RAVINOUS WINE CLUB ONE
HARVEST 2024
A prosperous and beautiful harvest greeting to all Ravinous One members,
Thanks to all who attended our glorious harvest party last weekend. It was one of those glorious sunny days we get in the Finger Lakes around the time of the Fall Equinox and we feel that good weather for the harvest party is a sign from mother nature that we will be given a good harvest season. We are lucky enough to have the ripening begin early this year, with warm spring weather and continued ripening with great weather during the summer with a relatively mild August. The temperatures were not too high like they are in poor California. We are sitting pretty here in the Finger Lakes with our abundance of water and our mild summer temperatures. We did get some bouts of raining weather this summer, but having sloped, well drained vineyard sites mitigates the effects of rain. We couldn’t ask for a better place to grow grapes!
The vineyard team is hard at work picking all they can while we enjoy perfect weather conditions. Don’t forget that we may call out to folks to help with the harvest if we see bad weather coming, and if you missed the grape picking at the harvest party, you would have another chance to do so.
In the cellar, it’s all hands on deck. Winemaker John Monnier has his team of strong men in the cellar working until wee hours of the morning as the fruit comes in all day long and the grapes are gently destemmed and pressed on the crush pad. We invite all Ravinous One members to take advantage of your benefit of a cellar tour for you and your friends and make arrangements to come in and see the action during this special time of year. Reservations can be made by contacting our club manager, Dan, at wineclub@ravineswine.com.
Lisa & Morten Hallgren
The Chef & the Winemaker
B e R a v i n o u s !
No wine before it's time...
by Morten Hallgren
It has taken us more than twenty years to get here, but we’re mostly able to offer you wines that have seen a bit of bottle age prior to their release. Clearly our Rose wine, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat based wines are released early, as they will not benefit from extended aging. However, we make every effort possible to offer our Riesling, Chardonnay, red wines and sparkling wines with one and sometimes two additional years of aging. There are several reasons for this choice:
1.Traditionally made cool climate wines, such as those we offer at Ravines will greatly reward extended cellaring.
2. We know that many of you are not always able to cellar our wines for an extended time.
3. It allows us to offer you a more interesting assortment of wines.
We have all had this experience: enjoying a bottle of wine in a restaurant knowing fully well that it was too young to drink and didn’t come close to delivering its full potential. Of course, not all wines have the potential to improve significantly with time. This has always been associated with the highly regarded cool climate regions of Northern Europe ( Burgundy, Bordeaux, Mosel, Champagne). In the US, this has not been as strongly marked as wine production is dominated by Mediterranean climate wine regions with less potential for improvement in the bottle.
Our 2020 Dry Riesling, Argetsinger vineyard is a great example of this potential. Almost from the beginning, we found that the Argetsinger Riesling needs an extra year compared to our other Rieslings to really open up. It’s a wine of rare concentration and balance, but it can take a while for all of the components to form a harmonious whole. Now, almost four years after harvest, you get the focused complex aromas to accompany the rich, concentrated texture.
HARVEST 2024 WINES
Dry Riesling, Argetsinger vineyard 2020
An exceptional vintage for a wine that has often been called the best Riesling in North America. This vineyard block, planted in the early eighties, sits high above Seneca lake on a steep and rocky hillside. This mature vineyard is in perfect balance producing small amounts of grapes with rare concentration and distinctive character.
Chardonnay 2021
Most of our Chardonnay is grown at the Limestone Springs vineyard in Geneva, situated on the band of limestone soil stretching all the way to Niagara Falls and further west. Ravines is one of the very few finger Lakes wineries to have significant vineyard plantings on this soil type. The result is an unmistakable minerality and intense citrus fruit character. Aged in French oak barrels and Austrian 20 hl casks.
Pinot Noir 2022
The 2022 vintage for Pinot noir was beautiful but painfully small with only about a third of the normal yield following two very cold days in February: a polar vortex. What our 2022 wines all have in common is a lovely textural richness and purity of fruit. This wine was given a full four weeks of skin contact to extract the beautiful elements this vintage had to offer.
Maximilien 2021
This is a style of Cabernet blend that has all but disappeared over the last 25 years. Rarely do you find a restrained, balanced blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with a fresh fruit profile as opposed to cooked or jammy fruit. Spicy and earthy notes add to the complexity to form a well rounded traditional wine. Barrel aged for 18 months.
Recipes and Pairings
by Chef Lisa
Roasted Pork Carnitas with Crisp Cabbage and Paprika Crema & Dry Riesling, Argetsinger Vineyard 2020
1 pork shoulder
1 T dried oregano
1 t ground cumin
4 cloves garlic
1 t chili powder
2 med yellow onions
1qt homemade chicken stock
1 C dry white wine
2 T canola oil or lard
2 limes
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground white pepper
1 package corn tortillas
½ c canola oil
Finding a local, ethical farmer who humanely raises pork is key. Not only will your food taste better, but you will be helping promote small producers who use sustainable practices, rather than large factory farms.
Dry the pork with some paper towel. Generously season with salt and pepper. Add oil or lard to very hot frying pan and brown the pork on all sides. Place in a large dutch oven and simmer on low for approx 3 hours, or until it flakes apart easily. Shred the meat, place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake on high for approx 20 minutes to crisp up the edges of the meat.
½ head fresh cabbage, sliced paper thin
1 c crema or sour cream (1 c sour cream mixed with ½ t salt, 1 clove crushed garlic, ½ t paprika)
Fry tortillas a few seconds on both sides in hot oil to soften. Dry on paper towel to remove excess grease. Cup the tortilla in your hand and fill with meat, cabbage and top with crema. Serve immediately.
Salted Rosemary Walnuts & Chardonnay 2021
This is a super-versatile recipe because it can be enjoyed on it's own or can be used in other recipes. The walnuts can be crushed and used to bread balls of chevre or chicken before it is cooled. They can be chopped and added to a salad, or sprinkled over a chicken or sauteed cauliflower dish - or mix it with butter to top off a baked sweet potato. The flavors go well with the round, buttery Chardonnay.
2 C raw walnut halves
3 T butter
2 t fresh rosemary
5 t salt
½ t freshly ground white pepper
Toss the nuts in the oil, when well-coated, toss in a mixture of the remaining ingredients. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for approx 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Mushroom Miso Bisque with Crispy Shallots & Pinot Noir 2022
2 lbs fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large yellow onion
6 T unsalted butter
3 c homemade chicken stock
½ c dry white wine
3 t fresh thyme leaves
1 t sweet paprika
4 T flour
1 c cream
¼ c sour cream
½ t lemon juice
1 scallion, minced
1T red miso
1 t worcestershire sauce
Melt butter over med-high heat, add mushrooms and sear on both sides. Turn down heat to med and add onion, sautee until tender, approx 5 mins. Raise heat to high and add stock, wine, herbs and seasoning then bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Take a ½ cup of the liquid out of the pot and mix it with the flour and miso then whisk it back into the pot. Stir gently while soup thickens for 10 mins. Lower temp then stir in cream. Serve into bowls and top with scallion and a small dollop of sour cream.
Wine and Laurel Braised Beef Pappardelle & Maximilien 2021
A rich and complex pasta sauce is achieved with varied ingredients. Adding pancetta adds complexity but can be omitted however, please give the anchovies a try. Although many people do not like anchovies, remember that you cannot taste the whole anchovy in this recipe, but only the punch of umami it lends to the sauce. Buy as high quality as you can find, packed in a glass jar in vertical filets, and you can use them to give a boost of umami to many a recipe.
2 pounds quality ground beef
1 C dry red wine
1 large onion, medium chop
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large cans (28oz) whole peeled tomatoes
10 imported bay leaves
1 stem fresh rosemary, leaves minced
1 lb good quality pasta noodles, preferably pappardelle kosher salt and ground white pepper
4 oz pancetta, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 anchovies, crushed into a paste
1 small can tomato paste
8 stems of fresh thyme, tied in 1 t good dried oregano
1-2 T heavy cream(optional) grated Italian parmesan
In a large pot, heated to med-high, cook pancetta for a few minutes until crisp. Add the anchovy, vegetables, and garlic. Saute until tender, approx 5 mins. Add the beef and season generously with s & p while breaking up the meat into small pieces with a flat wooden spatula. Saute until meat is just cooked then remove some of the fat (not all!) with a spoon. Add wine, tomatoes, and herbs then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for a few hrs.
I like to make it in the morning and then transfer to a crock pot so it cooks all day. When I return home from the winery in the evening, the house is filled with the most amazing aromas and my heart is filled with joy. Remove the sauce from the heat, adjust the seasoning with s & p to your taste, and remove the stems of herbs and the bay leaves before serving. I also like to add a little heavy cream to the sauce to soften the acidity of the tomatoes. All that is left to do is to boil the pasta according to directions and drain, ladle on the delicious sauce, sprinkle the parmesan and pour yourself a glass of delicious Maximilien.
