Labor Day dawned cloudy and misting rain. I decided on the spot to scrap going in to the restaurant in favor of spending the day at home, even though I would pay for it dearly later in the week. As the morning wore on, the weather got a little better and Ann and I started thinking about whether we wanted to stay around the house or get out for a while. We decided to make our first trip to Delaplane Cellars in a good while.
The last time we were there was two and a half years ago, just after the winery opened. Things have really changed in the past couple of years and for the better. The then spartan tasting room has really come to life and the wines are better now than ever. The open floor plan tasting room with views giving on to the south is a great space, if a touch loud from all the hard surfaces. The craftmanship is impeccable and the woodworker in me just loves the oak floors and the very impressive black walnut counter and entry doors.
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| 2009 Mélange Rouge, Most Delicious |
We started with a tasting of Viognier, Chardonnay, the Mélange Rouge red blend, the Cinq red blend, and a late harvest Petit Manseng. The Viognier, Mélange Rouge, and the Petit Manseng were all very credible. The Chardonnay outshone all of the other wines. It was crisp and delicious, probably my favorite Chardonnay from Virginia in 2011. The Petit Manseng, while extremely tasty, sure could use another five years in bottle. Right now the acid and the fruit are a bit akimbo, but the potential is there for this to become a stellar wine with some age. The Cinq struck us both as odd. It started sweet and finished a bit flabby and to my palate, had an odd flavor of Concord grapes. I'm just going to call it overripe. Four out of five is not bad and I've got to commend Jim Dolphin on coming a long way in a very short time.
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| Looking South from Tasting Room |
Just as I was going to shoot the gorgeous tasting room, my camera battery died. That seems to be a common refrain lately. Maybe it's a bad battery; it shouldn't be doing this. Anyway, Ann got a shot on her camera looking south out of the tasting room across the vines. Better pictures next time we visit.
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| Another Stellar Ann Loaf! |
I can't say that our dinner was particularly all that nutritious, but by God, it was delicious! Ann started a batch of bread yesterday and baked it last night, all the while begging me to make gnocchi. Her bread is really, really good and yes, that crust is as good as it looks.
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| This Oil from Crete is Fantastic! |
We ate the bread as an appetizer while I was making the gnocchi. As soon as I tasted the olive oil that Ann put out, I knew it was different than the usual Sicilian oil that we keep on hand. It was the bottle of oil from Crete that Dimitri gave us last time he was out. It is super oil. Love it!
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| Gnocchi: Boiled Potatoes and Flour |
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| Gnocchi: Just Enough Flour to Make a Ball |
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| Gnocchi: Shaping the Dumplings |
You see the various stages in making gnocchi above. The trick is a very gentle hand with the flour and never, absolutely never, any eggs. I put minced fresh sage in these gnocchi which are so tender that they won't hold fork impressions, so I don't bother. These tiny pillows of awesomeness are the best 'tater tots you will ever taste. They are browned in butter with slivered garlic and chiffonade of sage.
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| Gnocchi Nirvana! |
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