April 30, 2021 Brunch - Whitefish on Bagels. Dinner at Luke’s - Lamb stew
Today Jean drove us to the Hertz rental car office at 8:15 to pick up our rental car. We had to have a tire with two punctures fixed. When we returned to Jean’s I toasted a bagel cut into three slices and spread cream cheese on them and covered them with pieces of the whitefish we bought the other day at Oregon Pike grocery. The whitefish was amazingly delicious with just the right amount of saltiness and large flakes of meat because it was a large whitefish.
We were on the road by 11:30. And made it to Luke’s in Hurley by 4:15. We love his old converted school house residence with a big bed in a large loft that Luke graciously offered to Suzette and me.
I checked my portfolio at 5:00 and discovered what I expected, that the market had gone down significantly and my portfolio went down 1.1%. It is still comfortably near its all time high, but it is never easy to watch the portfolio start dropping in large chunks like today.
Today was auspicious because it is the day Luke finished his first book, his memoir about trying and failing to live in L.A. and we were happy to celebrate it with him. We decided to cook tonight and tomorrow lunch with Mickie and Rebecca.
At 5:30 we drove to several shops. The fish monger was closed but Temper’s market was open and we bought food for several meals, including lamb stew meat to make a lamb stew for dinner.
Luke does not shop at the big Supermarket. Instead he shops at the small boutique farm stands, which are small groceries that are stocked with local artisan and gourmet items.
There is an interesting vibe about the Woodstock area of New York where a very specific kind of frontier living juxtaposes a very worldly elegant rural gourmet life style that one would find in rural France with a very Trumpian red neck indigenous population.
When we returned to Luke’s house I chopped an onion, four cloves of garlic, four potatoes, three carrots, and a lb. of lamb stew meat. We used Luke’s new deep casserole and Suzette shepherded the stew effort, braising the lamb that she tossed in flour, salt, pepper, and sage in butter and olive oil in the casserole and then added the vegetables and braised them and then added red wine and water for about an hour until the vegetables cooked.
While Suzette watched the stew, Luke and I drove to a terrific wine shop/liquor store in Woodstock and bought three bottles of red wine and a half bottle of Courvoisier VSOP.
Like wanted us to try a French natural wine. The assistant suggested a 2017 La Toupe, which was a biodynamic Southern Rhone Syrah blend from the Minervois Appellation. If you want an idea of what it takes to be a biodynamic wine please read the back label.
If you wish to know more about the Minervois Appelation please read the following description. You will note that La Toupe is rated 89 points.
Regions and Appellations France Languedoc-Roussillon Minervois
Minervois Wine
Minervois is an appellation for distinctive red wines from the western Languedoc in France. In general, they are more supple than those produced in Corbières, just to the south. The Minervois title also covers rosé and white wines.
The predominant grape varieties used in AOC Minervois wines are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Along with the rarer Lledoner Pelut (or Lladoner Pelut) they must collectively make up at least 60 percent of the blend. Carignan and Cinsaut are among the supporting cast which can contribute 40 percent of the blend.
Minerve village, Languedoc-Roussillon
The appellation's white wines vary considerably in quality and style. They are made from varieties including Vermentino, Roussanne, Marsanne, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc. Minervois Blanc is changing with time, becoming increasingly aromatic and refined.
In addition to dry red and white wines, the area has a long tradition of sweet wine production. Sweet, white Minervois Noble, as it is known, does not have its own appellation. It is a golden sweet wine made from the same white grapes as its dry counterparts.
The grapes are picked at a high level of sweetness – either as a result of noble rot or by being dried out manually after picking. Similar in style, Muscat de St-Jean-de-Minervois (a delicate vin doux naturel) is produced to the north of Minervois.
Full or partial carbonic maceration (up to two weeks) is used for vinifying most Minervois Carignan. Other red wine varieties are traditionally fermented for longer periods, with frequent pumping over or punching down to encourage greater extraction.
De-stemming is increasingly being used to reduce the tannin levels in Minervois wines, and the reds are generally aged for at least a year before release. Barrel maturation is becoming more common, but the Minervois name can rarely attract prices to justify the cost of this process.
The appellation is cleanly divided into five climatic zones. The Côtes Noires in the far northwest is located on the coolest, most Atlantic influenced foothills of the Montagne Noire. La Clamoux lies on alluvial terraces and flatter land in the southwest towards Carcassonne.
La Zone Centrale does indeed sit in the middle of the appellation, at an altitude of around 400 meters (1200ft). Le Causse is an area of high land and poor, dry soils in the northeast, where yields are lowest. Les Serres is the warmest, most Mediterranean area, in the southeast.
Within Le Causse lie the 350 hectares of vineyards of the Minervois La Livinière AOP. Producers here lobbied for their own appellation as soon as Minervois was recognized in 1985, achieving their goal a decade later. This is an area of garrigues with clay and marl soils over limestone, with a reputation for consistently high quality wines.
Minervois takes its name from Minerve, a village 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Mediterranean coast and surrounded by the southern French foothills. The village, by turn, is named after the Greek goddess Minerva.
But human history goes back much further still in the Minervois region. Local cave paintings and fossilized footprints confirm human movements here more than 8000 years ago.
The town's wine history is also impressively long. Archaeological evidence shows that viticulture here dates back to early-Roman or even pre-Roman times.
Since the Minervois appellation was granted, the local wines have changed dramatically, gaining praise from critics in France and abroad. As with many French appellations, this increase in quality is due to significant investments in winery equipment and improved vineyard management.
Last updated 16-May-2019
Sub-regions of Minervois
Critics' choice:
Approximate (ex-tax) price: $ 20
Color: Red White
Based on scores from a range of critics
Available in: United States The World
2018 Domaine Benjamin Taillandier Minervois Viti Vini Bibi, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Avg Price: $22 | Score: 90
2018 Domaine du Somail Minervois 'Le Vin de Plume', Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Avg Price: $15 | Score: 90
2016 Chateau Maris Minervois La Liviniere 'La Touge', Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Avg Price: $18 | Score: 90
Map
Production by grape/blend
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Southern Rhone Red Blend
38%
Grenache - Syrah
17%
Carignan - Grenache - Syrah
15%
Syrah
8%
Carinena - Garnacha
5%
Grenache - Mourvedre - Syrah
4%
Carignan - Syrah
2%
Other
12%
Most Popular Minervois Wine
Based on search frequency, updated monthly
The other two reds were a Spanish Reserva from the Rioja and an Italian that the assistant liked.
The other wines will be drunk with the rabbit and elk sausages we intend to serve for lunch tomorrow when Mickie and Rebecca visit.
When we returned I separated a cluster of oyster mushrooms and Luke went outside and picked a handful of garlic mustard plants and removed the leaves from the plants and Suzette and I then removed the stems from the
We added the loose mushrooms when we decided the stew had about 30 minutes left to cook and the mustard leaves were added when it was about ten minutes left to cook.
The lamb stew was heavenly. It was lightly floured so retained the natural juices of the meat and vegetables, which I found very appealing and the addition of the fresh mustard garlic leaves was revelatory. I liked the crisp vegetables in a medium thick broth and found the last few spoonfuls of broth at the bottom of the bowl the most appealing part of the
The 2017 La Toupe was very interesting. It was light for a Syrah and had a clarity unlike many wines I have drunk, although I have only drunk a few wines from the Minervois Appellation. I prefer a Southern Rhone blend with lamb, so La Toupe complemented the lamb stew perfectly for me.
After dinner I opened the Couvoisier VSOP which was wonderful and Suzette found the Wilbur milk chocolate nibs and she and I finished our meal in style.
Luke had made a fire in his wood stove before dinner so we talked until 11:00 and then Luke got us situated in his big bed in his upstairs bedroom.
We enjoyed a good night’s sleep and I awakened to finish this blog at 5:30 as the sun rose and the woods surrounding Luke’s house came alive with the chirp of birds.
Bon Appetit
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