the suggestion on the message board, I let the oven preheat at 500 for 15 minutes. Then I put the pizza in, turned the oven to 450, and let it cook for 30 to 35 minutes.

(Note: I used an 8 x 11" glass baking pan since I don't have a 10" deep-dish pizza pan or cake pan, so I rolled the dough to approximately 12 x 15" and it worked fine. Also, I know that this recipe doesn't include the top layer of dough--between the toppings and sauce--of Giordano's, but I never really noticed that layer when I had it before, anyway.)

Sauce

Most of the sauce recipes I saw suggested using 6 IN 1 Ground Tomatoes, but the store where I was shopping doesn't carry them. Instead, I used regular crushed tomatoes in heavy puree.

• 1 28-oz. can, crushed tomatoes (thoroughly drained)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• red pepper flakes (to taste)

I drained the tomatoes through a wire strainer and then let them sit on paper towels to get more moisture out. Then I simply mixed the ingredients.

Toppings

I stayed traditional and used the following:

• 8 oz. of cremini mushrooms, sliced and roasted for about 10 minutes to remove moisture
• 10 oz. of frozen spinach (defrosted and thoroughly drained and squeezed)
• 1 green pepper, sliced into rings
• 5.75 oz. can black olives, sliced

For cheese, I used 8 oz. of shredded soy mozzarella.

Wine: 2005 Clot de l'Oum Côtes du Roussillon Villages Caramany La Compagnie des Papillon

This wine is a screaming value at <$20. The blend is dominated by old-vine Carignan and Grenache (45% each), with a splash of Syrah. Deep purple with hints of red. Red fruits, pencil shavings, raw beef, floral elements and some minerality on the nose. The palate is consistent with the nose, with the addition of black fruits. Intense minerality suggests the Northern Rhone (Hermitage?). Incredibly refined and elegant for the price. Low alcohol. Really opens up with time. Very food-friendly and approachable now with decanting. This was my third bottle, and I would buy more if I could find it. Tremendous wine!

Meatloaf and Mashed Taters (Vegan)

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Not to toot my own horn on my V4C debut, but I'm confident that Guy Fieri would proclaim this vegan version of a classic to be "out of bounds."

I loosely followed some recipes from VegCooking.com, but CG and I have found some of them to be not quite to our tastes in the past (and, after getting home from four stops to pick up the ingredients to supplement CG's already-ample pantry, I realized that I still didn't have everything).

It was easy to prepare and satisfying and I'll definitely make this again. (Except for the gravy, which was a hassle...next time I'll just get a packet of Hain Veggie Brown Gravy.)

Mock Meatloaf

• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 packages Gimme Lean Beef
  
• 1/4 cup oatmeal, dry
• 2 slices country white bread, torn into small pieces
  
• 3 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper

Coating ingredients:

• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Sauté the onion and green pepper in the oil until soft, adding the garlic toward the end. Combine in a large bowl with the Gimme Lean, oatmeal, bread, ketchup, and black pepper. Thoroughly mix.

Press the mixture into an oiled loaf pan and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the coating and set aside.

Remove the loaf from the oven and turn it out onto a baking sheet. Spread the coating over the top of the loaf. Cook on the baking sheet for another 15 minutes.

Creamy Chive Mashed Taters

• 6 potatoes, diced
• 3/4 cup of Silk liquid non-dairy creamer
• 1 Tbsp. margarine
• 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
• Ground black pepper
  

Boil potatoes for 20-30 minutes (until tender). Drain and place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth.

Brown Gravy

• 1 Tbsp. margarine
• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. Spike Vegit Magic! (or yeast extract or other low-/no-sodium seasoning)
  
• 1 Tbsp. tamari (or soy sauce)
  
• Ground black pepper, to taste
  

Sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes in the margarine, then add the flour and sauté for another few minutes.

Dissolve the cornstarch in the broth and add to the pan, bring the mixture to a boil, and then simmer for 10 additional minutes.

Strain the mixture into a separate saucepan and add the yeast extract, tamari, and pepper. Simmer for a minute while stirring to incorporate.

Wine: 2003 Bremer Merlot

I'm not big on wine suggestions (but I'll skip that impassioned rant), however, in case anyone is interested, I enjoyed this meal with the excellent 2003 Bremer Merlot, decanted for about 3 hours. My earlier tasting note, from September 2008: "Deep and rich with smooth, elegant tannins. Drinking beautifully right now. Nose of blackberries, oak, and alcohol. Taste of blackberries, mid-ripe cherries, a touch of green olive, oak, and tobacco. Finish of cooked blueberries (pie?)." Not a life-changing wine, by any means, but very solid Merlot and more than fair for the price.

Bremer was a great visit on my last Napa trip. It's a small, family winery with a complimentary tasting (by appointment only)...it feels a bit like RRV (and how I'm told Napa used to be), but with Napa wines. We tasted seven wines--all of which were well done, especially the Bordeaux varietals. It would make a great stop on a Howell Mountain day, along with Lail, O'Shaughnessy, and Outpost.