Ready to enjoy wine with food? We released our newest food menu to accompany our wine tasting at our Paso Robles tasting room along Adelaida Road. Our husband and wife kitchen team try to release a new menu every few months to keep things fresh and seasonal. Here is a look at the latest dishes that join our classic bread and oil, cheese and charcuterie, and BLTA.
Harvest Burrata: Ethan and Cecily sourced Italian imported burrata. With this mozzarella being so delicious, they wanted a way to highlight it without it being another caprese. That is when Cecily's childhood memories of working in their apple orchard kicked in. She created a warm spiced apple and butternut squash roast to pair with the burrata. The team finishes the burrata with pecans, olive oil, balsamic reduction, and a pinch of salt. It's a simple dish that pairs wonderfully with our 2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
Grilled Cheese: Who doesn't like grilled cheese? It's a classic, soul-warming sandwich. Ethan and Cecily created this version to feature salty and nutty havarti, buttery brioche, and black currant gelée. The currant gelée is made to match the black fruit notes found in most of our red wines. This messy sandwich pairs best with our food-friendly 2019 Silken.
Gardener's Pie: This Summer, Ethan and Cecily grew a bountiful garden, which inspired many vegetable dishes. They felt it was time to release a shepherd's pie but with just the veggies. The pie comes in a cast iron skillet with zucchini, peas, carrots, leeks, haricot verts, and mushrooms. The vegetables are sauteed in Sauvignon Blanc and served with a vegetable gravy. The dish is topped with mashed potatoes as well as fried fennel. This vegan-friendly pie pairs well with the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc and 2019 Four Chords.
Duck Mole Flatbread: This flatbread was inspired by duck mole nachos that the couple loved from the old Villa Creek restaurant in Paso Robles. After the restaurant closed, Ethan and Cecily learned to make mole, which is a labor of love. The duck is braised slowly and then shredded on the flatbread with the mole. It is then topped with pickled manchego cheese, which Ethan created to add acidity in a new way. The flatbread is finished with a zest of orange and micro cilantro. It is not spicy, so it pairs with our 2019 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon or 2023 Rosé.
Maple Crème Brûlée: Last but not least is dessert! This dessert was created by Ethan's nephew, James, who joined the team to help on the weekends. Ethan and Cecily decided it would be fun to let him do his specialty, crème brûlée. James brought in a maple crème brûlée and wowed the entire team. We recommend finishing with this custard dessert and the 2019 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.
Are you ready for wine and food, now? Visit us at our 3590 Adelaida Road location in the beautiful hills of Paso Robles. Reservations are always encouraged. We look forward to you trying our new menu with our estate wines!
Our 2019 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc is our sweet wine on the menu and delivers notes of apricot, pineapple, banana and orange sherbet. It features estate grown Sauvignon Blanc that we allow to stay on the vine longer into the season to develop more sugar, so it is considered a dessert wine. The wine is perfect with sweet treats or cheese & charcuterie plates. Sweet wines pair best with sweet foods, but cheese with the creaminess and salt can also be a delicious pairing.
I've compiled a list of desserts and cheeses that would pair well with our Late Harvest to inspire your upcoming hosting and holiday season! (Graphic Above) One last idea for using the Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, is that you can do a reduction to create a delicious sauce to top desserts like ice cream, flourless chocolate cake, or cheesecake. We hope you enjoy this sweet treat at your next get together or just because!
Ready for wine & lunch in the beautiful Paso Robles wine country featuring our delicious new food menu at Parrish? We are, and we work here!
We are excited to offer our new food menu, which kicks off 2024 with delightful twists. Before we dive into the new offerings, we should clarify that the wildly popular BLTA, with its praline bacon and house-made Cabernet sourdough, will return. We will also be returning the Lamb Enchilada. If you haven't had the Lamb Enchilada, it is a must, featuring braised lamb, house-made sweet potato tortillas (gluten-free), guajillo sauce, pickled shallots, and crema. It is collectively a team favorite that we highly recommend pairing with the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our married culinary duo, Ethan and Cecily, are bringing some creative new dishes to the menu. The couple, being a part of the Parrish family, love having the freedom to imagine and design dishes to complement the wine that their family works hard to make. "We can pull from childhood favorites to things we just want to try and make. We're able to do whatever we like, but it has to fit along with the wine tasting. It can be challenging, but it's an honor to be a part of showcasing the work of our family," says Cecily.
So, here's the upcoming menu without further ado. A sandwich that will be popular is the Brisket French Dip. This sandwich features braised brisket on a house-made cheddar and onion roll and served with au jus. Ethan loves cooking up brisket, so it was an obvious choice for the sandwich. You might think of French onion soup with this dish.
Another offering is the Caprese Waffle, which features a waffle infused with basil oil and served with burrata, confit tomatoes, balsamic reduction, and fresh basil. Cecily loves caprese and margherita pizza, so this dish merges her favorite dishes together, but with a savory waffle involved. The Caprese Waffle pairs wonderfully with the Rosé as it will make the wine a little creamy!
If you are looking for a more vegetable-forward dish, Cecily has crafted a Gnocchi Salad. This salad features potato gnocchi and roasted vegetables served with sprigs of arugula, house-made cashew ricotta, pea pesto, and toasted pine nuts. It's a flavorful and light offering that we highly recommend with a glass of our Four Chords blend.
Last but not least is dessert! And this will be for the chocoholics, a Skillet Brownie. A Mexican cocoa brownie served with house-made vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of coffee caramel. This dessert surprised us as Ethan and Cecily worked with the Tasting Room team on a wine pairing. We loved it with the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, so this will be a decadent finish to your wine tasting. While the dessert comes in a personal cast iron skillet, it is shareable between 2-4 people. Although, we know die-hard dessert enthusiasts will only request one spoon, which we understand.
If this whetted your appetite, feel free to book a reservation to enjoy our wine and food offerings soon. Come to think of it, the writer of this blog may need to make a reservation for that Skillet Brownie.
Winemaker David Parrish, Tasting Room Manager Lupita Sotelo, and Winemaker Cody Alt taste the 2019 Zinfandel and share their thoughts on this newly released wine. It will sell out soon!
On Saturday, March 5th, we were joined by our high-tier club members for our first Library Dinner featuring library wines by candlelight alongside Winemakers David Parrish and Cody Alt. The wines were paired with a four-course meal lovingly crafted by Assistant Chef, Ethan Ray, and Culinary Director, Cecily Parrish Ray. It was a beautifully intimate occasion giving members access to time with the winemakers and limited wines.
Welcomed with 2021 Rosé
served with fresh whipped butter, housemade walnut sourdough, and homemade cast iron focaccia
2013 Petite Sirah paired with Salmon Rosettes
salmon rosettes with lobster tails and brown butter bread crumbs served with a champagne frisée and basil oil
2013 Silken paired with Mushroom Toast
roasted local oyster mushrooms with brioche toast, pea shoots, garden broccoli blossoms, and a miso duck hollandaise
2013 Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Wild Boar Medallions
wild boar medallions wrapped in beef bacon, israeli couscous with smoked macadamias & black garlic, crispy sunchokes, braised leeks served with a currant silken sauce
2014 Clone 6 Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Pear & Blueberry Tier
angel food cake topped with a pear gelée, blueberry compote, lavender whipped cream, pistachios,
and a late harvest sabayon drizzle
We look forward to hosting more events in the future for our club members! If you are looking for a library event, up next in April is a Petite Sirah Vertical. And mark your calendars for our 2021 Rosé release with a Mother's Day Brunch!
"We're having a heatwave, A tropical heatwave. The temperature's rising, It isn't surprising..."
Sung by Marilyn Monroe (There's No Business Like Show Business,1954) echoes in my mind as the Summer months hit. While Summer is bright and happy, I find myself to be like wine and prefer milder temperatures. So, it brings up a question that we frequently get in the tasting room, how do you properly store wine? It's a great question because there are definitely ways to keep wine temperatures perfect.
Traveling with Wine
You are meandering the beautiful roads of Paso Robles. Hopefully, you're on Adelaida Road because it's one of my favorites in the area (not biased, right?!). You have the windows down, wind blowing, and you smell the wild grasses of wine country. You're happy even though it's 90 degrees out. Well, there's one thing in the car not so stoked on life and that's the wine you just bought. It's too darn hot for the wine! There are ways to ease the transport for your wine.
At Home - How to Store Wine
Most of us do not have a dream wine cellar waiting at home. Instead, we have a workhorse Whirlpool fridge that holds our dietary treasures or a cramped master bedroom closet with shoes that need shaping. Do you have to get a wine fridge? The answer is that it depends on you.
What kind of wine drinker are you is the question you should ask before spending money on a wine fridge. So, are you...
There are some tips regarding wine storage that can help you further decide how to best store your wine and if a wine fridge is necessary for your wine enjoyment.
Opening Wine & Serving
Once you open a wine, oxygen is now in contact and that begins to change the wine as it starts a ticking clock of how long you have till the wine is lack-luster. You may think serving wine is not super important, but it does make a difference in how a wine showcases itself.
Is your head spinnning yet? No worries. I wrote this not only for you, but for myself as I can't remember all the tidbits sometimes. I typically recommend to guests that ask about wine fridges that they should spend some time researching as it is an imporant investment. I personally know that Liebherr is a good brand. Outside of that, just read lots of reviews to make sure whatever fridge you purchase meets the important tips about wine storage.
Hope this helps and most importantly, stay cool!
-Cecily
We have been growing our Sauvignon Blanc at the Adelaida vineyard since 2013, while we had been using the fruit to produce our Estate Sauvignon Blanc since 2016, the winemaking team was compelled to try something new. They wanted to do a sauterne-style wine as it would be a nice addition to our lineup as we didn't have a sweet wine.
What is a sauterne? Sauternes are from the Bordeaux region of France and they feature not only Sauvignon Blanc, but also Sémillon and Muscadelle. They tend to be heavier in body, sweet, and have notes of stone fruit, tropical fruit, florals, toasted sugar, coconut, and baking spices. It all depends on the fruit and barrel program, as you do age this style in barrels to add the wonderful body and secondary flavors.
Back in 2019 we took the leap and held back some Sauvignon Blanc clusters from the main harvest in September and allowed the grapes to stay on the vine to develop more sugar. In November 2019, we harvested the remaining Sauvignon Blanc and they were raisined with colors of gold and pink-purple. Hence the term, Late Harvest because it was last to be harvested and allowed to develop more sugar, or higher brix (measurement of sugar). We normally pick at 21 brix for the Sauvignon Blanc, but for this wine, we picked at about 35 brix.
Below is a video we recorded in the middle of the processing the Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc with Cellar Master Ethan and Assistant Winemaker Cody sharing about this new wine:
*I'm sorry about the background buzz from the winery!
One thing you may notice from the video is the vibrant color. It looks like orange juice! That color fades away during fermentation. After talking with Assistant Winemaker Cody, I learned more about why young wines have a cloudy color that is nowhere near what the finished product will look like. This is known as browning and it's a normal thing that happens during pressing wine. The oxygen dissolves causing the color. It also has some lees and sediment that are stirred up making it not as clear. The CO2 that occurs in fermentation helps lift the oxygen and at that point begins to change the color to be more clarified and golden rather than yellow-orange.
During fermentation, the winemaking team used a weaker yeast so the process would stop at 15-16% alcohol and allow there to be residual sugar in the wine.
What is residual sugar? This is what makes wine sweet. Dry wines have no residual sugar because they have had all the sugar eaten up by yeast during fermentation. Sometimes wine tasters think that sweetness in a dry wine is sugar, but that is most likely the fruit notes of the palate. So, if you like wines that are "sweet" in a dry wine then you would want to look for wines that fruit-forward, less tannic, and have spent time in stainless steel or little time in the barrel.
After processing, the wine then journeyed to oak. The Late Harvest aged in 35% new French oak and 65% neutral oak for about 16 months. This gave the wine more body than our traditional Sauvignon Blanc. Typically, the winemaking team ages Sauvignon Blanc in stainless steel to keep it light and crisp, whereas the Late Harvest is aged to be heavier bodied with more creaminess and caramelization.
The day we bottled the Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, I got to taste it and it was delicious. The notes I got were apricot, lemon and grapefruit jelly candies (think of those Sunkist ones), cream soda, toffee, and then a beautiful brush of acidity. I love the acidity in this wine as it helps balance the body to keep it from becoming cloyingly sweet.
For the winemaking team, it is such a rewarding day to take the wines that have been worked on for a couple of months or years and finish them. They get to see the once grapes transformed to wine and then placed in the bottle. It is also rewarding for the team to do something new and have it turn out to be wonderful. No longer a thought, but a reality.
As far as packaging, it is different from our other bottles as the label is with gold accents and the bottle is smaller, 375ml (rather than 750ml). Our whole team voted on the bottle shape for a few days in bottle planning. It was very sophisticated as we lined up 2 options on the counter and then did a tally on post-it notes. It became a bit of a competition, jokingly, as one bottle was being picked by a landslide and the other was lonely with 1 tally mark. But that team member began convincing other team members to bring them to her side. Haha. Alas, the popular bottle was chosen. It was a good attempt! In summation, it was a team effort in picking the packaging.
So, importantly, how should you serve this? Chilled. I would recommend a smaller glass so you can easily access the nose. This will age well. I have yet to try it after being open a couple of days, but feel this would last longer open than a stainless steel, crisp Sauvignon Blanc. Regardless, this wine will age in the bottle for some time.
And then what do you pair it with? You can do dessert with this wine. I would say tarts would be lovely with it like a lemon, coconut, or almond. Cheesecake would be simple and decadent with the Late Harvest. For the release weekend, Estate Chef Samantha paired it with aphrodisiac macarons; fig & pistachio, strawberry balsamic, and raspberry chocolate (awesome!). The fig & pistachio macaron was my favorite with this wine, so taking inspiration to home, try thyme mascarpone figs with roasted pistachio and honey drizzle.
And then let's not forget cheese & charcuterie as this would be beautiful with a board for starters or dessert, I mean why not! Here are some thoughts; baked brie, Fromarer D'affinois Blue Cheese, St. Agur Blue Cheese, Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog, Asiago Rosemary, Idiazabal, Manchego, Honey Bee Goat Cheese, Oakdale Lemon Quark, Foie Gras, Duck Prosciutto, Alle Pia Calabrese Salami, and Smoking Goose Spruce & Candy Salame. Add some fun accouterments like quince paste, bacon jam (Olivas de Oro does one), Marcona almonds, dried nectarines, dried cherries, homemade candied pecans, pumpkin seeds, shortbread biscuits, sourdough, or brioche toast...you'll be set!
I hope you enjoyed learning more about this new wine. Cheers, and if you're a club member, you can pick up this wine here!
-Cecily
We were thinking that this is a perfect time for wine pairings with Christmas movies. Our family has always loved watching movies this time of year and there are a few that are tradition for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So here’s our list...
2018 Sauvignon Blanc – Rifftrax Christmas (Mystery Science Theater 3000 Fans)
2018 Chardonnay – The Santa Clause (1994)
2016 Petite Sirah – The Family Man (2000)
2016 Silken – While You Were Sleeping (1995)
2016 Four Chords – Christmas Carol (1951, traditionally on Christmas Eve)
2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
2016 Reserve Cabernet Sauvingon – It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, traditionally on Christmas Day)
Tomorrow is National Christmas Movie Marathon day, so grab a blanket, turn on the tree, and enjoy! We’re open 11am-5pm if you need some wine for this. Cheers!
Sourghdough starters do sound challenging, but I hope to help make them more approachable as I was not born a bread baker. Starters are great for not only baking bread, but also cakes, cookies, and pasta. You can become your own bakery essentially, which is especially helpful being shut in. We have been making a Cabernet Sourdough since we opened in 2018. This starter was made from our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, which you can read about on a previous blog post here. While I love our starter, it is not feasible for those at home wanting to start their own right now.
Two weeks ago I saw a starter recipe that looked really simple from Taste of Home and decided to try it a couple weeks ago. It went great, so without further ado I am going to share the recipe with a few tweaks, feeding info, and helpful starter info as I had a ton of questions when I started! Also, I will have a few tips if you are missing ingredients, or in need of a gluten free starter as everyone has different needs right now.
The Starter Recipe:
1 & ½ teaspoons (or a packet) of Yeast
2 Cups (11 oz) of Flour
2 Cups (16 oz) of Water at 70-75°F
Use a container like a large tupperware that you can put a lid on. Avoid a metal bowl for your starter as that will impact the temperature of your starter. You can use measuring spoons/cups or a digital scale. Digital scales tend to be more accurate. You will also need a thermometer to take the water temp.
*Yeast: Original recipe calls for Active Yeast. I used Instant Yeast and turned out just fine. Use what you have.
*Flour: The recipe calls for All Purpose (AP) Flour, but you could substitute for Bread Flour. Below I share the differences in flour.
Step 1 – Put 2 cups of flour the bowl/container.
Step 2 – Pour in yeast and stir with flour.
Step 3 – Measure 2 cups of water and take its temperature. 70-75°F is ideal for the temp, but if your home runs cooler or warmer, make adjustments. Like I'd do 80-85°F for a colder home. Yeast likes warmth and it encourages activity. I would avoid going over 90°F.
Step 4 – Gradually pour in the water, while stirring with a spatula. Stir until well incorporated. I like to stir for a few minutes to encourage the yeast to be active.
That’s it. You’ll notice it will become active and bubbly within hours. Let it hang out for about 4 days. Stirring occasionally throughout the day to encourage the yeast to be active. You will notice that it will start to smell more sour and a liquid will form on the top. All apart of it and it is fine. By day 4, feed the starter.
To Feed:
Step 1 – Stir the starter for a few minutes. Do not pour off the liquid. Some recipes do this, but I disagree as it’s just apart of the starter.
Step 2 – Pour out about ½ to 1 cup of starter. I did a cup.
Step 3 – Pour in 1 cup (8 oz) 70-75°F water and stir.
Step 4 – Pour in 1 cup (5.5 oz) of flour and stir. Stir as long as you can to encourage activity.
So, that’s the recipe, but here’s more info to help with your sourdough starter journey.
What is happening in the starter? Protein in the flour forms gluten. Yeast eats gluten and it produces CO2. The gluten helps the bread have strength and gives it rise. The water in the starter is helping the yeast move around and encourage the integration with the gluten. Also, yeast likes warmth and movement. So, the water temperature and the movement of the stirring encourage the activity.
There's no yeast in the stores right now? A real issue and there’s no need to panic. I have read blogs mentioning alternatives and one of those is…pineapple juice. This is similar to what we are doing with our grapes. Here's one I found on Breadtopia.
I’m gluten free? Okay! Well there’s sourdough starters that are gluten free…I found this on King Arthur's site.
Bread Flour vs. All Purpose Flour? Bread Flour has a higher gluten percent than All Purpose Flour (AP), which is why it is used for baking breads. The typical percentages are below:
The more gluten you have for the yeast to eat...the more activity you will have. That said if all you have is All Purpose or Wheat, making a starter will still work!
Storing the starter?
Method 1: Store on the counter and feed daily. This is great if you are a baker and bake daily.
Method 2: Store the starter in the fridge. So, the cold will cause the starter to slow down in activity. Upon removing from the fridge for use, feed more like 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days to awaken the starter.
Some starters can be kept in the fridge without feeding for up to a month or more. I would say this depends on the strength of your starter. If it's super active, then it will do great. I do usually up to a month for some of my starters.
Method 3: You can dry the starter on parchment during feeding. Take some of the starter and just spread it out on parchment paper and let it dry for a couple days. Then put the starter in a container like a mason jar. I recommend this for any starter you are discarding during feeding. Here's the article on King Arthur's site.
What is the liquid on top of the starter? So, believe it or not this is called hooch and that's because it is technically alcohol...the byproduct of the activity between yeast and gluten. It is okay and it doesn't mean that your starter is bad. Stir it into the starter and then feed your starter.
How can you tell if it has gone bad? Starters share a lot about themselves via smell. Sweeter means that it has been fed and is happy. Sour means that it is probably needing food.
Acetone and funky smells equals hmmm, something is awry. You just want to start feeding the starter, like you would when waking it up, to try to save it.
Mold or discolouration are a sign of no bueno. Just try your best to feed and save, but I would look at your saved dry starter at this point.
At feeding it feels wasteful, can I make something with the discarded (pitched) starter? Yes! Pancakes is a well-known option, but there are plenty of things you can do with pitched starter. You can dry some for storage. You can also give the pitched starter to someone else. Starter = giving.
How to know if your starter is ready for use? The visual activity of the bubbles will indicate its activity level, but again smell is important. In Tartine’s Bread, the sweeter smells it is fed and more ready to use. The more sour means it needs more feeding and time. I will say that with time you will get to know your starter and will have a feeling.
Another method is the Float Test. Take some of the starter (like a little piece) and put in water. If it floats, it’s ready for use. If it doesn’t float, well it’s not ready. This is not always accurate, keep in mind, according to some bakers.
Can you bake with whatever flour and the starter? You can bake with whatever flours you would like. Some recipes use blends for more flavor. You will get different textures and densities as well. Bread flour due to its higher gluten percentage will have better crumb (meaning the texture and hole pattern in the bread will be more desirable for the sourdough).
How sour does the sourdough get? The sourness of sourdough is just what the starter decides to create. It's the nature of your starter. So, do not be surprised if if it is not super sour. If you want more sourness to your sourdough bread, try using more starter in the recipe. Or try longer fermentation when making the dough.
Ideas for best bakes with sourdough bread? Dutch ovens are awesome and easy. You need steam for sourdough bread. Let's say you don’t have a dutch oven or cast iron with a lid and a water bath in your oven is a bit of a deal. This write up had some great ideas for getting steam going in your bake: https://truesourdough.com/3-ways-to-make-amazing-sourdough-bread-without-a-dutch-oven/
Best ways to store bread? Wrap in parchment, sarane wrap, and then leave on counter - lasts about 4 days-5days.
That was quite the write up, but I wanted to share thoughts and ideas that would encourage anyone to try their hand at this. This is a great project while stuck at home and/or you have some kids. Honestly, the starter becomes like a pet. You have to care for it. The Parrish team giggle at me as I will remember I have to feed my starter, or fold my bread in the midst of a meeting and rush out to care for it. Regardless of the amount of work it has brought to my life, I enjoy it and the fact that it brings joy to others.
Be well and Enjoy!
Cecily