Bravo Biscotti - Our Spring Release Opens March 25th
The 2019 Spring Release opens for mailing list members on Monday, March 25th and features my 2018 rose of pinot noir as well as my 2016 Petaluma Gap pinots.
The best non-professional critiques have come from members of my own family. One Overstreet tasted the rose, sighed dramatically, and then proclaimed, “Mom, the 2018 is sooooooo much better than the 2017.” I am unsure when she last tasted the 2017 as comparison (?), but these days I am thrilled for any two-way conversations devoid of door slamming and/or eye rolling. Another Overstreet called the 2016 “Hella good.” I wish I could tweet out #2016Gaps #Hellagood, but some members of the Overstreet tasting panel are, well, still working towards a driver’s license. As for me, I popped the cork on a 2016 Sangiacomo last night. We had it with InstantPot pulled pork, and it was divine. I use a splash of pomegranate molasses in the marinade, and it paired up perfectly. Check out the formal video tasting highlights: https://vimeo.com/324869175
My “fun” project for this release is the late harvest sauvignon blanc dessert wine. Making a dessert wine has long topped my professional bucket list. I happen to think a splash of dessert wine with a crunchy biscotti is the supreme way to close a dinner party. So as we release my dessert wine, I simultaneously am obsessed with biscotti.
Chocolate almond biscotti have long been my signature, on-the-road hostess gift. They taste best crunchy and dry, easily endure 5 days on the road, and they pack well. I have found that wine buyers look forward to them almost as much as they look forward to seeing me, or so I tell myself. My self-esteem was only mildly damaged when I visited a sommelier who squealed, “Did you bring me cookies?” before we even cracked a wine bottle. Her husband is a classically trained chef, and he, too, craves my cookies. Clearly, her greeting was actually a compliment, or so I tell myself.
To accompany my signature cookie, of course I have a signature line, “dunk the biscotti in the zinfandel. It’s delicious. Instead of ‘vin santo’ I call this ‘zin santo.’” I actually do make the biscotti dough with aromatic spices like mace, cardamom, cinnamon, and allspice, to echo the French oak barrel notes. And the mocha in the dark chocolate almonds ties it up in a ribbon.
This was all well and good until I fed them to an Italian. Although he loved the biscotti and “le zinfandel,” he informed me that my appropriated cookies are actually called “cantucci,” not “biscotti.” He also gently pointed out, in that most charming, musical Italian lilt, that authentic “cantucci” are quite small. My signature biscotti are a stretch Hummer. Cantucci are a compact Mini. (Harley Davidson versus Vespa? Sienna minivan versus Alfa Romeo?).
As we release my inaugural late harvest sauvignon blanc, my homage to the vin santo tradition, I’m in a bit of a cookie rut. Baking more finger-sized cookies (sans chocolate) is way more labor intensive but clearly pairs better with a late harvest sauvignon blanc. In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be playing around a bit in the kitchen. I welcome any due diligence involving sugar.
My current recipe template is Tuscan Almond Biscotti from Cooking Light Magazine. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/tuscan-almond-biscotti
Thank you for your continued support of Bruliam Wines. Please know I am grateful for every bottle sold and enjoyed.
If you are a member of our mailing list, look for an email on March 25th with login and ordering instructions for our limited Spring Release. And do let me know what delicious desserts you choose to pair with the late harvest sauvignon blanc!