In anticipation of our Brasas At The Table “Special Night In” event this weekend, Florencia and Jessica Palmaz cooked three different steaks using three different methods — all with the MEATER thermometer — so we could give you the rundown on the best way to cook your GVR Wagyu. As a result, everyone ate pretty well this week!
Palmaz Vineyards, one of the most premiere vineyards in Napa Valley joins together with Genesee Valley Ranch to offer a taste of their exquisite wines and wagyu beef. Sharing a passion for gathering around the table, Brasas At the Table is dedicated to offering exceptional wine and ingredients made to the highest quality, produced with sustainable and conscientious methods.
Vineyard History
This week on The Wine Stream, we are joined by MEATER inventor and co-founder Joseph Cruz to discuss how the MEATER Plus thermometer has become our new favorite cooking tool! We’re also announcing our first Brasas at YOUR Table event of 2021 – Valentine’s night IN featuring the 2017 Palmaz Cabernet and all the tools for the perfectly cooked Genesee Valley Ranch wagyu steak thanks to the new tech behind the MEATER thermometer! Tune in for a lively discussion on all things wine, food, and technology!
Riesling was officially first planted in California in the town of St. Helena in 1861. Back then, it was known as “Johannisberg Riesling,” a reference to Schloss Johannisberg –– one of the oldest Riesling producers in Germany. In the 1960s, Riesling was one of California’s most popular grape varietals but was pushed out by Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from the ’70s onward. Today, Riesling is mostly grown in California’s cooler regions, especially in the Anderson Valley, Santa Barbara, Monterey and higher elevation vineyards in Sonoma and Napa Valley.
There, in 1881, young Henry Hagen arrived and founded Cedar Knoll Winery at the foot of Mount George, where the Palmaz Vineyards and family reside today. Hagen would become one of the true pioneers of the Napa Valley. His noteworthy wines were featured at the San Francisco Opera House, and Hagen even won a silver medal for his brandy at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. In 1895, Hagen died, leaving behind 450 acres of vineyards. While Cedar Knoll is lauded for its wines and spirits, Hagen’s descendants didn’t share his passion. With the arrival of Prohibition in 1919, the property’s winemaking endeavors were abandoned until Dr. Julio Palmaz (co-inventor of the balloon-expandable stent) and his family purchased the property in the late 1990s and set about restoring its former glory.
Excerpted: Tina Mitchell was a third-year biology student who was on the pre-med track when she took an elective called Introduction to Enology. “Needless to say, I changed my major, and I haven’t looked back,” Mitchell says. Mitchell remains inspired by the integration of the many things that go into making a fine bottle of wine, and she uses both her scientific knowledge and creativity to engage in innovative winemaking at Palmaz Vineyards in Napa Valley. She particularly recommends her 2016 Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon ($165). “I shared it with my family at a wedding, and my family consists of both casual wine drinkers and experienced professionals,” she says. “It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.”
There’s no denying that COVID-19 has changed the way we socialize and the way we purchase and consume the products in our lives—and the world of drinks has been significantly transformed in the past year. While we look forward to the days when we’re spending more time back at our favorite wine bar and less time imbibing over a Zoom happy hour, this era of staying home has sparked beverage trends that are only going to grow in 2021. Here’s what we’ll be drinking in the coming year.
Wine Meets Tech
A sweet potato casserole has its place in the pantheon of holiday feasts, but we think this recipe for Sweet Potato Pavé is a luxurious take on the old standard—and what is the end of the year if not a perfect time to usher in the new? It pairs wonderfully with tender, lean venison and its thin layers melt in the mouth. No marshmallows needed here!
Palmaz Vineyards has one of the most unique wineries in the world. The Cave is built into Mount George in Napa Valley, and its operations run through a warren of tunnels and domes across 18 stories. Its winemakers eschew mechanical pumps and instead harness the power of gravity to produce the wine underground. While Palmaz Vineyards is renowned for its red wines, including powerful Cabernet Sauvignons, its Chardonnay is not to be missed. The 2017 Amalia Chardonnay aged in 75% new French oak and is 100% barrel fermented. The wine is named for co-founder Amalia Palmaz, who asked her husband, Dr. Julio Palmaz, to add a white wine to the winery’s offerings.
This week on The Wine Stream, grab a hard hat because we are building the world’s largest, tallest, and most advanced underground gravity-flow winery. Special guests, Dr. Julio Palmaz, Project Lead Glen Ragsdale, and Lead Geotechnical Engineer Graham Wozencroft will take us through the amazing process of conceptualizing and ultimately building what many believed was impossible. Such a special episode deserves a very special wine. The 2004 vintage was the first made start to finish at the winery and after 16 perfectly aged years is tasting beautifully. We’ll be breaking into the Wine Library to taste the 2004 live and sharing an extremely limited amount of bottles exclusively for our Wine Stream viewers. So grab a glass and join us as we explore the building of a world underground.
Biscotti is a yummy and versatile cookie: deliciously dip-able in coffee or tea for a cozy afternoon or savoured with a glass of our Gaston Cabernet Sauvignon—if you have this limited release, show-stealing wine in your cellar. If not, this twice-baked cookie is perfect to taste with our Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon.
A note from Florencia Palmaz:
Biscotti are easy to make and extremely forgiving — perfect for my personality, as I do not have the calm, precise temperament for pastries. Thankfully, sloppy dough rolls actually make better biscotti. If you roll the dough too tightly when forming the loaf, the biscotti becomes hard. Allow the loaf to be deformed and oddly shaped. Once you cut the slices, they’ll look uniform and have an airier, crispy bite.
