Summer Zucchini #2

This is similar in composure to a potato gratinée (a.k.a. “scalloped potatoes”), but with a sauce.  One might call it Ratatouille Gratinée

Here’s what I do:

Sautée some diced onions, add garlic.  Add some peeled tomatoes and a splash of red wine (a cheap Rhône will do fine), and reduce until the water has cooked out enough to become saucy.  Season to taste.

Slice two six-inch zucchinis thinly on the diagonal.  A mandolin comes in handy for this.  Arrange the slices in a decorative way in an oiled nine-inch Pyrex dish then pour the tomato sauce over and spread.  Top the dish with a hand full of part Asiago, part Gruyère or Comté.  Put the dish into a 400˚F oven for about 35 minutes, or when the top has becomes slightly golden, but not brown.  I usually serve it with a large slotted spoon or spatula.

This is an appropriate dish for a potlach or as a side to roasted or grilled chicken.

 

Here’s what you can do:

Skip the sauce and add butter! You can make this dish exactly how you would a potato gratinée.  All it really needs is garlic, butter, and cheese on the top.  And parsley.

Summer Zucchini #1

The first four summer squash out of four thousand are pretty exciting.  By September you have to start sneaking those huge green batons through open windows and into your neighbors’ unlocked cars.  It’s early in the season, and the zucchinis are somewhat novel.

Here’s one extremely simple and elegant way to use your early zucchini:

Roast a head of garlic.  That means lopping the top off, exposing each of the cloves, drizzling plenty of olive oil and some salt over the top, wrapping in foil or placing in a really tiny covered baking vessel, and putting it in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes.

Boil some linguini.  That means bringing a stock pot of water to boil, adding a fist full of salt, a few bay leaves, and a pound of linguini.

Grate a bunch of Parmigiano, then grate two six-inch-long zucchinis on a coarser setting.  The goal is to get shavings that match the width of the pasta, and are as long as you can get them.  Chop some fresh basil.

In an enormous oiled bowl, toss the hot pasta, the grated cheese and zucchini, the basil, and the garlic-infused olive oil together.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a Tuscan white such as a Trebbiano or Verdicchio.  A Barbaresco is a possibility. 

Meat Candy

If you can make meat loaf, you can make pâté.  A pâté or terrine is, essentially, a compressed brick of meat and fat, lined with more fat, and baked in a terrine dish or bread loaf tin.  And it should be served sliced and cold, with a salad and crusty bread.  In traditional terms, a terrine is left in its dish, and a pâté is plopped out onto a cutting board to be sliced like a loaf of bread, but whatever.   Another somewhat unimportant distinction between pâté  and pâté de campagne is that the latter has  livers, while the former does not. I prefer making pâté de campagne.

Here’s what I do:

First sautée a minced shallot and some wild mushrooms in butter, with a couple dashes of Madeira or Sherry.  Then thoroughly mix these things together in a large bowl: three quarters pound  lean ground pork (I like to use the loin), three quarters pound lean ground veal, one half pound ground pork back fat, some ground chicken livers, two beaten eggs, salt, pepper, a large pinch of allspice, and a half cup of Madeira, white Port, or sweet-ish Sherry, and the sautéed shallot/mushroom mixture.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a Pyrex bread loaf dish with strips of fatty bacon, width-wise, not length-wise.  Fill the dish with half the stuffing, at which point I like to set a layer of halved Castelvetrano olives, then add the rest of the stuffing.  Cover the top with more bacon, then fit with a sheet of foil.  Set the whole dish into a larger roasting pan filled with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the Pyrex, and bake for about one and a half hours.

Later, let it cool with a brick wrapped in foil set on top to compress all the air out of it.  Put the pâté in the refrigerator to chill. To serve, carefully remove the loaf from the Pyrex by wiggling a butter knife between the bacon and the wall of the dish; it should plop out onto a cutting board or  oblong serving platter.

 

Here’s what you can do:

You can play with different kinds of meat and liver, just make sure it follows the same, basic fat-to-lean ratio.  You can also line the dish with a deboned duck, or use thin strips of back fat as the lining itself.  Try putting walnuts and currents in there.

I typically like to eat this pâté with a dry white, such as a Chardonnay, a rosé, or a lighter-bodied red, such as a Pinot Noir or Gamay.

Wine is Thicker Than Blood: An Archeological, Historical, and Contemporary Case Study of the Origins of Grape Domestication, Viniculture, and their Evolution

Introduction

The imagery of the grapevine, the grape, and the elixir made of its juices permeates so many Old World cultures. Wine is not just an enjoyable alcoholic beverage, it is a fundamental element of so many societies and their religious and ideological constructs. Wine, the product of the fermented juices of grapes is an integral part of many rituals, both ancient and new. Like most fermented comestibles, wine was most likely a happy accident, resulting from drinking the juice of overripe berries. From this the cultivation of the vine became an art form involving passion and intention, and a religious devotion, the essence of which infiltrate and is preserved in the wine. At room temperature the wine is naked, its flaws and virtues visible for all to see and taste. The enjoyment of wine has become more and more refined over the centuries, as the cultivation of the vine has created an estimated 10,000 varieties of one species Vitis vinifera (McGovern, 2003), each with its own unique qualities, as well as ecological requirements. Wine is an important social adhesive; it brings people together, and provides a certain richness to life to which it embodies the texture, the aroma, and the mouthfeel. A convenient, accidental invention of our doing, wine is an elixir with charms subtle enough to seduce the senses, and powers strong enough to arouse the soul.

The Ecology and Life Cycle of Vitis vinifera

The grapevine, when left to grow wild, behaves much like an ivy: it climbs and it creeps. However, when left to grow this way, berry production is not to human desire. So in an agricultural setting, grapevine growth is manipulated in a way that provides optimal berry cluster production. A grape cluster is technically a complex flower consisting of a peduncle, pedicels, a rachis, and berries that originate from individual flowers. Each berry consists of skin, pulp (the flesh), and seeds (Stafne, 2012). Water loss is prevented by a waxy layer on the skin called bloom, the amount of which varies among grape varieties. Like any other woody plant, the grapevine transports nutrients through a vascular system consisting of xylem and phloem. The xylem transports water, minerals, sugars, and other nutrients from the root system, while the phloem is responsible for transporting carbohydrates from the leaf canopy to the vine and to the berries.

Grapevines are deciduous, woody perennials, and their annual growth cycle is similar to that of other woody perennials. There are five main phases in annual grapevine growth: (1) dormancy, (2) bud break, (3) bloom and fruit set, (4) véraison and fruit maturation, and (5) post-harvest (Nail, 2012). From leaf fall, through the winter, until the first breaking bud, the grapevine lies in a dormant state, with some root growth possible, depending on the temperature of the soil, as well as temperature fluctuations. In northern latitudes, where winters are harsher, grape varieties are hybridized for particular hardiness during this period. As spring approaches and temperatures rise, stored starches are converted into sugars, and the vine’s “blood” (sap) begins to flow again, new buds swell and break, and new shoots grow, along with fruit clusters (inflorescences). Following a few weeks time, the flowers on the clusters begin to open. The duration of the flowering period depends on the climate, and can be anywhere from a day in warm dry conditions, to a month where it is cool and wet (Nail, 2012). After pollination takes place, cell division in the berries occurs very rapidly until the berries are fully formed and cell division ceases, after which point cell expansion is responsible for further berry growth. Commercial cultivars are primarily self-pollinating, and thus do not require another pollinizer cultivar. Véraison is the transition period between berry growth and berry ripening. This is when sugar accumulation occurs, and the berry begins to soften, and the pigment of the skin begins to darken. This is one of the most important developments in the grapevine’s annual cycle that will determine the future flavor profile of the wine. Meanwhile, the vine’s green shoots mature and become woody (lignification). Véraison ends with a fully mature grape cluster, at which point the fruit is harvested. Following harvest, leaves will continue to photosynthesize, accumulating carbohydrates for future growth, until they fall off or it becomes too cold. Sugars are converted to starches that are stored in the roots, helping what is left of the vine to acclimate to the cold, and survive through the winter.

There are three stages of berry formation (Stafne, 2012). Stage I lasts for about 60 days, and begins at bloom, when rapid cell division occurs. During this period of expansion, tartaric acid, which provides acidity important for winemaking, accumulates in the skin, while malic acid accumulates in the flesh of the fruit, also important in the winemaking process. Tannins that are often talked about in wine tastings come from the seeds and skin. Tannins are important for quality characteristics such as mouthfeel and stability, provided by their astringent nature. Stage II begins when cell division ceases. This so-called lag phase is a pause in berry growth, and lasts for five to ten days, during which time seed embryos grow rapidly. After this lag, cell expansion begins, leading to véraison and berry maturation. Stage III is distinguished by the softening and coloring of the berry. This is when sugars (glucose and fructose from sucrose) accumulate and malic acid diminishes, along with seed tannins. Climate, of course, is a major influential factor in this stage. Warm region grapes will tend to be less acidic and have more sugar, while grapes in cooler climates will retain more of their malic acid whilst not developing as much sugar (Stafne, 2012). The concentrations of these compounds during Stage III depends on factors such as how long berries are left on the vine (hang time), crop load, water, canopy size and density, sun exposure, and temperature. There is much variability in berry ripening within a vineyard, not to mention within a vine, between vines within a cultivar, and even between grape clusters, sometimes even between berries. Of course, it is the responsibility of the grower to create the conditions for a crop as uniformly ripened as possible.

Most fundamental to grapevine ecology is the soil in which the vine grows. Grapevines grow on many different types of soil around the world (White, 2009), but each variety of grape has specific soil requirements. The interaction between climate and soil profile poses interesting management challenges for the grower. Factors to consider in a soil profile include drainage, texture, depth, and the very composition of minerals and essential nutrients in the soil required for grapevines. What the grower must further consider are the varieties of grapes suitable to be planted on the specific site. Another important factor is the parent rock underneath the soil. Limestone, basalt, schist, and clay all have different characteristics that will influence the way the grapevine will grow above them. Root development may be inhibited or encouraged based on the parent rock’s ability to retain or drain water. For instance, soil formed on the metamorphic rock schists of Coteaux du Languedoc are shallow, stony, and excessively drained (White, 2009), and force the vine’s root system to penetrate deeply in search of water, if not properly irrigated. Many of the soil constraints can be avoided, however, through deep ripping before the planting of the vineyard, especially in the case of very shallow soils. Many vineyards are found on deep, well-drained, but not very fertile soils, and thus require intensive nutrient input.

The soil context that the grapevine grows in is reflected in the qualities of the wine produced. This is commonly referred to as terroir, but is not commonly understood. The activities to ensure the health of the vine’s underground parts are just as important as those that focus on that which grows above the ground. This is where irrigation strategies are most important. The importance is not only that the vine simply grows, for a non-irrigated vine’s roots will continue to grow deeper in search of water, but using the manner in which the vine grows as an indicator of its health (White, 2009). A barrier to root penetration will cause the vine’s roots to extend laterally. Factors effecting the vine’s root development will influence its overall vigor as well as the yield and quality of the fruit (White, 2009).

The concept of terroir is commonly referred to in the world of winemaking. It is a term rooted in the viticultural traditions of the Old World, namely France, and is used to define the distinct characteristics of wines made from grapes grown in different soils, even in the same area. Indeed, anyone can taste and smell the difference between a California and an Oregon Pinot Noir, but these distinctions are more easily attributed to the marked difference in climate, and have been scientifically explained, as previously discussed. The scientific basis for explaining a specific soil’s influence on the quality of a wine, however, is difficult to establish, primarily because the isolation of a single factor among the myriad involved in the terroir is next to impossible (White, 2009). This had led some to believe that the concept of terroir is simply a social construction, dismissing the influence of site influence on wine quality. Yet recent science has done much to empirically explain the processes involved in the biology of the grapevine and its ecology, making the connection between the vine’s geological and geographical place and the qualities of the wine undeniable.

The Origins of the Vine

Today the significance of the grapevine is deeply embedded into the cultures of the Mediterranean and southwest Asia. Wine is undoubtedly the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage throughout this region, and the trade of it one of the largest economies. The historical record of the grapevine has been long researched, as Herodotus was writing about wine as early as the fifth century B.C., but the archeological evidence for the origins of grape domestication has not emerged until only the last half century. The cultivation of grapevines originated in the mountainous region between the Black Sea and the Caspian sea, around the borders of what is now Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey (sometimes referred to as Transcaucasia) (Unwin, 1991). This is the region to which Vitis silvestris, the wild ancestor of Vitis vinifera, is native. It is reasonable to assume, as with other fermented products, that wine was a happy accident, discovered by someone who drank the fermented juices of wild grapes that had been collected and stored. Either the grapes had been quite ripe upon collection, or they had been sitting in a pottery vessel long enough to have fermented. At the end of the Tertiary era, species of the genus Vitis were found all over the planet. But later, as a result of cold and warm periods during the Quaternary, its distribution became restricted to a narrower latitudinal band, lying within about 30º and 50º North (Unwin, 1991). Around the same time that environmental conditions in this region became favorable for the intensification of other agricultural crops such as wheat and barley, it is thought that the vine was also more extensively cultivated for the making of wine, and from whence it must have spread. This period, known as the Neolithic (c. 8500 to 4000 B.C.), provided the necessary preconditions for the innovation of viniculture (McGovern, 2003), and the higher altitudes of the mountainous region would have provided cooler winters most ideal for the cultivation of the vine (Unwin, 1991). The earliest archeological evidence for the presence of wine comes from the chemical analysis of a yellowish residue on the inside of a pottery jar at the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe in the northern Zagros mountains of Iran (McGovern, 1997). The jar, found in the kitchen of a Neolithic mud brick building has been dated to 5400-5000 B.C. Judging from the long, narrow-necked form of the jar, and the concentration of residue on the lower half, the vessel certainly contained liquid. Infrared, liquid chromatographic, and wet chemical analyses have uncovered the presence of tartaric acid as well as calcium tartrate, substances that occur in large amounts in nature only in grapes (McGovern, 1997). Further chemical analysis shows the presence of terebinth tree resin, making absolute certain that the jar originally contained wine. Tree resins were commonly used medicinally, mostly as an antiseptic, especially in Roman times. It is known that tree resin was later used in the production of wine to keep acetobacteria from turning it into vinegar. It is therefore doubtful that the mixture of grape product and terebinth tree resin at Hajji Firuz Tepe was at all accidental.

Considering that there are numerous species of the genus Vitis distributed in a 30º-50ºN band stretching around the planet, there is mystery as to why none of the other Vitis species were used in the production of wine (at least, there is no archeological or historical evidence to suggest as much). Even though there are arguments for the independent domestication of the vine, such as in southeast Spain (Unwin, 1991), the archeological and historical evidence that the earliest wine was made in the northern upland parts of the Near East must be accounted for (McGovern, 2003). This indicates that the production of wine and the cultivation of the vine was not merely a result of the geographical distribution of the grape genus (Unwin, 1991). Social and ideological structures that developed in Transcaucasia, instead, must have been responsible for the spread of viniculture throughout the region and beyond. The kind of symbolism important for religion was important in the spread of viniculture and wine making, and this practice was part of the development of a particular ideological conscience that would later become part of the cult of Dionysus. While it is certainly possible that vines were cultivated elsewhere in the Mediterranean basin for wine production, it is in the Transcaucasia region that wine and the vine came to possess such potent symbolic significance (Unwin, 1991). The broader sort of agricultural fertility myth that has been associated with other Pagan belief systems (for example the Wiccan myth of John Barleycorn) can easily be applied to the life cycle of the grapevine. The symbolism surrounding the death and rebirth of the vine itself, the wine as the essence of the vine that survives and carries over through the seasons, the wine’s ability to intoxicate people, providing them a means of communion with the deities, as well as its consequent role as a catalyst for sexual intercourse, and therefore fertility, are all very potent symbols (Unwin, 1991). The cult of Dionysus, rapidly developing around the eighth century B.C., followed wherever the Greeks ventured, spreading the vine all the way. Greek coins have been found as far as the Douro Valley, in northern Portugal, along with Greek-planted low grapevines that are not characteristic of the climbing vines typically planted in the region today (Stanislawski, 1970). The Dionysus cult was very influential in northern Portugal, resulting in an intense enthusiasm for wine, even before the region produced wine in abundance.

The Transformative Landscape of the Vine in Northern Portugal

In no wine producing region in the world have the people so dramatically, and with such effort, transformed the landscape for the specific purpose of growing grapes than in Portugal. Grapevines were introduced into the western Iberian peninsula even before the Greeks, and there was an thriving Roman wine industry in Portugal, involving methods of intense experimentation that are still implemented today. Muslim interdiction against wine making, although somewhat successful in the south where Arab influence was stronger (also as a result of the shear devastation of all agriculture caused by constant warfare), did not prevent many vineyards in the north from continuing wine making. Before the Age of Discoveries, Portugal was not at all active in trade, and agriculture was completely basic to its economy, but a number of historical documents from the Medieval period refer to the great importance of viticulture and wine making (Stanislawski, 1970). By the end of the Reconquest in the mid-thirteenth century, the Portuguese kings encouraged the establishment of more vineyards as a source of funds in order to resettle lands previously taken by the Moors. For a fundamentally agricultural economy, this proved highly successful, and provided security to a great number of Portuguese people. Fruit trees such as olives take a long time to become effective producers, and grains are not dependable because fields can be pillaged or devastated farmers will eat the product, but there is always a market for wine, and vineyards can readily be taxed by the control of trade channels (Stanislawski, 1970). The importance of this kind of agriculture to royal purposes was made clear by the instructions of the kings to keep planting vineyards. By the fourteenth century, while Spain was still struggling to free their land from Muslim control, Portugal under King Ferdinand was exporting large amounts of wine, bringing important foreign exchange into his treasury. Wine production became so important in the fourteenth century that life in entire settlements, such as Vila Nova de Gaia in the north, became devoted to the manufacture of barrels and barrel hoops. Other settlements in the Minho province, which is made entirely of grey granite, became completely devoted to chiseled seamless fifteen meter granite posts for the support of vines, or the construction of terraces to maximize land area for the vines, in this steep, rugged region. (Stanislawski, 1970). These narrow terraced rows of vines were traditionally separated by countless unmortared granite stone walls, that had to be repaired every winter and spring as a result of erosion (Unwin, 1991). And out of grey granite the Minhotos have entirely transformed a steep, rugged, and rocky region into a vast landscape of rippling green slopes.

Foreign exchange had increased substantially in the fourteenth century, and Portuguese wines had become important in the English market, marking the beginning of a strong and lasting economic relationship (Stanislawski, 1970). The Portuguese kings had become thoroughly invested in the exportation of wine, and ensured the highest quality at considerable costs. However, an economic imbalance would come as a result of the neglect of fundamental food crops. Because wine was a readily taxable product, and grapevines a highly productive cash crop, vineyards were encouraged to continue producing at the cost of other food crops necessary for the wellbeing of the population. This imbalance was later remedied to some extent when King João of Aviz (reigned 1385-1433) granted extensive grain and cattle lands in the south to noblemen. However, the relationship between the landowners, not farmers and ranchers by birth, and the peasants was strained, and remains so today. Disruptive intervention in the north, that had largely perfected grapevine agriculture, created a stressed relationship between peasants and nobility, too. For instance, a common practice in the north was allowing vines to grow up into trees so that the fruit would not absorb too much heat reflected from the ground, and gain shade from the tree’s canopy (White, 2009). But a fourteenth century document records complaints from the inhabitants of the lower Douro River region against landowners that would send their carpenters to cut down trees regardless of whether or not they supported vines (Stanislawski, 1970). One perspective follows that Portugal’s huge success, if not brief monopoly, in wine exportation in the fourteenth century allowed it to be the frontrunner in the Age of Discoveries. Another perspective follows conversely that the intense exploitation of its northern and southern peasants created an economic imbalance that would cause future instability for Portugal as a European nation.

Pinot Noir Heaven: Wine in the Willamette Valley

It is not widely know that grapes were among the crops brought by some of the earliest Euro-American settlers in the Willamette Valley, in the middle of the nineteenth century. The 1860 census reported 2600 gallons of wine produced in the state of Oregon. Indeed, there may have been a booming early market, but with Prohibition, all of the state’s vines were pulled out, and hardly any were replanted after Prohibition had ended (Clark, 1989). Oregon wine making did not start in a serious way until about sixty years ago, and had no international recognition until only the past few decades. As of 2010, Oregon has planted 19,400 acres of vineyards, and is home to 387 winerie among 16 American Viticultural Areas (AVA) (Mertz et al., 2010). Oregon was officially put on the wine-producing map in 1980 when Eyrie Vineyards 1975 South Block Reserve Pinot Noir placed second only to Robert Drouhin’s twenty-one-year-old Chambolle-Musigny, one of the greatest Burgundy wines ever made.

It may come as no surprise, then, that Oregon and Burgundy, France share very similar climates (Mastin, 1983). Oregon and the Bordeaux region share just about the same latitude, at 45º to 46º North (Clark, 1989). However, latitude does not mean everything. When comparing climate, the vineyardist or winemaker must look at degree-days, which measure the total heat over a growing season. The Willamette Valley measures between 1600 and 2300 degrees (Clark, 1989), which is a relatively wide range, indicating the variability in climate from year to year. The Willamette average is 2100 degrees, slightly cooler than that of Burgundy’s, at 2400 degrees. The Willamette Valley, located west of the Cascade Mountains would have a maritime climate if it weren’t for the Coast Range that blocks the cool ocean air, and allows for more warmth in the valley. Oregon receives a relatively high amount of precipitation, but it occurs almost entirely during the winter and during the growing season. The valley’s grape growing season does have seasonal constraints, however. Some years the rains arrive in the autumn and stay for weeks. If the rains do not let up in time for the grapes to finish ripening, the crop can be devastated by rot, and those grapes that escape the rot will become swollen with water, diluting their flavor (Clark, 1989). Growers must manage their vineyards with care, making sure the crop ripens at the right time. Most Oregon growers actively thin the vine’s fruit, as larger crops ripen more slowly. This also allows more sunlight into the vines and allows grapes to dry more quickly in the event of rain. But some growers are experimenting with planting their vines more closely together, reducing the number of grapes in each vine, but allowing them to ripen more quickly, and avoid the potentially devastating effects of early rains.

There has always been a sort of frontiersman attitude associated with the Pacific Northwest, an attitude that has very much been adopted by Oregon winemakers. There is not a rich body of traditional knowledge shared among the people of the region in regards to the land, that the French, Italians, and Portuguese have, people that have practiced agriculture for millennia. Agriculture was not practiced by the indigenous people of the region, and there are hardly any of them left to share what knowledge they possess. So much of Oregon wine making has been a result of intense experimentation. We know now that no one vine will grow the same on two different soils, so why pretend that a Pinot Noir needs to have certain qualities? The classification of wine qualities is largely Euro-centric. There is debate in the Oregon wine world regarding what the “typical” Oregon Pinot Noir should look like (Danehower, 2006). David Lett, founder of Eyrie Vineyards has expressed disappointment in the emerging “international-style” Pinot. He thinks this style is heavily oaked, high in alcohol, with lots of residual sugar, which can be attributed to the use of overripe grapes. Lett’s style of Pinot involves minimal oak, native fermentation, and hand picking for maximum flavor ripeness. Whether or not one believes there is a “proper” Willamette Valley Pinot, ratings suggest that heavier, woodier, more fruit-forward styles sell better, and for higher prices. But the purists believe that the wine should be an homage to the broad terroir of the valley. This is a debate that unique to the region, as Oregon wine making is still relatively young. Specific flavor profiles are not yet associated with specific grape varietals in specific appellations like they are in the Old World. Further debate has focused around “chaptalization” of some cool climate Pinot Noirs (Clark, 1989). Typically, Pinot Noir grown in the warmer California becomes overripe, resulting in a wine with pruney or raisiny characteristics due to high residual sugar, which is not ideal. Pinot Noir grapes in Oregon ripen more slowly and are harvested later, resulting in lower residual sugar and higher acidity, essential for bringing out the fruit qualities. Chaptalization involves the addition of sugar to the juice prior to fermentation in the occasion that the fruit simply cannot ripen enough in time. This method is commonly practiced in Burgundy, meant to boost the body and alcohol content, and has shown no adverse effect on flavor.

Of course, Oregon would not have experienced such success in its wine industry if there had not been as many consumers of the local product. Out of the seemingly obscure roots for wine making has sprung an entire Northwestern culture of wine and appreciation for local cuisine. Events such as the International Pinot Noir Conference (Oregon Wine Board, 2011) in McMinnville, Oregon have been important in putting the region on the wine making map, and creating a positive reputation. A new cultural identity is emerging in the fertile soils of the Willamette Valley, its roots purely Oregonian.

Perhaps we legitimize our ancient obsession with wine, its incorporation into religious ideologies, and the subsidization of its production by kings and governments, because we like to get drunk, and we need an excuse to ensure that alcohol is readily available. But it is easy to make alcohol out of practically anything. Animals prefer fruit and berries that are as ripe as possible, and have been known to become inebriated after gorging on fermented fruit (McGovern, 2003). Why has the fermented juice of a plant that grows wild in many parts of the world been so deeply incorporated into the religious ideologies and economies of only one area? Perhaps it is merely chance that the cultures of Transcaucasia chose the grapevine to exult, and then, exploit, just as the Mayans had done with maize. There is still much mystery surrounding the ideologies that emerged as a result of grapevine cultivation. But the vine has climbed and taken root in the hearts and minds of humans; it has been responsible for the dramatic transformation of vast agricultural landscapes and entire societies, and is continuing to be the harbinger of cultural and ecological change today.

Bibliography

Oregon’s growing viticulture industry. (2011, October 16). Retrieved from http://wine.oregonstate.edu/growing_industry

McGovern, P. E. (1997). The beginnings of viniculture and winemaking in the near east and egypt. Expedition, 39(1), 3-21.

Clark, C. (1989). American wines of the northwest. (1 ed.). New York: William Morrow & Co., Inc.

Oregon Wine Board (OWB). (2011). Exploring wine regions in oregon. Retrieved from http://oregonwine.org/Explore_Wine_Regions/Willamette_Valley/Willamette_Valley/

Mertz, C., Williams, K., & Clemon, A. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2010). 2009 oregon vineyard and winery report. Retrieved from Oregon Field Office website: http://www.nass.usda.gov/or

Danehower, C. (2006, November 1). Oregon wines: Exploring terroir of the land and mind. Retrieved from http://wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/258/Oregon-Wine- Review.html

Stanislawski, D. (1970). Landscapes of Bacchus: The vine in Portugal. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Unwin, P. T. H. (1991). Wine and the vine: An historical geography of viticulture and the wine trade. London: Routledge.

McGovern, P. E. (2011). The origins and ancient history of wine. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, Retrieved from <http://www.penn.museum/sites/wine/wineintro.html&gt;

McGovern, P. E. (2003). Stone age wine. In Ancient Wine Princeton: University of Princeton Press.

Nail, W. (2011, November 28). Annual cycle of the grapevine. Retrieved from <http://www.extension.org/pages/31521/annual-cycle-of-the-grapevine&gt;

Stafne, E. (2011, December 2). Stages of grape berry development . Retrieved from <http://www.extension.org/pages/31096/stages-of-grape-berry-development >

White, Robert (2009). Understanding Vineyard Soils. OUP Oxford. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from Ebook Library.

Cured Meat in a Tube Heaven

Gather round, children, for I have a tale to tell you of a glorious land of meat. Meat in tube form, meat in pâté form, beautiful fatty livers whipped into mousse, and great haunches of meat hung up to age, whose flesh is the colour of glistening rubies and the texture of God’s sweet love. Verily there is such a paradise in this world, and its name is Olympic Provisions, in Portland, Oregon.

Olympic Provisions on southeast Washington is an exceptional establishment. The cured meats are an experience on their own, but the Northwest industrial-meets-French bistro design is intentional, and part of a greater experience. From the reclaimed silver flat ware, to the wood furnishings, to the solid water glasses – everything hums of quality in an unostensible manner. They even sell Opinel knives at the front sausage case! It’s best to go during their Happy Hour. It is surprisingly unbusy, and time seems to pass very slowly as you enjoy board after board of charcouterie, savouring each pickled item (the cauliflower is fresh and complex), every dollop of velvety pork liver mousse, medallion of perfectly seasoned saussison, and glass of 2007 King Estate Signature pinot noir, which I brought in and decided is the most appropriate wine to enjoy with cured meats (just ask me why). During this time you receive more attention from the amiable and personable staff, who seem to be knowledgable about what the meat is going on around them.

Olympic Provisions releases a new dried sausisson/salami/salchichon each month, the differences being merely a new combination of spices, but these subtle variations provide a distinct meat experience per tube.

This is one among many examples of how our ancestors figured out how to preserve the bounty, and keep it delicious. Today, with modern methods of preserving things such as refrigeration, freezing, and the use of chemicals, many don’t realize that pickling, fermenting, drying, ageing, and stuffing things in fat are ancient preservation methods, and are responsible for the most delicious edibles like cornichons, wine, prosciutto, cheese, and confit. So, at some point, some southern european figured out that rubbing a bunch of salt and ash on the outside of a pig’s leg, and hanging it up in a well-ventilated room made it last for months! And now we have prosciutto. Later, another wise man ground up the other pig bits and stuffed them in some intestines and hung them up to dry (or maybe even smoke). And now we have salami.

Check them out: http://www.olympicprovisions.com/

 

Pork and White Beans

Well it’s not too late in the Oregon spring for rich and heavy stewed meats.  Your spring snap peas have rotted in the ground, and it’s still cold and wet enough in the Willamette Valley to need that extra layer of fat around your heart.  I made a simplified cassoulet, just using a smoked ham hock and white  beans, leaving out the extra sausage and bread crumbs.

Here’s what I did:

I stewed a smoked ham hock in an enameled cast-iron pot with a little white wine and stock and a couple crushed cloves of garlic, for about five hours, in the oven at 150˚C/300˚F.  After the hock is sufficiently tender, I took it out and shredded the flesh off the bone back into the pot.  Then I added some already-cooked white beans (Navy or Cannellini), black pepper, and Herbs de Provence, and put the pot back in a hotter oven, uncovered, for perhaps twenty minutes.  The beautiful, glistening fat from the pork really lubricates the white beans in a heavenly way.

Here’s what you can do:

You can make a big deal of it and add carrots, leaks, celery,  or onion to the stew.  You can use different sorts of beans (just use black beans and linguiça, and you pretty much have Feijoada), or use lentils (I would use French lentils – they have the best texture).  You could even add some cream and purée everything if you don’t have any teeth.  Next time, I will probably use a pork shoulder or loin roast and stew it for longer.

If you ask me what wine is “appropriate” for this dish, I would pick a recent vintage Oregon Pinot Noir.  Try King Estate’s 2009 or 2010 Signature blend.  Both are pretty fruit-forward and light.

Drink Wine

     Wine is essential to life. It is an elixir with charms and powers subtle enough to seduce the senses, and strong enough to motivate the soul. Wine is an ancient and ingenious accident. The first archeological evidence of the intentional fermentation of grapes comes from Hajji Firuz Tepe in the northern Zagros mountains of Iran. Found were two nine litre earthen jars (dated to 7,000 BP) with the presence of calcium tartrate, an acid that occurs in nature only in grapes (McGovern, P. & Hartung, U.). So folks have been crushing grapes in one way or another, and enjoying their life-giving, fermented juice, for a while.

     Wine is an important social glue. For thousands of years, any social event was not complete without pitchers of wine – it was always present in any home, at any occasion. It is still an expected element of hospitality in southern Europe to offer a guest, or a stranger who comes to your house, a glass of wine and some bread. There is also the sentiment in these parts that everyone should be entitled to good, cheap wine. There is really excellent wine that is appropriate to pay for, and enjoy slowly and intentionally. But why would an average, everyday wine be priced so that it would not be available to all?

     There is a certain richness to life, to which wine embodies the texture.

     Today, in some parts, wine brings people together in a more refined way, in the world of wine tasting. The act of wine tasting is less about the philosophy of wine, or the passions it produces, and more, I think, about being a scientist. It’s about the wine itself; about being in the moment. It can be quite meditative, savouring a sip of wine, detecting its complexities that are a result of its terroir (the soil the grapes were grown in), how it was fermented, aged, and handled. There is a certain age of innocence in children, usually before the age of seven, when they don’t understand the concept of lying quite yet, and are unashamedly honest. I find this to be true with grapes also. The fermented essence of grapes is entirely naked, all its flaws and virtues visible at room temperature.

     One grape, in particular, that I believe is especially bad at lying, is Pinot Noir. The grape is typically grown in cool to temperate climates that have dry, warm summers and wet, but not too cold, winters. Pinot Noir is often associated with the Burgundy region of France, but is grown all around the world. But the valleys of western Oregon are the most magnificent land that Pinot Noir can be grown on in the world. That’s right, Oregon pinots outrank French ones year after year, or at least confound the critics. It makes sense too: Oregon Pinot Noir country shares a similar latitude with Burgundy; the volcanic soil composition is similar; it’s just that Oregon does it better. Western Oregon is good earth to be growing berries, nuts, and fruits on, too, not to mention the veritable cornucopia of wild mushrooms (more on that later). Oregon Pinot Noir is typically consumed relatively young (two to three years), and therefore best enjoyed slightly chilled, depending on its age. Of course, there is a lot of variation. Some wines, like a Bridgeview 2007, are rather fruit-forward (that is, it tastes fruity), while others, such as Boedecker 2007, are earthy and mushroom-y, which I happen to prefer. What you may also like to learn, is that you can always find a good Oregon pinot for under twenty dollars (on the west coast of the United States, at least).

     I highly encourage everyone to try as much Oregon Pinot Noir as can be had. There are literally hundreds of wineries in Oregon, most of which produce this beautiful grape, among others. If you’re interested in searching for Oregon wine by region, a complete list of every single winery can be found here: http://www.winesnw.com/ormerch.html

    Anyway, you should drink Oregon Pinot Noir. But more importantly, you should drink wine.

McGovern, P. E., Fleming, S. J. & Katz, S. H. (eds) The Origins and Ancient History of Wine (Gordon & Breach, Luxembourg, 1995).

Stock

        Stock. There’s chicken stock, beef stock, fish stock, vegetable stock, and countless others for more specific purposes. You can spend as much money and effort on stock than you would making a whole stew. Stock is an essential and often under appreciated base of so many dishes. You can make sauces with stock; stews, soups. You can boil rice in stock – hell, you can boil eggs in stock. A truly good stock will impregnate any dish with flavor, that will give birth to something incredible. But I will just discuss a basic every-other-week stock that I make, using the discarded bits of ingredients always present in my kitchen. I simply cannot justify buying cartons of stock from the market because it’s a gross waste of money, and it will never be as good as it would be if I made it at home, especially given that it takes zero effort. If you make a lot of stews with bone-in meat, or roast chickens, or use onions, garlic, carrots, or celery on a consistent basis, you will always have ingredients for stock. The skins of aromatic vegetables (onions, garlic, shallots, etc.), carrots, celery, and parsley, and/or their tops have a lot of flavor that should not be wasted. It’s a matter of getting one more use out of them before they hit the compost heap.

Here’s what I do:

       I save the skins or parts of all the aforementioned vegetables, and bones, by keeping them in a large “zip-lock” bag in the freezer. Once the bag is full, I dump the contents into a crock pot or stock pot (that would be the biggest pot you have), fill the pot with water, add a table spoon of salt, a sprinkling of pepper corns, a splash of apple cider vinegar (this is to draw the calcium out of the bones), and maybe a chili, and turn it on low heat for overnight or most of the day. After a while, I turn off the heat, uncover the pot and let it cool before putting the glistening, amber-colored stock in a couple yoghurt containers bound for the refrigerator or winter box.

Here’s what you can do:

      You can use other vegetable matter too, like bits of peppers, or a little bit of lemon rind, or mushrooms, or tomatoes – basically, anything that wouldn’t get funky stewing for a long time, like broccoli or potato skins… You can also roast the bones with olive oil or tomato paste for some added depth. If you want more of the aromatic flavor, try sticking an entire onion in there. What would happen if you added a whole head of roasted garlic? It would probably be pretty damn good. Got a mess of chicken feet lying around from your last slaughter? Throw them in there. You’ve got practically nothing to lose. Experiment. Go nuts.

Stuffed Zucchini

 

It’s the time of year when zucchini (courgettes) are so plentiful, they are almost a nuisance.  They grow fast, it seems, before one’s very eyes.  They often go unnoticed, hiding under one of their enormous leaves until they are too mealy to eat, becoming instant compost or chicken food.  As for the ones that are appropriately sized, or perhaps a little bigger ( about 8 to 12 inches, depending on the variety), there are endless uses.  One of the easiest, quickest, and most elegant things I have done with zucchini is to stuff them.  Basically anything you would stuff in a pepper, you can also spoon into a zucchini.  The great thing about this recipe is that fillings can consist of virtually infinite combinations*.  Here’s what I did today:
I took a Lungo Bianco di Sicilia, “long white of Sicily” (well, very pale green) variety of zucchini ( about 9 inches) that I picked from the Urban Farm on the University of Oregon campus (more about that later).
Ingredients:
Onion or shallot, minced
Mushrooms, finely chopped (Just about any type will do, wild ones are always best.)
Green beans, finely chopped
Fresh chili, or red pepper, depending on your spice preference, minced
Clove (or two, or three) garlic, minced
Bacon, cut into strips
Shredded or grated cheese (any semi-hard cheese will do, except orange cheddar.  Cheddar     will be melty, Swiss will be stringy, Parmesan will be somewhere between.  Try combining!)

*You can stuff a zucchini with practically anything, including: ground pork, eggplant (aubergine), cooked rice, corn, infinite types of mushrooms, shrimp, avocado, crab (!), tomatoes, beans, or any combination of the above.

Recipe:  Split the zucchini in half, lengthwise.  Make sure, if there’s a crook in the neck, to split the zucchini horizontally to that crook so each side is symmetrical and lies evenly.  Scrape out the insides of each side with a spoon, pretty well, leaving minimal flesh in the hulls.  Sautée the minced onions in butter, on medium heat, then add the zucchini innards and the rest of the filling minus the cheese, and let the liquid render out until the mixture is somewhat creamy.  Meanwhile the hollowed-out zucchini hulls are under the broiler at some distance, like the lower third of the oven.  Remove them before they start blistering, spoon in the filling, and put back under the broiler for perhaps five minutes.

As you will notice now, and in most cases, I tend not to give proportions or measured amounts in my recipes, unless it’s a baked dessert such as crème brûlée, which I make the same each time.  There is a time and place for measurements, such as in a restaurant kitchen, when a chef must be able to reproduce a certain dish endless times, because people expect to get the same dish each time they order it.  But the home kitchen is a place for experimenting and improvising.  Play with subtle seasonings.  Try different methods, temperatures, cooking time, even what you cook it in.  Always be aware of such alterations, for when you find you may have perfected a dish, you may want to make it just that way again.

The Commensal Hedonist

      According to Webster’s English dictionary, the word Hedonism means “The doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life.”  The Cambridge English dictionary defines it  as “Living and behaving in ways that mean you get as much pleasure out of life as possible, according to the belief that the most important thing in life is to enjoy yourself.”  Why the word has commonly been negatively stigmatized in our society, associated with other words such as debauchery and carnality, I do not know.  But the concept of hedonism is in no way negative, indeed I believe it is an important doctrine that we have a responsibility to live by.  What higher good is there but to be ultimately satisfied with one’s own life, no matter where one stands?  There will always be tasks we must do that we wish not to do, but we can also choose to take pleasure in even the tiniest things.  Alice Waters wrote in her essay “The Ethics of Eating,” “One of the truly worthwhile pleasures in life, it seems to me, is not in getting away from work, but in doing good work that means something.”  We live in a society that allows us to get away from the pleasure of preparing and eating real, good food.  We are led to believe that growing, harvesting, and cooking real food from scratch is an indulgence that is expensive, time-consuming, and ultimately not worth  the energy.  But ask yourself this: is a prepared meal, manufactured without love or attention an adequate reward for the work it took to purchase it?  And is a meal that was prepared involving love, care, time, and minimal ingredients that could have been grown in your own back yard for essentially zero cost a satisfactory reward for the effort?

     Of course, no such pleasures can be accomplished or enjoyed on one’s own, without commensality.  Commensality is the act of eating together at the same table.  It comes from the Latin word Commensalis, com– meaning “together,” and mensa meaning “table” (World English Dictionary).  In ecology, commensal organisms are those that have a mutually beneficial relationship; they live together in harmony.  This is an important concept for humans to understand: we are a commensal species.  Not only can we not survive without living in harmony with one another, but we could not live without the nourishment of the earth and all its life we depend on.

    As it comes down to the theme of this blog, I am a commensal hedonist.  That is, as a commensal being, I believe in working, living, loving, and eating together, in small groups, but as a community, and with open minds, learning from one another with our senses.  And as a hedonist, I take complete, unashamed pleasure in it all, and seek to make every experience pleasurable.

      The content of this blog will consist mostly of my creations, some informal recipes, and the occasional review of certain dining and imbibing establishments in my beloved hometown of Eugene, Oregon.

Thanks for viewing.