The Perfect Pairing for Halloween

Halloween is here and in a few days the streets will be filled with small, costumed children ringing doorbells and more or less unenthusiastically shouting "Trick or Treat!" in hopes of getting candy. If you don't have a small child to tow around, you can still celebrate the holiday. Because who doesn't love candy on a holiday mainly focused around candy?? 

All of us here at Torii Mor rounded up our favorite Halloween candies to see if we could find a wine to pair. Some were easier than others (and some might just be silly) but for a holiday dedicated to costumes and make-believe, what's a little silliness? Here is our all-for-fun, fun-for-all Halloween candy and wine pairing guide!

Mounds- it doesn't get much better than dark chocolate and coconut so this candy bar requires an equally decadent wine. Try a slightly sweet Tempranillo for mouth-coating decadence. 

Almond Joys- so maybe it can get better: milk chocolate, coconut, AND almonds. Revisit that Tempranillo for this one. One bottle is plenty to get you through a few candy bars...or if you're feeling a white wine, grab a Chardonnay for the best pairing. And while you're sipping that Chard, munch on a Butterfinger  too. 

M&Ms- I'll let you in on a little secret: these are Jacques's favorites. And while he doesn't normally pair them with wine, they'd go nicely with something like a malbec. Contrariwise, you could bake M&M's into brownies and pair with a deeper, full-bodied red. There's a reason brownies and Syrah go so well together. 

KitKats- Ah...who can't go for a KitKat occasionally? To pair, try an American sparkling wine or if you want, jump onto the new English sparkling wine trend. The bubbles will pair nicely with the wafer. If you're feeling really fancy, go for champagne. 

Reeses Cups- There are few things in the world that compare to the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. And to make that pairing even better? Have a few sips of our Syrah Port and it'll taste like the most delicious PB&J sandwich of your life. 

And of course, we had to include CandyCorn because is it truly Halloween without candy corn? Pair with a Viognier for a bright and sweet pairing. 

Let us know what pairings you've tried and Happy Halloween!! 

Cheers!

Alexis Truitt 

Marketing Assistant and Social Media

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The Ultimate Guide to Bottle Sizes

When was the last time you heard someone ask about Nebuchadnezzar in a tasting room? How about Jeroboam? Or Methuselah? Probably never, if you're like most other wine lovers who take home the normal 750ml bottles. But if you've ever wondered about the mysteries of large format bottles, then this is the post for you.

Before we get to the hard-to-say, harder-to-spell names of large formats, let's have a quick history lesson. Large format bottles came about in the mid-1700's. Cork was discovered to act as a sealant, allowing wine to age in the bottle and preventing wine from going bad. Shortly after, larger bottles came in vogue, due mostly to their impressive appearance, but also in part to the fact that they allowed the wine to last longer. Larger bottles could be aged for longer periods of time, and would develop more intricate flavor profiles, than if aged in a standard 750ml bottle.

With few exceptions, the names are all kings of ancient Israel. Maybe as an honor to these esteemed kings or maybe an indication of the value of the wine in a large format bottle, the names indicate the impressive volume each size holds. And there are some pretty interesting back stories too.

For instance, Methuselah lived for almost one thousand years and Nebuchadnezzar is the Babylonian king who possibly commissioned one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Pretty impressive. 

There are also smaller sized bottles, that are hardly ever used. One of particular interest is a 20 oz bottle, called the Winston Churchill. Apparently, that was the exact amount of champagne that Winston Churchill wanted each morning, and thus it was named after him. 

But because pictures are worth a thousand words (or 279 glasses in this case!) here's a handy infographic to give you all the details. 

Does anyone have a large format of Torii Mor? We'd love to know what you have and love! And if you need to add to your collection, check out our selection here! 

Cheers!

Alexis Truitt

Marketing Assistant and Social Media

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Fall Club Recipes 2015

Nothing fits the autumnal season better than a warm soup paired with a perfect wine. For our September club shipment, we featured a delicious recipe from club member Kevin Gehringer: Butternut Squash Soup. Kevin and his wife Susan throw impressive dinner parties, complete with multiple courses and plenty of wine pairings so we knew he'd have a good recipe for our club.

We tested the recipe and it's just as delicious as it sounds. There are plenty of things that scream fall in this season of pumpkin spice lattes and changing leaves, but we'll curl up inside with a glass of Pinot and this delicious soup any day of the season. 

Want to try the recipe for yourself? Let us know how much you love it!

Butternut Squash Soup

1              Medium/large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½ inch cubes

4              Medium/Large carrots cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2              Stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3              Cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

3              Small white potatoes, with skins, cleaned and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3              Large apple, peeled, cored, coarsely chopped (honey crisp, pink lady, or granny smith)

1/4 t        Ground cayenne pepper (add more or less to your taste)

1/2 t        Cinnamon

1/4 t        Turmeric

1/2 t        Fresh finely ground black pepper

1 t           Salt

2 T          Olive Oil, enough to just coat the bottom of the pan

Makes: 6-8 servings

Combine butternut squash, carrots, celery, and garlic in a bowl. Just before cooking, prepare the apple and add it to the bowl with the other vegetables. This prevents browning of the apple.

Put potatoes in a separate bowl with 2 cups of water, or enough water to cover the potatoes and prevent browning. The water will be added to the pot too.

Heat a 4-quart stock pot over medium/medium-high heat until hot, and then add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When ready, the oil should shimmer but not smoke. Add spices to the hot oil blooming the flavors for several seconds, until fragrant.

Add the chopped apple and all of the cut vegetables except the potato to the pot and stir to thoroughly mix and evenly distribute the oil and spices. Cook until some browning occurs, most of the moisture has evaporated, and a fond begins to develop on the bottom of the pan. Be careful not to burn it!

Add potatoes and their water to the pot, with additional water, if necessary, to just cover the vegetables. Bring back to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cover. Let cook until squash and carrots are soft, and potatoes are completely cooked, stirring occasionally to cook evenly.

When the vegetables are done, puree with a blender until smooth. Additional water may be needed to get the desired consistency or to help the pureeing process. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper. Be careful with the salt if you plan to use finishing salt when.

Serving suggestions:

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt in the center of soup, garnish with smoked salt, fresh ground black pepper, and chopped basil.

Did anyone try the second recipe in the club shipment, the harissa rubbed pork tenderloin? Let us know! 

Curious about our club? Want more delicious recipes? Click here to see our offerings. We have something for everybody! 

And wine club members! We would love to feature one of your recipes! If you have a recipe that you just love with one of our wines, send it here, and we might feature it in a future wine club shipment! 

Cheers!

Alexis Truitt

Marketing Assistant and Social Media

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Autumn in the Vineyard 2015

It's been a full and busy season of harvest this year! Jacques detailed the harvest in our last newsletter, and we decided to include it on the blog too, to keep you in the loop. If you missed the newsletter, sign up here by scrolling down to the bottom of the page! 

We had a hot summer with 28 days over 90F and a couple to 106F at the end of July. After this hot summer, September turned out to be cooler than expected and allowed us to let the fruit hang two to three weeks longer than we thought possible at the beginning of summer. This hang time allowed for great fruit flavor development while keeping the high sugar accumulation to a reasonable level.
Our 2015 harvest started with picking grapes from September 12 to September 29 for Pinot Noirs. Olson Estate Vineyard was harvested on September 27th with good yields, an average of 3 tons per acre, a total of almost 29 tons, including 2.8 tons Pinot Gris and 1.5 tons Chardonnay, all with great flavors.
Fermentation was speedy for the Pinot Noirs, a normal occurrence in warm vintages when the fruit comes in cool from the vineyard, but the air temperature inside the winery is on the warmer side. The resulting wines have good intensity and great finesse.
We still have Pinot Blanc, Viognier, and Riesling out in the field for the whites and the Syrah for the Port, all of which should be in before mid-October.
The vineyard yields were on the high side, with full and heavy clusters, two to three clusters per pound instead of the average of four to five per pound!  
Needless to say, the winery is full, and Jon and I are strategizing on how to make everything flow and fit in the winery. 
We have begun pressing this week, starting with the first Pinot Noir that came in. Now it is going to be the dance of the barrels since the dance of the grapes has almost ended.
Another vintage is in, and it is looking like a great one!
Cheers to 2015!

Jacques Tardy, Winemaker

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September Wine Club Events

September was another anticipated club shipment! Our wine club is where we really get to do what we love: share our wine with our special friends and family. And this fall's club shipment was no exception. 

This month's shipment featured two new 2013 single vineyards: La Colina Vineyard and La Cuillere, our Member's Reserve Blend. If you attended one of our club events in Woodinville or Dundee, you got a chance to taste through a three year vertical of both La Colina and La Cuillere, from 2007 to 2009 and enjoy an aroma sensory experience to calibrate your nose. 

And if you were in Dundee, we brought in Cream Northwest, a local ice cream truck to spoil you all! With special flavors like Earl Gray and Sweet Corn Caramel, the truck was a hit with our guests. A really delicious hit. 

If you couldn't make it to the event, don't worry, there will be another event in November for both Woodinville and Dundee. And if you're not a club member, sign up now! It's the best way to get  limited production wines and first access to new vintages before anyone else! Plus you could get free ice cream. 

Cheers! 

Alexis Truitt 

Marketing Assistant and Social Media

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