Food & Wine Pairing: Featuring Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon

Once again, Handwritten Wines, a boutique winery in Yountville, features the remarkable synergy of its delicious handcrafted wines with professionally paired foods recipes. By applying his extensive experience, knowledge, and attention to detail, Handwritten Resident Chef MikeC continues his quest to create the perfect wine and food pairings that emphasize the flavor and textures of both.

Handwritten Wines now features a unique wine offering consisting of a vertical, consecutive-year vintage presentation of their 2016, 2017, and 2018 Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon. Customers will enjoy the subtleties of flavor created by each year’s growing conditions while enjoying a specially designed food pairing designed specifically for these wines.

Crafting the Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon

Grapes for the Handwritten Carneros Cabernet Sauvignons were sourced from the highly acclaimed Truchard Vineyards in southern Napa Valley in typically cooler conditions than other Napa Valley growing areas.

Although very few Cabernet Sauvignon wines originate in the Carneros AVA because of its cooler climate, the selected vineyard is in a section of this appellation that receives sufficient warmth and sunlight to support normal development. While the Carneros AVA is famous for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir production, Handwritten winemaker Rob Lloyd’s Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon is unique in its delicacy and elegance.

According to Handwritten Wine Ambassador Ezekial Hampton, “One can expect a more refreshing mouthfeel with lighter tannins often with herbal, floral, and tea spice notes interwoven with brighter red fruit.”

Creating an Ideal Food Pairing

After Rob Lloyd, creator of award-winning handcrafted wines, had applied his expertise in producing these unique, outstanding vintages of Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon, Handwritten’s Chef MikeC began the search for a complementary food pairing to complement the uniqueness of these wines. The art and science of inventing the perfect complement require an in-depth understanding of how to balance of flavor, texture, and acidity of both the food and wine. Neither should overwhelm the other, so Chef MikeC’s challenge was to create a pairing that complements the elegant characteristics of this Carneros-sourced Cab.

The result:

CARNEROS CABERNET RECIPE PAIRING:

Prosciutto, Arugula, Provolone, & Fig Pizzette

Serves 6-8

Equipment

-pizza stone(s) -large mixing bowl                  -pizza peel(s)

-box grater                  -wood spatula/spoon -cooling rack

-pizza cutter                -rolling pin

For the Dough

2 cups All-purpose Flour (plus a little extra for dusting)

2 ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast

¾ cup              Water, 100-115°

1 ¼ tsp Salt

2-3 tbsp          Olive Oil

1 tbsp              Sugar or Honey

¼ cup               Semolina Flour

1. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water. Mix the sugar/honey, salt, and oil. Place in the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until a rough dough forms. Remove to the work surface and knead for 3-6 minutes until smoothed and elastic. Place into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise to almost twice the size (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). Punch down the dough before rolling and divide it into two equal portions
2. Place onto a well-dusted work surface and roll each dough into a thin circle. Transfer to a pizza peel(s) heavily dusted with semolina flour.

 

For the Toppings and Baking

¼-1/3 cup        Olive Oil

6-8 slices         Prosciutto

2-3 cups          Arugula

2-3 cups          Shredded Provolone

6-8 medium    Figs, topped and quartered

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven with a pizza stone(s) to 500-550˚.
2. Drizzle some of the oil over the top of the crusts. Place on the prosciutto slices, arugula, and provolone. Distribute the figs pieces evenly over the top and season with salt & pepper. Place onto the pizza stone(s) and bake for about 8-10 minutes (rotating once) until nice, crispy, and golden brown.
3. Remove from the oven, place onto a cooling rack for a couple of minutes, slice, and serve.

Purchasing Your Handwritten Wines

You can purchase the beautiful vertical selection of Handwritten’s 2016, 2017, and 2018 Carneros Cabernet Sauvignon group for a discounted $288 (retail price: $320) by visiting the Online Wine Shop or in-person at our boutique winery or Yountville Tasting Room at 6494 Washington Street in Yountville.

If you have questions regarding Handwritten’s handcrafted wine options, Member Circle, or to schedule a wine tasting, you may complete the simple Contact Us Information Form or phone (707)-944-8524.