Category: Food

This California region’s wines deserve a closer look

When one thinks of American wines, what first come to mind are the Napa and Sonoma valleys. While they produce exceptional wines, consideration should also be given to the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Proclaimed as its own American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1991, this is an area of east-facing terraces of the Santa Lucia Mountain range, to the south of the breezy Monterey Bay. An area approximately 18 miles long and 1 to 2 miles wide, the 22,000 acres of the AVA are planted in 6,400 acres to primarily pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, the balance of the AVA being an unplantable mountainside.

Cloudy mornings, midday sunshine with strong winds, and evening fog create a cool climate, allowing for a long growing season, resulting in gentle ripening that ensures intense flavors with balanced acidity in the grapes.

What better place to sample some of the best chardonnays and pinot noirs than to check out Morgan Winery’s production of Santa Lucia Highlands wines? While I hardly need an excuse to enjoy two of my favorite varietals, the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlet’s current sale of 15 percent off 12 or more bottles of chardonnay and pinot noir (running through Oct. 31) is certainly an incentive to seriously look them over.

Dan Morgan Lee came from a small town in California’s Central Valley. He had prepared initially for the study of veterinary medicine at the University of California, Davis, but while at college he discovered enology (the study of wines) and enrolled in the graduate program. Upon graduation in 1978 he became a winemaker at Jekel Winery in Monterey County. In 1982 Dan and his wife, Donna, opened the doors of Morgan Winery. Initially producing wines from purchased grapes, in 1996 Dan and Donna realized their dream by purchasing their own vineyard, named the “Double L” for their Double Luck twin daughters. Today Morgan Winery is known to produce consistent award-winning wines.

Our first wine, the 2019 Morgan Metallico Un-oaked Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay (originally priced at $18.99, reduced to $16.99), is light and bright and a great way to start this great trilogy of finely crafted wines. This is chardonnay in its purest form, unadorned by oak. The grapes are primarily sourced from Morgan’s “Double L” and mixed with grapes from three other vineyards. The grapes are cold tank fermented and not allowed to go through a secondary malolactic fermentation, thus keeping the bright crispness of pineapple and vanilla to the nose, with pear and some mild lemon citric flavors, producing a long finish to the tongue. This bright acidity is perfect for pairing with shellfish and light fare.

Our second wine, the 2018 Morgan Highland Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay (originally priced at $23.99, reduced to $20.99) focuses on classic crème brûlée, walnuts and butterscotch. The grapes for this cuvée come from the Double L vineyard and two of its neighbors. After pressing, the grapes were barrel fermented in 26 percent new French oak, with partial malolactic fermentation imparting a wonderful creamy richness, with a slight acidity to the tongue. To the nose the wine has slight citric notes, countered by caramel. The creaminess to the tongue is enhanced by apple and pear. This is a wine that is perfectly matched to cream-sauced pasta or pork.

Our third wine, the 2018 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir (originally priced at $31.99, reduced to $27.99), portrays the finesse of a great pinot noir with its aromas of blackberries and herbs. The grapes for this wine come from the original pinot plantings of the “Double L” estate, joined by grapes of neighboring vineyards. To the tongue the red and black berry fruit is complemented by dark plum and a bit of leather from the nine-month aging in toasted French oak barrels, of which 35 percent are new. This is a wine that can span a pairing of grilled chicken or salmon to beef or lamb.

These wines are inventoried throughout the state stores, waiting to be appreciated.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The first time I made my new commute, I used a GPS app to get to work and spent my time worrying about whether I was driving fast enough but not too fast and whether the guy in the truck with all the bumper stickers actually hunts that much big game or this is all some sort of elaborate role-playing for him.

The second time I drove there, I vaguely remembered that I needed to take Exit 9 off the highway. As I drove past Exit 10, I made a mental note to keep my eye out for signs for the next exit.

Somehow, I found myself at Exit 8.

That’s odd, I thought, I must have really lost myself in singing along to that Lionel Richie cover. I couldn’t be very far from where I wanted to get off the highway, so I decided to take the exit, then circle back if I needed to.

But it turned out to be the exit I actually wanted. Weird though, how I missed Exit 9. I decided to look for it on my way home that night.

I missed it again. This time I blamed Whitesnake and visions of Tawny Kitaen dancing on the hood of a Jaguar.

I didn’t see Exit 9 the next day. This time, I blamed the podcast I was listening to. Not to go into too many details, but it turns out that pigeons are fascinating.

As one week turned into the next, though, even I couldn’t be absent-minded enough to forget about Exit 9 every single time.

It turns out, there is no Exit 9, southbound or northbound. Just a suspiciously uninteresting stretch of highway. I wondered if this was one of those no-13th-floor-in-a-hotel things, but I had vague memories of other Exit 9s on other highways so that probably wasn’t it.

I started to research the missing exit, but I stopped short when I realized that any answer I found would be a dry, profoundly boring, bureaucratic answer that would strip away another layer of my rapidly diminishing sense of childlike joy and wonder. It would have something to do with zoning, or population density, or a ballot referendum or something.

In other words, exactly the sort of cover story the government would cook up to cover the secret entrance to a covert military base, or an academy for mutants, or the entrance to an underground facility where they train sexy kung fu accountants or something. In other words, something I’m probably better off not knowing about.

But, you might ask, would the government actually be dumb enough to go to all that work and still mess up on the exit’s numbering?

Have you met our government?

It’s enough to make a vigilant citizen need a cocktail.

The Secret Exit

This is a riff on a classic drink called a Missing Link. It’s extremely simple, but also suspiciously difficult to remember the details of.

What was I supposed to pick up at the liquor store?, you might ask yourself. I really like that new drink and I’ve used up all the … all the … you know, the stuff that’s like triple sec, but not triple sec?

Almost like an agent in a black suit had hypnotized you, or something.

Ingredients

2 ounces really good rum – the best you’ve got

¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

¾ ounce orange curaçao

5 drops rose water

Wet a martini glass and put it upside-down in the freezer to frost.

Add all ingredients, with ice, to a shaker. Shake, until unbearably cold.

Strain into your frosted glass.

This is one of those drinks that is at its best when you start with it blisteringly cold. At the first sip, it might seem the slightest bit too acidic. You might wonder if you should have added some simple syrup or something to mellow it out. Subsequent sips will taste more and more well-rounded, though, as it warms up and the rose esters start to hit your palate. You will make a mental note to make this drink more often.

Let’s see if you can remember to.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.