All of us at the Brasas Food and Wine Society are very excited to see the Fed Ex truck arrive and take away our first shipments of our 100% grass-fed wagyu beef raised on the ranch. The first 131 customers will be receiving their shipments in the next few days.
It’s a bit strange to celebrate a harvest partially because you made it to the end without a natural disaster. Following a challenging 2017, the 2018 vintage has given us much to be thankful. Besides an excellent long growing season and moderate temperatures, 2018 has been the season of slow development — dare I say, a return to a normal pace. Harvest began exactly 8 days later than last year. Beginning with lower elevation whites, parcels came in with a predictable order and cadence.
Palmaz Vineyards is a family-owned Napa Valley winery that is entirely encompassed inside Mount George. Unique to Palmaz is its own propriety ML software developed by Christian Palmaz, CEO. FILCS (pronounced “Felix”), stands for Fermentation Intelligence Logic Control System. It gives insight on fermentation by measuring variables in the process, then adjusts the temperature and rate of fermentation as needed. Another system, VIGOR, or Vineyard Infrared Growth Optical Recognition, monitors the health of the vineyard and adjusts irrigation accordingly throughout the growing season.
Fall is almost upon us and harvest just around the corner. But before I dive head deep into the season, I am compelled to reflect on this summer. Last moth I had the good fortune of accompanying a small group of Brasas wine club members on a Mediterranean cruise. I never expected the trip to be so memorable, joyful and of course delicious. We were a group of 36 who became the envy of the cruise ship. Known on the board as those “winery kids” we proceeded to stage a gourmand’s mutiny. Each each port more inspiring than the next, and dinner more festive than the one before. Over the course of 16 days the group bonded together. Between decadent afternoons over pasta in Venice, Limoncello in Amalfi, and bottomless bowls of bouillabaisse by the French seaside we laughed and inspired each other.
The primary goal of the trip was to learn about the wines of the regions. We sipped our way across the coastline of Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia, and Slovenia. We began on the hallowed ground of Bandol sipping ethereal Rosés. Then we immersed ourselves into depths of Primitivo, and the Roman history of Italian coastal wines. Finally, we celebrated our good fortune with the Slovenia’s latest unfiltered sparkling wine that literally explodes!
Discussions of alcohol levels in wine are analogous to the third rail of train tracks: Often dangerous to even approach, and it should only be done with extreme caution. This is because everyone, it seems, has an opinion about what constitutes an “appropriate” amount of alcohol. It makes sense: The abv in a bottle has a huge impact on the balance of the wine, the flavor profile, the texture, the ways in which it interacts with food, and more. Strong opinions, on either side of the proverbial aisle, are justified, and I find plenty of merit in both.
But as with all deeply held convictions, it’s far too easy for logical argument to devolve into orthodoxy, when the reality is that there are plenty of great wines that don’t have all that much alcohol (the Kutch Bohan Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016, for example, clocks in at 11.3% abv, and it’s magnificent, with copious red fruit, Indian spice, and roses leaving a lasting impression long after the wine has been finished) and just as many that have higher levels (the Faust Limited Release “Graffiti Edition” Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, which comes in magnum and boasts 14.9% alcohol, is balanced and assertive all at once, with chocolate, cedar, blueberry cobbler, cassis, and cigar tobacco). They are verydifferent wines, but I find a ton of pleasure in both.
American Chardonnay has gotten a bad rap—not without cause, in many cases. For a decade or more, beginning in the 1990s, it was impossible for them to be buttery enough, creamy enough or ripe enough. Sugar levels were staggering almost across the board. Returning from a trip to Germany in 1998, I was startled to find that many domestic Chardonnays were sweeter than the Rieslings I had been drinking in the Mosel and Rhine.
In this episode we met with Christian Palmaz, CEO of Palmaz Vineyards and President and CEO of Vactronix Scientific, a material science company based in Silicon Valley. Palmaz Vineyards has been able to pull together wine and data together to not make better wine but how can big data make the process less prone to error, more sustainable to quality and to allow the wine makers to focus on what is most important, making the best wine possible… to enhance the human element which makes wine beautiful, multi-dimensional, and complex. All the things we have a hard time putting numbers to
In the wine industry, there are many creative people, true artist but as Christian stated, “you can spend your whole life studying art but that does not mean you are going to be a great artist”. Christian now feels like he plays a supporting role to those that have the artistic direction even though he has a computer science background. His father started this innovative spirit and the process of using innovation to problem solve. Christian said it best when talking about his role in wine and data analytics, guys like him “don’t wield the paint brush, we make the paint”… and what great paint it is.
What better way to pair Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon than with four of our delectable cheese filled bites.
SMOKED DUCK AND FIG ROULADE
This is a great base cream to top with any seasonal fresh fruit. In the summer, vanilla- scented strawberries are a favorite, and in the fall we will switch to candied citrus rounds. The cream lasts up to 4 days in the fridge and is perfect for a sweet treat when friends unexpectedly drop by.
Many friends in both Napa and Genesee Valley have been asking what are the Palmazes going to do with all those fancy Wagyu cows on their ranch in Plumas County? At last I can share with you all what we’ve been cooking up, literally…
This last year I have learned more about ranching in the High Sierras than I ever thought possible. Thanks to Michele and the whole team at GVR, we have developed an animal welfare program that is producing incredibly luxurious Wagyu Beef in the most humane and environmentally responsible manner. Additionally, I learned how to butcher a whole animal from Plumas County legend Denny Wright and Wesley Neer. And finally, I honed my culinary skills on the task of how to prepare every cut of beef on an animal.
