2003 Rancho Zabaco Monte Rosso Vineyard

[Drew]

Sonoma Valley.
Snagged a case for under $18 per and what a wonderful wine. The wine displays richness and intensity of flavour while maintaining elegance. Not a bold in your face Zin that "rocks your world" but a Stevie Nicks type floating across the stage with lace and ruffles yet delivering the intensity that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Beautiful pure fruit, fresh raspberry, raspberry liquor, red berry compote, pepper and hints of vanilla at the finish. Made for a wonderful evening with a good friend visiting and served with baby back ribs, the best BBQ beans you'll ever have,(recipe follows) and a sweet onion corn bake.
14.2% Alc/vol.

Bourbon BBQ Baked Beans

Yield. About 1 quart, about 8 servings of 1/2 cup each
Preparation time. 20 minutes
Cooking time. 45 minutes or more
Ingredients
6 strips of thick cut bacon
2 medium or 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
Pickled jalapeno, more or less to your
taste, coarsely chopped (I use 2 tbls)
1 can (15 ounces) red kidney beans, drained
and rinsed with cold water
1 can (15 ounces) white kidney beans,
drained and rinsed with cold water
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and
rinsed with cold water
1 can (16 ounces) Bush's Original Baked Beans
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup Kansas City style BBQ sauce
4 tablespoons molasses, any grade
1/4 cup Kentucky Bourbon or Tennessee whiskey
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf (try not to leave this out)

Do this

1) Assemble all your ingredients and measure them.
2) Make sure you are using a 2 quart or larger pot or Dutch oven. Cook the bacon over a medium heat. When it begins to brown, flip it, brown the other side, but remove it before it renders all its fat and gets hard. We want bacon that we can cut, not crumble.
3) Add the onions and peppers and cook them until they wilt.
4) Pour off the bacon fat leaving behind about 2 tablespoons and most of the brown bits dissolved in the fat.
5) Add everything else. There are two good ways to cook these beans:

In your oven. Put the pot in your oven uncovered for 2 hours at 250F. Stir every 30 minutes to make sure they don't burn. (This is my favorite way in a ceramic pot).

On the stovetop. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and then turn it back to simmer for 30 minutes without a lid. Stir and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon every 10 minutes to prevent burning and sticking. Try to keep the bay leaf submerged.

5) Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust the flavors as you see fit. If you like it spicier, add hot sauce or more Jalapenos. Add more molasses if you like it sweeter or salt if you think it needs it. Cook it longer if you want it thicker, or add water if you want it thinner.

Drew



[This message has been edited by Drew (edited 02-23-2009).]

[Innkeeper]

Wine and recipe both sound grear. Will try the recipe, with mods of course. Won't leave out bay leaf.

[winoweenie]

Ole' Louie truly was a genious when it came to finding great vineyard land. Many a wonderful bottle has been sourced from this killer Sonoma property, both zin and cab. WW