Cabernet Franc Paired with an Easy Appetizer

Need an easy wine and food pairing? The holiday season is fast approaching, which can drive any cook crazy. The mess. The various palates and food needs. The dirty kitchen with the mound of dishes. The too many cooks in the kitchen. We can console each other as holiday cooking can be overwhelming. But here's an easy appetizer to pair with our 2020 Cabernet Franc. 

Cabernet Franc Tasting Notes
The Cabernet Franc is a wonderful variation from its relative, Cabernet Sauvignon. It features a lighter body and lovely red fruit notes. Our 2020 Cabernet Franc is medium-bodied with notes of leather, cranberry, pomegranate, and red cherry. It has a good balance of earthy and fruit. 

Cabernet Franc Food Pairing Suggestion
The food pairing I am sharing for this club wine was an accidental creation. I was preparing my husband's recent birthday dinner. Ethan had requested pizza with homemade dough, sauce, and all the toppings. I had prepped ingredients for his anchovy mushroom pizza (that was definitely for him), classic pepperoni, and then a pesto butternut squash pizza. The pesto butternut squash pizza was one I wanted to make as we had butternut from the garden. I started working with the pizza dough. It was oddly only enough for two pizzas. This wasn't normal and I wasn't sure where I tripped up in my recipe, but regardless, I had ingredients prepped for one too many pizzas. I then thought of the on-sale crescent dough we had picked up at the store the day before. I decided with just 20 minutes to pivot and I would make the pesto butternut squash into a crescent roll appetizer.

I rushed around the kitchen and made these fall crescent rolls. I pulled them out of the oven, plated them, threw some flower petals on top for garnish, and then Ethan pulled up the driveway. Phew. I knew I didn't need to be stressed, but I was trying to make it a special dinner. 

While we waited for the pizzas to come off the smoker, we tried my in-a-pinch creation. It was simply delicious. As soon as I had a filled roll, I knew it was the dish to pair with the Cabernet Franc.

I hope this can help make your holiday table a little more fun and less stressful. You can make it as easy, or homemade as you would like! 

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Squash Crescent Rolls

INGREDIENTS

1 Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed

1 tsp Dried Tarragon 1 tsp Dried Thyme 1/2 tsp or Salt

1/8 tsp or Black Pepper

Oil (Olive Oil, Avocado, Saf{lower)

1/2 Onion, chopped

1/2 cup Pesto

1 can Crescent Rolls

1/2 cup Romano Cheese, shredded
 

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix butternut squash in a bowl with preferred oil, dried tarragon. dried thyme. and 1/8 tsp of pepper, and 1/2 tsp of salt. Place on a baking pan or roasting pan covered in parchment (less clean up!). Pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes till tender. Once done, cool for 10 minutes.

2. In a saute pan, heat on low-medium with oil. After a minute or so, put your chopped onions in with a couple pinches of salt. Cook and cover the onions until softened and a little brown...cararmelized. Set aside.

3. Open the crescent rolls can. Separate and lay out on a cutting board.

4. Now it's time to assemble each of the rolls by spreading pesto, then adding onions, and next butternut squash.

5. Fold the dough over each other covering most of the filling. Then top with cheese.

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes or unlil golden brown.

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Rosé Food Pairing for Fall

Where does Rosé fit in the holiday season?
We all know that rosé is perfect for a day by the pool, but it shouldn't be left till the warmer months return. Rosé has a place in the Fall and Winter months alongside the holidays. The 2023 Rosé we currently serve is a lovely, bright pink of Grenache. It has notes of dried strawberries, pineapple, white peach, lemon rind, rose, raspberries, and a slight minerality. It's too pretty not to invite to the parties! 

Rosé Pairing 
A few ideas for pairing Rosé are to use dried fruits, nuts, and herbs to welcome it to the table. Some suggestions would be: 

Pork Tenderloin with an Apricot Chutney or Sauce

Braised Duck with Herbaceous Wild Rice

Butternut Squash Chili with Cornbread

Thanksgiving Turkey & Chestnut Stuffing

Smoked Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seed Pesto & Tahini

Sourdough Stuffed Acorn Squash (see Recipe Below) 

Hopefully, this encourages some ideas for your holiday gatherings! Below is a recipe I came up with since Ethan and I grew acorn squash for the first time this year in our garden. As many of you know, we also make a lot of Cabernet Sourdough, so this would be delicious for stuffing. Cheers to you and yours this holiday season! 

Sourdough Stuffing in Acorn Squash Paired with 2023 Rosé

2 Acorn Squash, cut in half & seeds cleaned out

Olive oil

8 cups cubed stale Sourdough

1 cup rough chopped Pistachios

1 cup Dried Cherries

1 cup chopped Medium Onion

1 cup chopped Celery

2 tsp Dried Sage

2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/4 cup chopped Parsley

4 Eggs

1 1/2 cups warmed Vegetable Broth

3 tsp Salt

Pinch of Black Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Meanwhile, rub olive oil, salt, and black pepper on the acorn squash halves. Put the squash halves cut side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 35 minutes, or until soft.

2. Toast the pistachios in a small pan and toast for a few minutes taking care not to burn, by moving the pan frequently.

3. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions and celery until translucent.

4. Next add dried sage, thyme, and parsley with the onion and celery. Mix well and let cook for about 2 minutes.

5. Then pour the onion mixture over the bowl of sourdough. Add in the pistachios, and the dried cherries. Mix.

6. Add the eggs. Depending on the bread dryness and hardness, you can reduce or increase the eggs. 

7. Slowly add the vegetable broth to the sourdough-onion mixture. Add and mix gently until the stuffing holds together. Again, you can reduce or increase the broth depending on the bread. 

8. Put the mixture in the squash halves and place under the oven's broiler for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown.

9. Top with more chopped parsley or marigold petals to serve. Best enjoyed immediately.

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Notes:

• Add cooked pancetta cubes, or chopped bacon to the mixture.
• Sub onions for shallots or leeks.
• Use avocado oil, butter, or ghee in lieu of olive oil. Brown butter would be amazing!
• Try whatever bread you would like including gluten-free.
• Use chicken broth or whatever stock you have!
• Leftover stuffing? Turn into stuffing balls. Bake for 20 minutes until golden in color. 

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Cabernet Sauvignon: Quick Look

The Cabernet Sauvignon Grape
Cabernet Sauvignon is the king of grapes and one of the most recognized red wine grape varieties. California's Paso Robles Wine Country has Cabernet widely planted making up 39% of the region's vineyards. The grape initially attracted attention in its homeland, Bordeaux, for its ability to blend with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Today the grape produces some of the best wines in the world.

Cabernet Sauvignon is easy to age because it’s a full-bodied wine with medium-high tannins and acidity. To balance this, oak barrels are used during fermentation making the wine feel softer. Common tasting notes include black currant, green bell pepper, graphite, dark chocolate, and cedar. The oak barrels bring out flavors of vanilla and baking spices.

In the vineyard, it is important to harvest Cabernet Sauvignon at the right moment. Too early will make the wine have almost vegetable-inspired flavors. Too late of a harvest creates a jammy or stewed black currant mouthfeel. Young California Cabernets are fruit-forward while older, aged Cabernets have more tobacco notes. Cabs age very well at ten-plus years. It is a personal preference whether to age a Cabernet Sauvignon in your library or enjoy it now.

How to Serve Cabernet Sauvignon
It is important to serve Cabernet Sauvignon the right way to enjoy the full character of the varietal. Open the bottle one to three hours before pouring. Once the cork is removed, oxygen enters the bottle “opening it up” making the aromas and flavors more prominent. Another way to open up the wine and speed up the process is to use a decanter. This method is also useful for removing sediment from the wine.

Another important element to serving Cabernet is temperature. It is best to serve the wine at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Lastly, Cabernet shows best when served in a large glass. More air will come into contact with the wine and further develop the aromas and flavors in the glass.

Cabernet Sauvignon Food Pairing
Cabernet Sauvignon food pairing is best with red meat such as prime rib, filet mignon, or rack of lamb. Try the meats pan seared, or grilled. An alternative pairing would be fish. A pepper-crusted ahi tuna would pair beautifully with Cabernet. Another food pairing would be roasted mushrooms stuffed with a herbed asiago to accompany a Cabernet soiree. Cabernet is a wine that works best paired with food, but can be enjoyed solo with a quiet night featuring a cozy fire, a good book, and jazz in the background. Create your perfect pairing with our Cabernet Sauvignon.