Napa, California Isn't Just About Cabernet - Sangiovese Takes on Cabernet Sauvignon

As shown here, proof of a super not Tuscan wine tasting. If this was a race of sorts, the stock race car pedigree would be a Ferrari with the Andretti family's Napa Valley Sangiovese 2004, a beautifully structured, well thought out wine. I say that to describe the beautiful aged colour of deep garnet red with brick red tones. It's moderately intense nose is a clear and clean expression of sangiovese, peppery, dried sage, aged tobacco, dried raspberries all integrated with French oak in the bouquet and on the palate. The ripeness was balanced with some nice acidity and residual sugar. This was an intriguing and luxurious version of this Italian grape, elevated to an ethereal wine experience in Napa. 

I loved this wine. Tasted among friends is always a great stage to enjoy the best food and wine. I put  out a simple offering Jarlberg white and Danish blue cheese and dried salami with a whole grain  baguette was all we needed for contrasting flavours. The salami and white cheese complemented this 

wine reminiscent of a the best Chianti Reserva. 

Sangiovese is a staple grape of all Tuscan wine such as Chianti and some Super Tuscan Cab blends. But this grape and wine grew up on noble terroir, Napa Valley. The land and winemaking

 of Napa, regardless of the grape made this wine special and notable in many ways. For all intents and purposes, this wine became the lap car, the opening act at a Rock concert where the second wine was the main act. The Formula 1 car in the race was the show stopper. 

My foodist friend Brent brought over the main act to this showcase duo, a Rockstar concert of a wine tasting experience. Lakoya Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Mount Verdeer Napa Valley sounds impressive not even out of the bottle. With an annual production of a mere 571 cases in 2004, this wine is rare. 

The real estate on which these grapes were grown and carefully tended to is worth more than some 

urban cities and certainly as noble and worthy as the best of Bordeaux growing Cabernet. 

This prestigious Napa Cab was huge. Decanted out inky black, still with purple hues as if it was just pressed juice. Beautiful long legs revealed its impressive ripeness with a 15.1 percent alcohol on the wine. BIG blackcurrant, cedar, anise seed, blackberries, ripe, complex with a beautiful

 nose of vanilla from ample time in French barrels. A hint of residual sugar and still  a very firmly tannic wine. Good acid balance and full bodied, bottles of this will improve over the next 5 to 10 years. The blue cheese and salami and bread were a must for this Formula 1 of a blockbuster Napa experience. This wine was very concentrated, structured and very well made. The  long finish makes this wine a clear winner in any circles, and a true attention getter and Rockstar of a wine. This is what I think of when I think of Napa Cab. 

Discover High Bush Cranberry Sauce - Another Alberta, Canada Best Kept Food Secret

Alberta High Bush Cranberry Sauce with Liqueur Infusion:

Ahhhh, another version of cranberries that I'd never heard of until a food friend, Steven told me about them. "There are cranberries in Alberta." he said. "AND they make a wonderful cranberry sauce."
I was skeptical. Until one day he brought some into the office courtesy of his foraging family member earlier in the year: Autumn harvest: vintage 2015.

He more than kept his promise and proved his story of a wonderous red berry from the Foothills of the Canadian Rockies. He brought me a 3+ cup bag of these frozen red round gems known locally as high bush cranberries. About 5 to 8 mm in diameter, these pearl-sized berries have a slightly tannic, mouth-puckering cranberry-like taste. Thin-skinned and full fruity flavour with a pleasant forest earthiness and full of pectins, they cook up very nicely and have all the nuances, pucker and texture for a fine "cranberry" sauce. These wild and organic berries are loaded with anti-oxidants as evidenced by the dark crimson colour of the finished sauce.  Read on for photos and my recipe.




The high bush cranberry as described by Valerie Lagonja in her Blog, ACanadianFoodie.com She refers to them as kylina to the Ukranians and pembina to the French.

So I wait and plan to make them into a wonderful whole berry sauce for our next turkey dinner. It's my dad's 79th birthday... and he likes turkey!

Well that day has come. I've got my hands on an 18 pound beauty of poultry. It's a free-range organically fed turkey from a small local hobby farm, Diamond Willow near Calgary, Alberta.

The family dinner is planned for this weekend with the centerpiece of a perfectly seasoned herb roasted turkey, stove-top prepared stuffing with pan drippings, roasted yams and mixed veggies, and much more to celebrate the BIG day. AND of course my experimental version of Alberta wild high bush cranberry sauce.

The piece de resistance might possibly come from this simple-to-prepare essential partner to the best of the best turkey, the cranberry sauce. Some love the stuff, others loathe it but as for tradition in our family and millions of others, a roast turkey is somehow incomplete without the cranberry sauce.

This special sauce from Alberta cranberries, of all things is rare. So I needed to preserve the unique fruitiness of the berry while ramping it up a notch with my original recipe as follows:

So here's my recipe: Alan Chong and his High Bush Cranberry Sauce with Liqueur infusion. 

Ingredients:   

2 1/2 cups High Bush Cranberries (frozen)

1/2 cup date palm sugar

1/2 cup water

pinch of sea salt

15 ml Cointreau liqueur

Method:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine date palm sugar (seen here in large lumps) with water and bring to gentle boil until sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes) to create a simple syrup. 

Immediately add the high bush cranberries and pinch of sea salt to the saucepan. 

Stirring occasionally and lightly crushing about half the berries releasing the pectins necessary to congeal the sauce. Continue cooking for 4-6 minutes until a rolling boil is maintained for 1 minute. 

Then immediately remove from heat. Add the Cointreau and stir into the sauce.
Careful most of the alcohol will boil off and may splash up. 

With a spatula, pour all this yumminess into a heat-safe serving bowl. 

Use a clean canning jar and lid or other glass or ceramic sealed container for

keeping refrigerated for up to 4 weeks. 

It's brilliantly crimson, mildly tart and tannic with hints of earthiness and a hint of citrus from the liqueur infusion. The date palm sugar imparts another level of subtle flavour and unique sweetness that I find less harsh than plain white sugar, cane or otherwise. This special sauce is a perfect home grown and wild accompaniment to a perfect roasted turkey dinner gathering. A healthier option to a much sweeter commercial cranberry sauce. Also, there's something special about knowing the source and story behind that great food. 

Truly unique and festive yet perfect for any turkey or special occasion with poultry as the main. 

Try this same recipe with fresh or frozen cranberries, lingonberries or red currants. 

Enjoy more recipes and FOODIST inspiration, check out, bookmark and comment on my short FEFL Blog archive. 

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