Breakaway Blog

You can’t judge a wine by its Tasting Room

At Breakaway Tours and Event Planning, we are constantly on the lookout for the next best thing in the Central Coast Wine Country to share with our clients. Throughout more than 14 years of guided wine tours in the Central Coast AVA, we have taken clients to a variety of tasting rooms and vineyards.

They have been as opulent and expansive as the facilities at Robert Hall (Paso Robles), Firestone (Santa Ynez), and Edna Valley Vineyards (Edna Valley). Others are more conservative, but speak to an adherence to the winery's historical connection, such as the hand hewn construction at Lone Madrone (Paso Robles), the rice straw bale construction at the barrel and tasting room at Claiborne & Churchill (Edna Valley), or the nearly 100 year old school house turned tasting room at Baileyana/Tangent (also Edna Valley).

Something new on our radar screen at Breakaway Tours proves that you don’t need a palatial tasting room, or a more agrarian or historical setting to craft and market excellent wines. One of our newest stops on the Paso Robles trek takes us to an industrial park just off of Hwy 46 in Paso Robles. That’s right!  An industrial  park!  This unassuming location off the beaten “wine trail” is home to Barrel 27.

Barrel 27 is the passion of winemakers McPrice “Mac” Myers and Russell From. Reviewing their mission statement you will find that these guys understand that we all work hard, and that life happens: “Our goal is to make wine that works hard at helping hard working America relax for a minute, take a load off, and remove the nose from the grindstone for a while. We hope you enjoy them.”  They seek out the best Rhone varietal fruit (Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne) as well as Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, and Petite Verdot from some of the finest vineyards along the Central Coast. Then they are classically fermented, lovingly aged, blended, bottled and marketed all from their cozy industrial park location.

What more could you ask for? Amazing Rhone varietal wines and blends, crafted from grapes sourced from all over the Central Coast, produced and marketed in a manner designed to keep value at the forefront, and a head turning up and coming reputation recognized by no less than Wine Spectator (10 Emerging California Rhone Producers, March 2009).

Ask Breakaway Tours and Event Planning to include Barrel 27 on your next trip through the Paso Robles wine country. In the mean time, try this delicious pairing with one of Barrel 27’s amazing Rhone bedrock varietals, Grenache:

2006 Barrel 27 "Rock and a Hard Place", Central Coast Grenache:

Winemaking team Mac Myers and Russell From have long searched for that perfect vineyard (or two), that would yield a Grenache worthy of Barrel 27. That search has ended. The result is a stunningly beautiful wine with a medium ruby-black color and a captivating nose of sweet raspberry, milk chocolate, hibiscus, Logan berry, cranberry and caramelized sugar beet. On the palate, the wine shows the same pure red fruit characters filled out with notes of black tea and orange rind with a hint of vanilla. Soft and rich, with beautiful, broad mid palate, the wine's fruit and spice notes continue to build through the long, long finish. Certainly one of the best Grenaches made in California.

 Lamb Shanks with Wild Mushroom Sauce Recipe
4 Servings

Ingredients

• 4 American lamb shanks, (about 1 pound each)
• 1 cup flour, for dusting
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pound wild mushrooms (such as shiitake, oyster or chanterelle)
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 cups lamb stock*
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste

* A high-quality vegetable stock could be substituted
for the lamb stock.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dredge the lamb shanks in the flour, then set aside. In a roasting pan on the stove over high heat, heat the olive oil until smoking hot. Add the lamb shanks and brown them well, 4 or 5 minutes per side. Add the garlic and mushrooms, and sauté until the mushrooms are tender, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes, or until the wine has evaporated. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Add the rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the roasting pan with a lid or aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Bake until the lamb is tender, 1 to 1½ hours. Serve the lamb shanks with the wild mushroom sauce accompanied by rice.

CHEERS!

Eric G. Hensel

Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier

Breakaway Tours Wine Guide

Asparagus, Leeks and Wine? Oh my!

Well, Spring has arrived and the buds are breaking all up and down the Central Coast AVA! As you ponder which of the 10 counties and more than 90,000 acres of Vinifera to visit first this year, don’t forget to include some of our local product on your Easter menu. The variety and quality of the Central Coast wine region makes it easy to complement and enhance almost anything that will be featured on the family table next Sunday. Try your hand at this tasty and easy starter. Many wine lovers would have a difficult time suggesting a wine for quiche, let alone a quiche with the "Sommelier’s Nemesis" of asparagus and leeks.

Breakaway from the pack and show your prowess by complementing this dish with one (or more) of the following Central Coast offerings:

2007 Claiborne & Churchill Dry Riesling, Edna Valley:

Like its sister wines from the 2007 harvest (the Dry Gewürztraminer and the Pinot Gris) it shows a rich, ripe, and intense fruit. From its honeysuckle aromas to its peaches-and-cream flavors, it is perhaps the most opulent Dry Riesling they’ve made, bigger and more full-bodied, viscous and mouth-filling, with a finish that seems to go on forever.

2006 Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County:

Light gold color with a pale green tint. Clean and unoaked, with lively aromas of honeydew melon and green apple carry over to delicate tropical fruit flavors of pineapple and papaya, balanced with crisp mineral notes. The full texture lasts through a luxuriously long finish.

2004 Laetitia Vineyards Brut Coquard Sparkling Wine, Arroyo Grande:

Using the classic Méthode Champenoise, this predominantly Pinot Noir sparkler imparts depth and structure to the wine a bit of Chardonnay gives the wine a rich mouthfeel, elegant citrus flavors and multilayered acidity.

Asparagus and Leek Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or Butter)
1 Leek
• 1 lb Asparagus
• 4 large eggs
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 cups half & half
• 1 Cup shredded Gruyere cheese (4 ounces)
• 1 pie crust (or store bought for convenience) well chilled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in lowest position. Cut off woody ends of asparagus then cut in small pieces on the diagonal. Wash leek carefully, and cut the white and light green part of the leek in half, then thinly slice. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add leek and asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 6-8 minutes. Let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Place piecrust on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle in cheese, top with asparagus/leek mixture, then pour the egg mixture on top of that. Bake until center of quiche is just set, about 50-60 minutes, and rotate the sheet halfway through. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

To store, let cool, then refrigerate up to one day. Reheat at 350 until warm, about 30 minutes.

Have some fun with these pairings by asking your friends and guests what they would suggest as a wine pairing for a chessy egg dish with asparagus and leeks. If they crash and burn, don't be cruel! Be their "Sommelier for the Day" and share the following information with them: both asparagus and artichokes can be difficult to pair with a wine.  For instance, artichokes contain the compound cynarin, which tricks people’s taste buds into perceiving flavors that aren’t really present. For most people, cynarin creates sweetness where there isn’t any, meaning that a tart, fresh wine like a Sancerre will taste strangely, unpleasantly sweet. (For a few people, the cynarin reaction is reversed and makes other foods taste peculiarly bitter.)

Asparagus contains methyl mercaptan, a sulfur compound, which tends to give wine a vegetal character. Add the leeks to asparagus, and they interact in a peculiar way. Some of the best choices are crisp, high acid fruity wines, rose if you must have red, and be sure to stay away from any oak.

Cheers!

Eric G. Hensel

Court Of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier

Breakaway Tours Wine Guide