I struggled a bit with how to answer that question, because yes, in many ways McMinnville does seem to be the middle of nowhere. With only 32,000 people, we certainly qualify as a small town. An hour and change from the uber-hip Portland, we can just barely bask in that limelight.  Even though we are home to the charming Linfield College, four or more world-class restaurants, and arguably the center of the Oregon wine industry, a city girl like me can’t really deny that we are fundamentally a farm town.

So yep, at first glance you might believe that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere, but hang around a little and you will see that this is a thriving community whose vibrancy belies that casual observation.

I was reminded of this quite vividly last Friday night when on a whim Rob and I decided to take the kids to a free outdoor performance of the new Willamette Shakespeare Company’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.  And what a dream it was! At the last minute we threw together a picnic – the centerpiece of which was this zesty Saffron Rice Salad, adapted from The Splendid Table.

Summer-y Saffron Rice Salad

Then we whisked ourselves off to Stoller Vineyards where this outstanding performance of the Shakespeare comedy would be performed. The Stollers are so generous – they frequently allow their beautiful property to be used for non-profit and fundraising causes. The ever-so picturesque Oak Grove park that perfectly compliments their vast vineyard was the ideal setting for the play.  It was Shakespeare exactly the way he intended it to be performed.

A wonderful evening ensued complete with outstanding theater, plastic cups of the Stoller’s wine, sharing tastes from our neighbors’ picnic baskets and all the kids alternately watching the performance with rapt attention and running off into the fields when the dialogue got too “Shakespearean”!

As the story progressed and the moon came out, the magical quality of the evening really began to shine.  Another friend told me later that this particular kind of moon is known as a Rogue Moon. We tried to look that up and find out just what it meant, but sadly Google failed us.  Never mind, it does seem to be a fitting description for the kind of evening it was, right here in the middle of nowhere.

Shakespeare under a Rogue Moon

3 or 4 servings

4 or 5 chicken thighs, I used bone in, skin on

2 T Balsamic Vinegar

6 T Olive Oil

4 oz. mild blue cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Romaine lettuce

Preheat a grill, season the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the thighs till they are done to your liking (about 20 minutes, depending on how hot your grill is).

Make the vinaigrette. Combine the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil in a bowl, add salt and pepper. Crumble up the cheese and using the back of a fork, mash it into the vinaigrette. I just did this enough to get the cheese somewhat incorporated into the vinaigrette, but I didn’t try to get all the lumps out.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and cut the meat off the bone into whatever size pieces you like.

Tear the romaine into bite sized pieces and toss with some of the vinaigrette. Lay the chicken on top of the lettuce and pour the remaining vinaigrette over all.

Not the most beautiful salad in the world, but definitely yummy and so simple for a warm Thursday evening.

For only $109.04 (pesky percentages) you can enjoy your Big Fire case of wine (a $188 value) all summer long. The only caveat? At least 20 cases need to be purchased in order for the deal to be active.

So, tell your friends and family (or anyone who loves great wine for a great price), then go to our online store or call 866.472.8614 starting Monday, June 14th at 9 a.m. PDT to purchase your case (or cases!).

When we reach that 20 case number, the sale will go through. If we don’t make it, you won’t be charged, and we’ll try again at a later date.

Buy Now!

Please note, no other offers or discounts may be combined with this sale.

Last Saturday was our annual Spring Open House, or the Thank You Event, as we like to call it. Lots of folks came by and a fine time was had by all.

One of the best parts of this event are the legendary lamb lollies we serve. Legendary is no understatement either. I think if we ever decided to serve something else, there would be a stampede.  Al Whitaker – insurance salesman by day and fanatical cook in his spare time – grills the lamb and does all the rest of the great food too, with tons of support from his fabulous wife Megan.

Of course the wine is not too bad either! Some of the comments I heard from folks included descriptors like luscious and outrageous. One friend said this to me “When I go into your beautiful Wine Bar and sit down with a glass of your wine, it makes me whole.” Wow – I was humbled and honored by his profound praise.

Hats off too, to the Rendezvous String Band.  They’re just such a fun and quirky  group and it was great to welcome them back to the winery. I have fond memories of them playing at Rob’s 50th birthday party with Trish sitting in.  Yeah, that was another great party.

So thanks again to all of our friends and customers – without you where would we be? And lest you forget, the party may be over, but the Thank You sale continues through May 31st. Just jump on over to the Wine Shop to check it out.

See you at the next party!

I had my first glass of wine outdoors in 2010 this week, I hope you’ve been luckier. Despite the variety of time-zones and locales year-to-date, seems like I just haven’t had my synchronicity switch tripped. The glass of Gris (I should say glee!) I had in the sunshine did it for me, all is good with the world, summer is coming, hallelujah!

I had, this month, the unexpected pleasure of running into (after too many years not running into, I must add) the coolest of the cool wine guys we have in America, the inimitable Doug Frost MS MW. Doug is one of the wine world’s super geeks, both Master Sommelier and Master of Wine (I think the population of that species numbers three on the entire planet) but he is so much darn fun you tend to forget that! Nothing, not even the guffaw-laden hilarity which tends to happen a lot in his company, will dim the respect I have for this man. It was a huge bonus arriving at the Philbrook Museum (how beautiful a place that is) in Tulsa for their bi-ennial Wine Experience earlier this month, to discover that Doug was replacing the scheduled speaker! Of course, yes, I had to run up, gush, say ‘Hi! it’s been too long!’ The gracious Mr. Frost, a very proud Dad himself, even remembered my daughter from an Oregon trip many moons ago to Pinot Camp! Out-standing cool right there.

The really great thing though, was the cut glass clarity of the discussion he presented to a mostly trade assembly, about selling wine, educating about wine, enlarging our wine culture in these recessionary times. Boy, was he singing from my hymnbook. One line kept recurring.

‘can 40 million white zin fans be wrong?’

Doug challenged everyone there, almost exclusively wine professionals in different guises – distributors, winery principals (guilty), educators (guilty), restaurateurs, retailers… to lose our elitist, specialist hats for a moment and think about that statistic! Can 40 million people be wrong? Why IS white zin so popular, what IS it that has brought it to this position in the wine world?  He then presented some neat statistics for everyone to think about. The fastest growing varietal in the US? Riesling. Fastest growing RED varietal? Pinot Noir. The American wine drinker, as Doug put it, is leaning towards the light – lighter styles, that is. Bigger ain’t better any more y’all.

I then remembered a comment from an event earlier in the same week, coincidentally from another Master Sommelier (these guys are sharp). I had presented one of our zing! food and wine together workshops in Chicago, attended by amongst others Brett Davis MS, from Kentucky. Brett came up to me afterwards and said  ’I was humbled by the simplicity in this presentation tonight, guys. It reminded me that I had forgotten to think like my customer’. I marvelled in hindsight that the same message was coming from both the experts and 40 million white zin drinkers.

Simplicity is what we’re looking for.

As human beings most people just want their lives to feel – better. And that desire is not confined to an age group, or a social stratum, but it is why 40 million people drink pink. That does NOT mean that simplicity is unsophisticated. Perhaps in fact, an appreciation of simplicity is the key to balancing all that other overly sophisticated and busy stuff.

I got to thinking afterwards, and yes it was over a glass of wine, about what we do, and what it all means to me (Gris does that sometimes, drags out the inner philosopher).  We make quite a few wines, you guys know that, some because they tell us a special secret about where they come from, be it a vineyard or just part of a vineyard, some because Rob just really really wants to make them, like his beloved bubbles and the port-we-can’t-call-port.

But the largest part of what we do is bigfire – pinot noir, pinot gris and rosé. They are the ‘gimme a glass right now, what a day I’ve had’ wines, the ‘this will so work, thank goodness I had a bottle here’ wine when the mother in law or the new neighbour drops in unexpectedly. They are honest, pure, made really (really) well and without artifice. Simply very good. You won’t need to be told why you like this style, they’re just delicious, Oregon wines that simply make life better.

So, although 40 million people currently drink pink for freshness, immediate appeal, broad ability to enjoy with food (that is SUCH a biggie), lots of other people with discerning, educated palates also seek out wines that show strong varietal typicity, distinctive regional identity, a mirror of the maker… and why? Same need, same reason, to make their life better.

When I had that glass of bigfire Gris outside last week, I realised it ticked all of those boxes. Now that is cool, is it not?  Perhaps that’s what Doug was pointing us towards, the sophistication in simplicity.

All right guys, I think I’ve worn this soapbox down today, but I’ve been dying to put all this into words. Till next time, be well and always – make your life better.

Cheers,

trish

]]> http://www.rstuartandco.com/2010/05/making-things-better/feed/ 0 http://www.rstuartandco.com/2010/05/rob-in-new-hampshire/ http://www.rstuartandco.com/2010/05/rob-in-new-hampshire/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 23:01:21 +0000 Maria http://www.rstuartandco.com/?p=1344 Rob is headed to New Hampshire and will be pouring wines and greeting friends old and new at two events this month.  If you’re in the neighborhood make plans to catch up and  taste some wine. Rob would love to see you.

Saturday, May 15th, 5:30 – 8pm

East Coast Chef meets West Coast Wine Maker

O Steak & Seafood, Lakeport, NH

Join O Chef Scott Ouellette & Oregon Vintner Rob Stuart

For a food and wine pairing of Chef Scott’s cuisine and Rob Stuart’s Big Fire wines.

Call for info: 603/524-9373

Wednesday, May 19^th, 5-9pm

Wine Night with winemaker Rob Stuart of R. Stuart & Co. Winery

Michael Timothy’s Bistro, Nashua, NH

Winemaker and Winery owner of R. Stuart & Co. Winery, Mr Rob Stuart, will be at Michael Timothy’s Bistro for a fun evening with some great wines from Oregon.

5:00 – 7:00 R. Stuart & Co. Flight Night $12

Guest bartender Rob Stuart will be on hand “mixing” with the crowd as we feature Big Fire Pinot Gris, Big Fire Pinot Noir, and R. Stuart “Autograph” Pinot Noir.  Open seating… stop in and enjoy the fun!

7:00 – 9:00 Pinot Noir Tasting Flight  $55 Reservations required.

Join Rob Stuart for a private tasting in the dining room featuring Rose d’Or Sparkling, Big Fire Pinot Noir, R. Stuart & Co. “Autograph” Pinot Noir, and R. Stuart & Co.Weber Pinot Noir.  Each tasting will be paired with a tasting plate from the kitchen to compliment the wine.

Please call for reservations   595-9334

James Beard

My friend Anne reminded me that yesterday was James Beard’s birthday.  It brought to mind my very favorite Beard quote.

“Last week the New York Times ran an article on how to clean an eel. I trust everyone clipped it and saved it to his files.”

I first read this when I was just getting into the wine business – some 25 years ago – and simultaneously beginning my long affair with food and cooking. At the time I was lucky enough to be pointed in the direction (thanks Debbie Poulin) of some great food literature.  James Beard, MFK Fisher, Laurie Colwin.  Ultimately these voices shaped my philosophy about food  - and life.

This was Chicago in the late eighties and Americans were just on the upswing of the “more is more” attitude about food, wine and, well, just about everything (look at the clothes – shoulder pads?). California Cabernet and Merlot reigned supreme in the wine world. Restaurant chefs were challenging each other to make the tallest dishes and the longest menu descriptions.

I can still remember sitting in the window seat of my apartment – even then a glass of Oregon Pinot in hand – reading MFK’s writing on why food matters and realizing she was articulating my budding philosophy exactly.  How it’s just as important as politics, religion or war – because food is the thing that brings us together. To celebrate, to mourn, to nourish and nurture. We fall in love over food and we raise our children over dinner. Really, what could be more important?

And then there was Beard’s tongue in cheek comment which so clearly summed up his attitude about food. From Beard, and the others, I learned that food doesn’t have to be contrived, it just has to be good. Beautiful ingredients lovingly prepared are what make great food. The kind that brings people together. Simple, beautiful, delicious.

We Oregonians like to claim Beard as our own, as he was born and raised here. His mother ran a boarding house and cooked for lots and lots of people, which obviously influenced his life profoundly. Of course Beard ended up in New York, where he and Julia Child became our first celebrity chefs – TV shows and all.  His life became very glamourous and apparently he was quite flamboyant and more than a little eccentric. But for all of that he was in a way a pioneer of the localvore movement.  Beard championed American food and American ingredients. And did it with such grace and humor, that influenced not just me, but an entire nation.

Thanks Mr. Beard, for lighting the way.

P.S. A couple of years ago we were honored to be invited to do a dinner at the James Beard House in New York.  Our friends Carmen Pierano and Eric Ferguson the chefs of our local Nick’s Italian Cafe did the food, paired with our wines.  It was the first time Rob and I had been there, and I was surprised to see that “The House” is really and truly his house.  Its a brownstone in Greenwich Village, four stories tall, with a tiny little kitchen and tables for dining now packed into every  room.

This is the Beard House wait staff, in the library, listening to Rob talk about our wines before the dinner.  We went on to have a glorious meal in this incredible place. It looks like we’ll be back again in September too. This time our wines will be poured alongside the stellar food of Custom House Tavern one of Chicago’s new gems.

Welcome to my blog. I have no idea what this will be, but here we are. I am sure it will feel like a travelogue sometimes, a food-a-logue others (is that a new noun?) and I’m sure there will be many times when wine will be all that matters (no surprise there) so hang in, come with, and let’s see what happens.

I’m home for a week or two to re-charge and very importantly, to see my therapist Toddy, who happens to be a 16hh Irish Draught horse.  Here’s how we do it:

He will be working hard this week after the chaotic first quarter of this year (Q1) that we’ve just finished. Wow.  I’m surprised Toddy, the dogs or my husband Tom recognised me, I’ve been away so much. My daughter is back in school in Oregon now, happy days –  but that may be another whole blog on its own, eek. Look out Carlton.

So where have I been?

In January, we were very happy to spend a week in Arizona and open the market there for R. Stuart and Co, hurray!  Rob and Maria came with me on that trip, it was a blast. We had weird weather though. Our distributor partners there from Republic National told us that it rains about 7 days a year in AZ. Guess what? We were there for four of them, in JANUARY – isn’t that wild? I look forward to going back to visit Lorenia and her team there in the fall, hopefully no rain or tornadoes next time.

In February I saw both snow and sun in equal measure. The snow was in one of my favourite places – Chicago!  My kind of town, Chicago is (haha). Our partner Frank lives there, as do many other great friends. I had fabulous food, as always, at Custom House Tavern downtown. I met the new chef Aaron Deal, who coincidentally is from Charleston SC, which has two stops on this February tour. What great value Sue and the gang deliver there – and they love our wines, so they obviously have great taste too, uh-huh. I also had a lovely meal at Nightwood this trip – I’m really looking forward to another visit there for sure. They are yet another Chicago restaurant delivering top tier value and knocking it outta the park – good for all of them.

I then spent the best part of a week driving from Atlanta down through SC. That’s when I saw sun, hurray, the Raybans were out. I was selling wine on the way of course, but also having more great meals (hey, someone’s got to do it).  Greenville was particularly fun, what an interesting food and wine town that has become. A huge thank you to the gang at Soby’s and to Erin Gilreath-Hester for a smashing Wine Dinner. Then, it was south to the Grande Dame of the Carolinas, Charleston.

Charleston is so much fun for a foodie! I have been going to Charleston for … OK, too many years to admit BUT … I am always happy to be there, so many old pals. I still get lost every trip though, those old streets get me every time, but I love them! It doesn’t hurt that our wines, especially the Pinot Gris (OMG have you all had the 2009 bigfire Pinot gris already? speaking of knocking things out of the Park …seeeeyaaaa! It is stunning. I have to stop now) work so incredibly well with Low Country cuisine and shellfish, all of which abound around  Charleston. There are killer restaurants at all levels there, I dare not name one or I will have to name them all! Rob visited Charleston for the first time ever in February, and he too was completely smitten. What’s not to love about Charleston, y’all?

We held a particularly fun Zing! workshop for chefs and sommeliers there in Charleston. Thanks to Speedy at RNDC for inviting us and to our hosts The Maverick Group @ Charleston Cooks! (thanks Patrick! you’re the biz). A particularly spirited (and informed, and smart) group there; it makes it so rewarding for me when everyone is engaged and tackling a novel concept head on! Very cool.

Now where am I? March…

March started again in Charleston with a trade show, then onward north we went, Liz and I (Liz Cooper helps me on the road whenever possible. A very savvy sommelier and all round good egg is our Liz). I went to New York first to visit our partners at Lauber Imports, then Liz and I rendezvoused in another one of my absolute favourite places in America, Boston Massachusetts! I hope I never have to choose between Boston and Chicago, that would be impossible, I think. Amazing people we work with there in Boston, and yes they do talk funny (the pot calling the kettle black here). Horizon Beverage, the one the only, are our pals, partners – we can’t say enough good things about them. We work with Horizon in RI too.

Back down south then, to Atlanta, to our buddies at Georgia Crown, we had another Zing! event, a private one this time, then onward to Florida to see our distributors there Selected Brands (Hi Terri & everyone!) Liz and I had a stunning meal (another one) with Cynthia Betancourt, sommelier par excellence and her team at Azul in The Mandarin Oriental, Miami. Wow. Such fun wines we tried! Cynthia is a great fan of  our Autograph Pinot noir, we love that.

I spent St. Patrick’s Day and that week in Oregon with my beloved Mollie, the centre of the world. My great friend Annette Madrid and her family in Carlton have a huge ‘Patty’s Day’ party each year, what fun! We sang a few songs, actually more than a few, and Mollie showed off her new electric ukelele (who knew?)

We had a great time!

Then I was back to Chicago, did another Zing! event there for trade professionals and our distributor wineDOC, that was great. Thanks so much to Custom House Tavern for being our hosts (Hi guys! you’re all fab) then back south again (!) to Atlanta for The High Museum of Art’s Wine Auction spectacular they do each year, a couple of days of utter indulgence!  There was much craziness and great company at the Two Urban Licks pre-High Rock’n'Roll dinner – the 70′s was the theme this year, too much fun – Todd Rushing sure knows how to throw a party!

The Museum tastings and dinners were all wonderful, so many interested and interesting people, but by Saturday evening, I have to tell you, we were all exhausted. I headed for the airport, got on a plane to Dublin and had no trouble sleeping on that trans-atlantic trip!

Next month, or rather this month, sees me heading for Virginia, Washington DC, Oregon (of course), Chicago again, Oklahoma, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and…

how about I tell you about it next time, in a couple of weeks or so?

Cheers one and all, thank you for coming

trish

Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero pulsanda tellus  Now is the time to drink, now the time to dance footloose upon the earth –  from The Odes of Horace, don’t you love that?!

Ingredients

Steps

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
3. Turn off the mixer. Pour in the dry ingredients, drape a kitchen towel over the stand mixer to protect yourself and your kitchen from flying flour and pulse the mixer at low speed about 5 times, a second or two each time. Take a peek — if there is still a lot of flour on the surface of the dough, pulse a couple of times more; if not, remove the towel. Continuing at low speed, mix for about 30 seconds more, just until the flour disappears into the dough — for the best texture, work the dough as little as possible once the flour is added, and don’t be concerned if the dough looks a little crumbly. Toss in the chocolate pieces and mix only to incorporate.
4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it together and divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, shape the dough into logs that are 1½ inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 3 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you needn’t defrost it before baking — just slice the logs into cookies and bake the cookies 1 minute longer.)
5. Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
6. Using a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are ½ inch thick. (The rounds are likely to crack as you’re cutting them — don’t be concerned, just squeeze the bits back onto each cookie.) Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. Add a sprinkle of fleur de sel (1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon) to the top of each cookie. Press down on the salt a bit so the salt doesn’t fall off.
7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes — they won’t look done, nor will they be firm, but that’s just the way they should be. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature.

As we tossed the idea around – was the winery really the right location? cement floors can be awfully hard on your knees – we started to read about other similar events taking place around the country. Chicago and New York, to be specific. All to great success.

Then Erin had the idea to take it one step further and bring in live music. Since she had just been to a workshop in San Diego where the practice was accompanied by Steve Gold and his lovely wife Anne-Emilie, she got on the phone. Would they come to McMinnville?  They would. On their way to Seattle.

And it all came together last Friday. What a beautiful experience.  Fifty people ending their week with a beautiful yoga practice accompanied by the hauntingly spiritual music of Steve and Anne-Emilie. Then this same group of now relaxed and blissed out people gathered around the tables for a lovely and simple vegetarian dinner.

Eric and Carmen, chefs of our local, renowned Italian restaurant Nick’s made us a massive pot of Ribollita – the classic country Italian soup thick with white beans, farro and organic greens.  We served up the steaming bowlfuls, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with parmesean.

Bottles of Big Fire Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir were plunked down on the tables for the folks to help themselves. I tossed a huge green salad with some lemon-y, garlicky vinaigrette and passed that with baskets of crusty bread, and a cheese board.

At the very end, while everyone was still talking and sipping, without any thoughts of heading home, we passed what has become one of my favorite desserts to serve.  When the meal has been hearty and you can’t really imagine eating any more, but just a bite of something does sound good, and you still have half a glass of Pinot noir and you don’t want something too sweet to ruin it, this is just the cookie: Fleur de Sel Chocolate Cookies.  I adapted this recipe from one I found online.

Every time I serve them they have been so popular I thought I should share, so you can click over here and find the recipe.

As we were finally saying good night, Steve and Anne-Emilie  remarked several times about how they would be delighted to come back and play for us again. They really embraced the sense of community they felt here.  I love that. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? Wine, food, friends – and as it happens yoga – all coming together to nurture community.