HOMEWINES & VINEYARDS2007-2008 Bouchaine Holiday Cornucopia Gift Box

2007-2008 Bouchaine Holiday Cornucopia Gift Box

Our Holiday Cornucopia is a trio of wines selected specifically with your holiday table in mind.  Each wine is unique, yet all three are delicious, interesting, and lovely – and created to be enjoyed with a variety of foods.  With the array of dishes served at holiday celebration or dinner, pairing the perfect wines might seem a challenge, but this trio covers it all.  All three will be stunning and delightful with succulent roast turkey or duck, while each one will pick up nuances of additional ingredients and dishes, from a creamy yet light butternut squash and ginger soup, to a Rosé-based cranberry sauce, to the ultimate roast turkey. (Recipes below. For the recipe in a printer-friendly Word document, please download file below.)

2007 Bouchaine Gewürztraminer, Anderson Valley
Bacchus Collection

This wine comes from an Anderson Valley vineyard renowned for this delightfully perfumed variety. It represents the dry, dinner style, with floral aromatics yet on the palate, it’s nowhere close to being sugary. Winemaker Michael Richmond says, “spicy alone has never resonated with me as adequate to describe this wine. I find much more, like floral, honeysuckle and plumeria.”  Enjoy this wine with traditional holiday fare like spiced ham or oven-roasted turkey. Think classic or exotic – Gewurz easily falls into place in either role.

2008 Bouchaine Rosé of Syrah, Rockin’ H Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
Bacchus Collection

The Syrah grapes that form the basis for this dry Rosé wine (also called a blush wine) come from the Sonoma Coast. We gently whole-cluster pressed the fruit (no crushing whatsoever), yielding a gorgeous crimson tint to this wine. This Rosé is all about grapefruit and strawberry flavors balanced with sprightly acidity. This wine would pair perfectly with your holiday feast no matter what the fare is – whether roasted turkey, smoked salmon or steamed crab.

2007 Bouchaine Mariafeld Pinot Noir
Bacchus Collection 

This wine comes from the Las Brisas Vineyard in Carneros. Of all our 2007 Pinots this one seems the most “fruit forward” and playful. Winemaker Michael  Richmond says, “I notice the wine transform in the glass showing an initial grapiness that is promptly bolstered by brown sugar overtones and classic pinot earthiness. Such mutability finds me delving deeper into the glass until I must pour a second. I’m looking forward to exploring the complexities of my holiday dinner against a background of this pretty Mariafeld Pinot Noir.”



Recipes for Bouchaine Holiday Cornucopia Trio

Butternut Squash Ginger Soup
(This soup took second place in NPR Weekend Edition's Ginger Recipe Contest in November 2009...congratulations to our Dee Ferris, who created the menu specifically with Bouchaine wines in mind!)

Soup
1 medium size butternut squash
2 cups of vegetable broth
2 tbsp finely minced ginger
½ tsp Chinese five-spice poweder
¾ cup Bouchaine Gewürztraminer
Salt and pepper to taste

Topping
½ cup crème fraiche
1 tsp orange oil (or 1 tbsp of fresh squeezed orange juice)

Zest
1 orange and 1 2-inch piece of ginger
Canola oil for frying

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut butternut squash in half length-wise and remove seeds.  Brush cut side with olive oil and roast on baking sheet for 20 minutes, cut side down.  Turn squash over, cut side up, and continue roasting another 25 minutes or until tender.  Remove meat of squash from skins.  Put in food processor with remaining soup ingredients.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into sauce pan and heat through until simmering.

While soup is simmering heat up canola oil, (enough to cover bottom of pan). Zest orange and peeled ginger in long continual strips (can be done with a zester, or with vegetable peeler and knife combination).  Pat dry the strips on paper towels. Toss strips in flour, just to cover and fry briefly in oil – approximately 30 seconds – until just starting to lightly brown. Drain on paper towel.

Mix crème fraiche and orange oil (or orange juice) together.

Serve soup in bowl with crème fraiche swizzled on top and garnished with a few strands of zest.  Enjoy with 2007 Bouchaine Gewürztraminer!



Bouchaine Rosé Cranberry Sauce
1 bag fresh cranberries
 ½ cup diced yellow onion
¼ cup diced shallots
½ cup pecans chopped
Zest of 1 orange
2 cups Bouchaine Rosé of Syrah
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 cup sugar
Salt & Pepper

Sautée onions and shallots until beginning to brown, approximately 4 minutes over medium heat in 3 tbls. olive oil. Add cranberries and cook until starting to soften and split about 5 minutes. Add Bouchaine Rosé and zest, cloves, sugar, and Chinese five- spice. Salt & pepper to taste. Reduce down until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat.  Mix in nuts. Serve with turkey and Bouchaine Rosé.



Porcini Butter Rub (recommended to be used with your favorite roasted turkey recipe)
1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
½ cup butter (1 stick)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mince porcini mushrooms in food processor until reduced to a powder. Mix with softened butter and salt and pepper to taste. Salt and pepper turkey and rub on top. Roast turkey as instructions indicate. Melt remaining butter and baste turkey periodically with pan drippings. Enjoy this with  Bouchaine Mariafeld Pinot Noir.

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