More Kudos for Our Wine: Plumpjack Tasting Review in Tahoe Weekly Newspaper

We know how good our Grenache Blanc is, and the fact that it is sold-out just verifies that. But those restaurants who had enough foresight to stock up on it are happy, and they continue to pair it with wonderful foods.

The Tahoe Weekly newspaper, which circulates in that resort region as well as Reno, recently noted our Grenache Blanc paired with the chef’s special, a Seared New Zealand Queen Snapper with Santa Barbara mussels, Berkshire pork belly, horseradish crème fraiche and herb gelee. This recipe was created by Ben “Wyatt” Dufresne, Executive Chef at PlumpJack Cafe at Squaw Valley. Wines Adventures column writer Barbara Keck called it "my favorite Grenache Blanc."

To see the full article, click here



JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST! Just fill out the form on our website by clicking here.

Skinner Wines at The Kitchen Restaurant, Sacramento, on the March 2011 Menu

Those fortunate enough to snare a reservation for the fantastic Kitchen Restaurant in Sacramento had an even better reason to dine there in March... the 2009 Skinner Grenache Blanc was a selected wine to pair with the Chef Noah Zonca's salad creation.

Noted Chief Wine Steward Doug Nitchman, "I do a tasting every week, and when winemaker Chris brought in the wine, I fell in love with it. When that happens, I always hope that the chef will develop a recipe that will pair ... but as in every good restaurant, the food leads. So when I heard about the salad with artichoke and wine, I thought: "Yes! Perfect for the Skinner Grenache Blanc."

"It seems I discovered this wine at about the same time everyone else did, and now it's sold out. So we feel lucky to have it," Doug said. He poured the wine and talked about it with the diners. (see right)

The multi-course dinner is a true performance, with all dishes prepared and assembled in the spotless open-kitchen format of this 55-seat restaurant. The salad dish on the menu was listed thus: A Warm Salad of Sanger lamb Sausage, Good Egg, Artichoke, Blood Orange, Frisee, and Brioche.

This creation was not as simple as it sounds. The lamb sausage is housemade at The Kitchen from lamb that is grown free range; The Kitchen has the opportunity to obtain 4 orders from the grower each year. The sausage contains spices of parsley, fennel, salt, pepper and others, and some port wine. The "good egg" element of the dish is an organic egg yolk that is quickly put into a tempura batter and fried. The artichoke is from an organic farmer in Moss Beach, and it is rolled in polenta before it is crisped. The blood orange juice is reduced to a concentrate, and becomes a decorative strip at the sides of the plate. Lastly, the salad's top is accented with decorative tendrils from English pea shoots sourced from an organic grower. A team of kitchen staff works to assemble each dish, in front of enthralled diners (see left).

Tasting notes on the menu say about the 2009 Skinner Grenache Blanc, Stoney Creek Vineyard, Fair Play, and its paired salad: "We've picked a unique and memorable wine for your second course pairing this month. Since the (salad) dish has rich, bright, and crisp elements, we feel this wine has just the right versatility, body and character to make for a great pairing."

Each month The Kitchen prepares one set menu with a suggested wine pairing flight. Skinner felt honored to be selected for this terrific March food-wine pairing! We peeked in The Kitchen's wine cooler, and were delighted to see that Skinner wines are in fine company with other great wines.

The Kitchen Restaurant is located at 2225 Hurley Way in Sacramento, CA. For more information, take a look at www.thekitchenrestaurant.com which has a video of the dining experience. Warning: reservations fill up a few weeks in advance! It is worth the wait!


JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST! Just fill out the form on our website by clicking here. We have a new format that gives you some insights on the exciting wine experience we are building at Skinner Vineyards; don't miss an issue!

In the News: Skinner Vineyards featured in Sacramento Bee

A feature article in the Sacramento Bee on February 16 captured the passion with which we view the Skinner Vineyards and Winery mission to make great wines.  You can see the article by clicking here. The lead paragraph is “A recently released Grenache from the high- altitude vineyards of Fair Play might just be the finest regional wine that I've ever tasted.” 

There is a lot about our Grenache in our forthcoming newsletter, and that’s intentional.  “Our Grenache stands on its own as a Grenache, which is one of the wines grown in the 1860’s by James Skinner,” noted Mike Skinner recently. “I think it is great in its own right…a great grape, a great wine.”  Grenache is also our winemaker's favorite Rhone grape to work with and it shows.  Chris Pittenger draws from his experience at Biale, Torbreck, Williams-Selyem, and Marcassin when crafting wines from this delicate and delicious varietal.

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER MAILING LIST!  Just fill out the form on our website by clicking here. We have a new format that gives you some insights on the exciting wine experience we are building at Skinner Vineyards; don't miss an issue!

Roy Tuscany, Winner of Skinner Wines at Auction, Thrilled with his Score!

Roy Tuscany is Executive Director of the High Fives Foundation, a Tahoe-based non-profit organization dedicated to raising money and awareness for athletes who have suffered a life-altering injury while pursuing their dream in the winter action sports community.   Roy bid on a "lot" of Skinner Vineyards wines that were donated for the Wines for Wheels charity event held in mid-September at Plumpjack's in Squaw Valley.

"I purchased the lot of Skinner Wines as a community service gesture, but I am thrilled with them.  The Red Wine had an aroma that made me anxious to try the wine and see if it would deliver, and it was just terrific on the palate. I served 3 of bottles at recent dinner party and I was the hit of the party because of the wine," said Roy. 

Another fan!

We love our fellow bloggers!

Stacy De Fino of WinoBee is "looking forward to tasting the wines as they come to life,"  she told her followers on November 4.   You can see her blogpost here:  http://winobee.blogspot.com/2010/11/buzz-skinner-vineyards-announces-estate.html  but we are so pleased that she likes what is going on that we are reprinting it here for you below. 

Thanks Stacy!