As a Wine Writer I often receive samples of wine from various wineries and agencies. Just as Autumn was knocking at our door here in Western Washington, I was fortunate to receive samples from Heibel Ranch Vineyards. I immediately knew these wines would be ideal pairings with two of my favorite backyard garden vegetable recipes, made possible by the end of the growing season harvest.
For years I have been passionate about the link between food and nature, finding the ways everything comes together in the garden and in the kitchen. I think my passion for gardening was planted as a seed from my parent’s gardening when I was growing up, even though at the time I hated the chore of weeding the garden. As an adult I have come to appreciate how gardening is a practice that provides immeasurable balance and substance to your daily life.
One thing that I work on continually, is finding ways to use all of the food that is grown in the backyard garden every year. Some years I do better than others at not only eating fresh from the garden throughout the growing season, but also in preserving the bounty of vegetables and fruits, to enjoy until the next year’s harvest.
Just a quick note here, you really don’t have to own acres of farmland to enjoy the benefits of gardening, our edible backyard that gives us about 100+ pounds of produce each year is around 1200 sq. feet. It just takes some work and commitment to eat delicious Backyard to Table food and create satisfying recipes from food that you grow with your own hands.
For me Backyard to Table is about the flavor and quality of the fruits and vegetables. It’s about knowing that the food that I grow is all Organic, which ultimately makes for the most enjoyable food and eating experience.
“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.” -Alfred Austin
With fresh ingredients straight from the garden, I am sharing an “Ode to Backyard Garden” recipes that can also be frozen to savor while the garden is in winter slumber.
Backyard Garden Roasted Tomato Soup
Each year we grow a number of different tomato varieties in all colors, I am particularly fond of the yellow and orange tomatoes and they typically take up a good part of the tomato growing space. For this recipe the tomatoes, celery, sweet bell peppers, garlic, onion and basil all came from the backyard garden. I typically grow carrots in the spring, but this year carrots were not planted until later for a fall/winter harvest so I used store bought carrots.
I roast everything for this recipe, tomatoes, onions, sweet bell peppers, carrots and garlic. This increases the cooking time involved but the vegetables reward you with more intense flavors. I even take the time to core and de-seed the tomatoes before roasting, but this is not a step that needs to be done since the soup will be puréed. Also, I separate the onions, garlic and carrots from the tomatoes and red peppers on the baking tray to allow the removal of the softer vegetables since they tend to cook faster.
I prepared my Backyard Garden Roasted Tomato Soup to pair with the GBH Cabernet Sauvingon from Heibel Ranch Vineyards. This is a bold wine that needed a flavorful soup to harmonize with, not a problem when you are working with garden fresh vegetables.
“The smells of slow cooking spread around the house and impart a unique warmth matched only by the flavour of the food.”
Yotam Ottolenghi
If time allows, I like to follow a slow cooking method of preparing our meals, giving flavors more time to mingle and intertwine. It is possible to make this soup in under thirty minutes, but once everything is in the pot I like to let the ingredients get to know each other, find out what they have in common and then work together to create something that keeps drawing you back spoonful by spoonful.
I think that we can all agree that Tomato Soup needs to be accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich. Dunking the grilled cheese into the soup is a must in our house. Wanting to keep the bold flavors up to par with the Cabernet Sauvignon I made a sun dried tomato pesto to add to the grilled cheese sandwich and then cut the sandwich into bit size dippers.
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup is the ultimate comfort meal.”
Ina Garten
To make the Sun Dried Tomato Pesto for the Grilled Cheese dippers you can use the recipe Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto recipe found on Once Upon a Chef’s Blog or you can purchase premade jar sun dried pesto.
This soup can be made with produce from the Farmer’s Market all year long if you don’t have time to grow your own vegetables. I would encourage you to take the extra step and buy the ingredients from a Farmer’s Market instead of your local grocery store, the impactful flavors of locally grown small farm produce will make all of the difference in the outcome of the Roasted Tomato Soup.
Backyard Garden Roasted Tomato Soup
This recipe was inspired by Chef Tyler Florence's Roasted Tomato Soup recipe that I tweaked and changed until I found a soup that made my family say "Is there any of that delicious Tomato Soup left?" Quantities of the main produce can be changed to create a soup that fits your taste and to make this your families favorite soup too.
2½poundsfresh tomatoes (can be a mix of fresh heirlooms, vine and plum tomatoes)
1sweet red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into large slices to roast skins.
6peeled cloves of garlic
1largesweet onions, sliced
2largecarrots, cubed or cut into slices
¼cuproasted garlic olive oil to drizzle over onions, garlic and carrots.
dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper
1quartchicken stock
2bay leaves
2tbspbutter
½fresh basil leaves, chopped
½-¾cupheavy cream
1tsponion powder
1tspgarlic powder
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.2. Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves, if desired take the time to deseed the tomatoes. Line your largest baking tray with foil. Spread the tomatoes and red peppers on one half and the onion rings with garlic cloves in the center along with the carrots on the other half of the baking tray. (Doing this allows you to remove the onions, garlic and carrots that will roast quicker than the tomatoes and red pepper).3. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of roasted garlic olive oil over the onions, garlic and carrots and season with salt and pepper. 4. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until skins of tomatoes and red pepper is blackened. Keep an eye on your onions, garlic and carrots and remove them first if they start to get too blackened, then return the tomatoes and red pepper to the oven until they're roasted. 5. When roasted tomatoes and red peppers are removed from the oven allow the tomatoes to cool for a couple of minutes and then pull off the skins. cover the red pepper with a damp paper towel and then remove the skins. Leaving small speckles of charred skin is optional for flavor. 6. Transfer all roasted vegetables to a large stock pot, add bay leaves and simmer on medium-low for 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, onion powder, garlic powder and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.7. Add basil leaves to the pot. Remove the bay leaves before using an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Add cream, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer on low for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Another recommendation would be to double, triple or quadruple the recipe and divide the finished soup into lunch and dinner serving sizes to freeze. There is only a small amount of heavy cream in this recipe and the soup freezes beautifully.
Just imagine taking this Backyard Garden Roasted Tomato soup out of the freezer and enjoying it in February as you watch the snow fall while sipping on a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
GBH Cabernet Sauvignon from Heibel Ranch Vineyards….
Wines are meant to bring out the nuances in food and vice-versa, so your most successful wine pairing will not only enhance the dining experience, they will also hopefully heighten flavors, textures and qualities in the food. All of these benefits were achieved when I paired the Roasted Tomato Soup with a GBH Cabernet Sauvignon from California Winery, Heibel Ranch Vineyards.
On the label of GBH (smartly dressed in his chef outfit) is George Bennet Heibel, the man who Heibel Ranch Vineyards pays tribute to with their signature Cabernet Sauvignon, which was first produced in 2008. This silhouette of George from a 1936 photo was taken when he was a chef at the Women’s City Club in San Francisco.
As the core for this 2017 vintage, three barrels were selected and aged for nearly three years in 50% new French oak. Elegantly layered with rich flavors the blend is comprised of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon & 3% Petite Sirah and I really enjoyed how the small percentage of Petitie Sirah added notes of plum, blueberry, and black tea.
I felt that Winemaker Trent Ghiringhelli’s tasting notes were spot on for this wine so I am sharing them here:
“2017 GBH ~ Cabernet Sauvignon An opaque garnet hue is complimented with enticing aromas of mixed berry preserves and baking spice. Elegantly extracted, subtle layers of savory fruit & warming spice reward and soothe the palate. Pleasant tannins wrap up this beautiful wine and carry the long, smooth finish. Enjoy responsibly with those you LOVE!”
Production of this 2017 GHB from Heibel Ranch Vineyards was small, only 56 cases were produced.
Some advice on food and wine pairings: Pairing can be difficult, and the best way to learn is often by trial and error. Finding wines you really enjoy and trying them with different types of food will teach you more than any guide book. Keep trying, because every bottle and food combination can be so different, plus once you stumble on a favorite pairing you’ll want to share it with everyone.
Garden Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
With some good soil, the proper temperatures and a little extra TLC, growing bell peppers can be a satisfying garden project. If garden space is not available, you can grow all varieties of peppers in containers, but bell peppers can grow into large plants, so it’s best to plant them in large enough pots.
Even though this is a Red Pepper Sauce if my garden gives me green, yellow or orange bell peppers all ripe at the same time, I use all of these colors for the recipe although I stive to keep red pepper in the majority to retain the color of the sauce. However, use what you have even if the color is somewhat lighter than deep red, the flavor will still be outstanding!
The many uses of Roasted Red Peppers….
Blend them into hummus
Topping for pizza.
At breakfast fold them into scrambled eggs, omelets or frittatas.
Use them to give extra flavor to burritos and tacos.
Add them into egg, chicken, tuna salads/spreads.
Having a really good Roasted Red Pepper Sauce recipe in your back pocket can open up more menu ideas that just serving it on pasta. It’s equally delicious on chicken, fish, and meatballs plus it can be served as a dipping sauce or used as a pizza sauce.
A Note on Building Flavor…
Bring on the herbs-Building flavors in your dishes can be achieved in many different ways, yet nothing adds more wonderful flavor or aroma to even the simplest of dishes than fresh herbs.
Get Growing: Growing culinary herbs is the easiest way to start a kitchen garden. Most herbs are undemanding and produce continuous harvests throughout the season. Even if you have no room for a garden, if you have a sunny spot you can grow herbs in containers or indoors in your window sill.
Here I picked some basil, chives and rosemary to add a herbaceous flavor to the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
Fresh herbs can elevate any dish and take your cooking to a restaurant quality level. Dried herbs can also add flavor, but you’ll want to use those when you have time to let them work their magic. They are best used in marinades or added to the cooking process early on.
Building Layers in a sauce…
An essential step, that creates the foundation for building the layers of flavors in this Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is not only enhancing the flavors of the red peppers, onion and garlic by roasting them, but combining them in the pot separately at first to allow each ingredient to build a bond with the other ingredients.
After roasting all of the vegetables, I combine the roughly chopped roasted onions and garlic into a stock pot with a dash of garlic olive oil and allow this to cook on a medium-low temperature. If you are patient you will really taste the difference with a depth of flavor that isn’t created until later in the cooking process.
Cheese makes everything better…
Making a homemade sauce that is so simple and so incredibly delicious gets even better with the addition of freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
This sauce is a great alternative to using a traditional tomato sauce for those who would like a sauce with less acidity and zesty flavor.
Incredibly Freezer Friendly: This sauce is perfect to make and freeze when you have a surplus of bell peppers! Plus, storing this sauce in the freezer will help you get weeknight dinners on the table in a flash.
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Homemade Pasta
This Roasted Red Pepper Sauce has an incredible velvety texture with complex and robust flavors! It’s bursting with savory notes from the smoky roasted bell peppers, sweet onions, garlic, and aromatic seasonings, while the nutty pecorino or parmesan cheese and rich heavy cream gives an additional depth that elevates the sauce.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Add peppers, onions and peeled garlic to prepared baking sheet, laying then on their sides. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until the outsides are charred. Allow peppers to cool and then peel peppers, roughly chop and set aside. 2. Give the roasted onions and garlic a rough chop, add 2 tablespoons roasted garlic olive oil to pot and add chopped onions and garlic. Cook on medium-low for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 3. Heat roasted garlic olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chopped roasted onions and garlic. Season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add red wine and balsamic vinegar and cook until almost all the red wine has been absorbed into the onions and garlic. 4. Add the Italian seasoning, paprika and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute, stirring until combined. Add the roasted red peppers to the pot, along with any juices that have collected. Stir, using the moisture from the peppers to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. 5. Add in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until paste coats the vegetables, about 2 minutes. Add all of the freshly chopped herbs, basil, chives and rosemary, stir until combined. Add 1 cup of stock, stir and lower heat to a simmer. Stirring occasionally, allow to simmer 10-15 minutes, adding additional stock if needed. 6. Use an immersion blender, or transfer vegetable mixture to a high-speed blender or food processor. Add in 2 tablespoons of the stock if needed. Puree until creamy and smooth. Taste and adjust for seasoning as needed, adding more salt and pepper for flavor.7. With the roasted red pepper mixture back to the pot and place over medium-low heat. Bring mixture to a gentle simmer and stir in the remaining ¼ cup of stock. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened. Stir in the heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes or until warm throughout. Add grated cheese. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and fresh herbs.Serve: Ladle or toss the sauce with warm pasta or use in your favorite recipe! Enjoy
Notes
Store it: Stash the sauce in the freezer. Homemade red pepper sauce will keep up to 3 months.
Making recipes from produce that comes straight from the garden and enjoying it in the backyard or out on the deck is the best. For me, this is what simple backyard to table cooking is all about.
I added some homemade Italian meatballs to my Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and served it on freshly made Chitarra Pasta.
Wine alone is good, but when it is well paired it can become transcendent as certain foods open up your palate to interact with textures in a new way. With this in mind, I paired and included in this Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with the 2018 Lappa’s – Napa Valley Red from Heibel Ranch Vineyard.
2018 Lappa’s – Napa Valley Red is a blend of 49% Zinfandel, 39% Petite Sirah, and 21% Cabernet Franc.
The 2018 Lappa’s Napa Valley Red is masterly blended with a burst of dark and light cherries, vanilla and just a wisp of spicy smokiness on the nose. A smooth drinking blend that delivers an abundance of flavor from the Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Savory yet decadent with just the right amount of tannins that carry with them a pleasing note of smoked cedar on the finish. Slightly jammy in all the right ways and deliciously luscious. A stunner when paired with this robust Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.
According to Heibel, “Lappa’s, was named for John Ghiringhelli who was the owner of Ray’s Place (now Ana’s Cantina), in St. Helena. drinking establishment where many of the characters that helped weave the fabric of Napa Valley wet their whistle. “Johnny” as his friends called him, was also known as “Lappa” an Italian slang nickname that is full of fun loving stories.” Trent Ghiringhelli, Proprietor & Winemaker
You can learn more about Heibel Ranch Vineyards by visiting their Website.
I was sent samples of these wines from Heibel Ranch Vineyards. While it has not influenced this article or the wine reviews, as a writer I believe in full disclosure.
Nestled in a lush valley, Walla Walla in Eastern Washington is home to more than 120 wineries, a number that continues to grow as more and more world class wines emerge from this distinct region. With so many wineries to choose from, selecting the right ones to visit on a weekend getaway can take a bit of research and planning to fill your time in Walla Walla with memorable experiences. Typically tasting room experiences have many similarities no matter which winery you visit, the biggest is walking into the tasting room, stand at the bar or try to grab a table, and taste wines usually for a fee that is waived if you purchase wine.
A side by side tasting of two vintages, Eleanor Estate Red Wine, 2018 and 2019. Enjoyed by one of the many seating areas available at Caprio Cellars.
So what if a winery came in and shook things up a bit with a new focus on hospitality and a distinctive “wine tasting experience” that completely changes the way that visitors taste wine in Walla Walla. Even better, what if they made your wine tasting more of a personal discovery in an elegant indoor or inviting outdoor seating area and paired it with locally prepared food, delivering an individual experience to your tasting? This is what Caprio Cellars has done, filling a unique niche and doing something a little avant-garde when it comes to hospitality and how people experience their Caprio Cellars wines.
Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to travel to Walla Walla and after reading so many five star reviews about Caprio Cellars I was delighted to visit and experience their food and wine pairing first hand. Caprio Cellars is a small producer of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc located in the heart of Walla Walla Valley, WA.
Meet Dennis Murphy….
I was also fortunate enough to chat with owner and winemaker Dennis Murphy. Our conversation covered so many topics from his personal wine journey, how Caprio Cellars got it’s start in Walla Walla and so much more. I hope you enjoy the interview along with highlights from my visit to Caprio Cellars.
What was your initial connection with wine? Was wine something that other member of your family enjoyed as you were growing up?
“Growing up in a large family with Italian roots, there was always wine present for any celebration. The stories of the “Mustache Pete’s” in New York making wine like the home country of Italy was regularly told. When I was in college, I learned how to cook for myself and incorporated wine into any special event. Once I could afford some good bottles of wine, I started to collect wine.“
When did you actually “fall in love” with wine? Do you remember the wine that was “the one” that started it all? Is there a story behind it?
“I fell in love with wine and the Walla Walla Valley at the same time. In the late 90’s, I would drive to Walla Walla for my construction job. I passed a few wineries and thought there was no way anyone was making decent wine in Eastern Washington. I saw a bottle of L’Ecole No. 41 on a wine list while visiting Seattle and I asked if it was any good. The waiter said it would “blow my mind”. The waiter was spot on, the L’Ecole No. 41 merlot blew my mind. I then started stopping to visit the Walla Walla wineries and decided to move to Walla Walla in 1999 to get involved in the emerging wine scene.“
Dennis purchased the land which was previously wheat fields, for Caprio Cellars in 2003 and the first vines were planted in 2005. The first vineyard was named “Eleanor, in tribute to his late grandmother Eleanor Caprio. The first harvest took place in 2008, and once the first wines were bottled, the name Caprio Cellars was chosen.
“The name “Caprio” Cellars came from my grandmother, Eleanor Caprio. My grandmother Eleanor was an amazing women. She had a zest for life and loved her children greatly. On top of that she was beautiful and a great Italian cook. I would love to go to her house, get a big hug from her and then a plate of manicotti.“
In addition to being the owner and winemaker of Caprio Cellars Dennis still owns a construction business. I was curious how he juggled these two careers.
“This is certainly a story of two careers. The winery has mostly consumed evenings and weekends. Fortunately I have a great team at the winery so I can lean on them. I would describe myself as equally right and left brain, so Caprio is largely my creative outlet. There have been many hurdles along the way, I would say that understanding the patience involved in the production of wine was something I had to learn and ultimately have appreciated.“
Caprio Cellars’ Walla Walla Vineyards
There are nearly 3,000 acres of vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley but only a few of the areas wineries own estate vineyards. Caprio Cellars is amongst them with three sites Eleanor’s, Octave and Sanitella that each take full advantage of the warm sunny days in the valley along with the array of vine loving soils found there.
I asked Dennis why being an estate winery from the start was so important to him.
“When I was learning to make wine, I worked on the sorting table and noticed that the winemakers were mostly excited when their estate fruit arrived, but when the contract fruit arrived it was either picked too early, too late or was not clean enough. I learned early on that if Caprio was going to make world class wines, it had to own vineyards that produced world glass grapes.“
Caprio Cellars was born with the intent to produce world class wines from Bordeaux varieties. On the Eleanor site they are growing 2 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and 1 of Merlot. Octave which was planted in 2007 has 22 hillside acres with 16 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 acres each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as well as 1 acre of Malbec. The newest vineyard with high elevation, Sanitella, has Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and some Sauvignon Blanc.
Caprio Cellars is all about Hospitality
Walla Walla although becoming more of a wine tourism destination is still relatively an unexplored area to many wine enthusiasts. With his attention to detail and how he wants guests to feel when they visit Caprio Cellars, Dennis is doing his best to bring Walla Walla into the spotlight by putting hospitality in the forefront.
The ultimate goal at Caprio Cellars is for each guest to feel like they are getting VIP treatment when they arrive and I can attest to their success of achieving this after my visit. I asked Dennis if he could talk a little about the hospitality component of Caprio Cellars and how it compares to other wineries.
“Caprio has set out to deliver a level of hospitality in a unique fashion. We ask that you make an appointment so we can prepare for your arrival. We greet you with our sparkling wine to set the tone and cleanse your palate. We then invite you to find a comfortable spot in our well thought out hospitality center. Once you are comfortable, we take you on an odyssey of food and wine.”
Dennis went on to share;
“Our Executive Chef Ian Williams along with our Customer Experience Director Emily Kiefer have hand curated wine and food pairings for your journey. Along the way, our associates mindfully allow you to enjoy yourself and share the story of the winery, winemaking and the history of the area.”
Emily Kiefer, Customer Experience Director at Caprio Cellars.
Photo courtesy of Caprio Cellars
At Caprio Cellars the team believes that a shared spirit of generosity along with the European tradition of serving great food and wines together will transform how guests look at hospitality in the wine industry.
Tasting journeys at Caprio Cellars are by appointment only and though the tasting room has space to seat 60 guests inside with additional seating outside, Caprio limits their ninety minute wine tasting experience to about twenty people maximum. This allows guests to feel like they have their own private space and gives the staff more time to spend with each person or group.
Caprio Cellars greets each of their guests with a glass of Caprio Cuvee Sparkling Wine when they arrive for a tasting. I loved this welcoming touch and it really set the mood for a great tasting experience.
If the roomy space and welcoming environment isn’t enough, you may be surprised when you visit that you are treated to a food and wine pairing and there is no tasting fee. This alternative approach to delivering an excellent culinary pairing to compliment their wines and not charging for the experience is all part of Dennis’ vision for a Caprio Wine experience and how he believes his guests should be treated.
Although in high demand, Caprio Cellars does not sell their Caprio Cuvee sparkling wine but Dennis said that they are working on making a sparkling Rosé that they will sell.
Seasonally Inspired Food Pairings
Before becoming a premier wine-growing destination, Walla Walla has always been renowned as a powerhouse agricultural area in Washington. So, it only seemed fitting to feature in-season locally grown organic and sustainable small courses to accompany the Caprio Cellars wines. This challenge has been expertly achieved by executive chef and Walla Walla local Ian Williams.
In the Caprio Cellars Kitchen, Chef Ian strives to offer seasonally inspired plates to accompany every Caprio Cellars wine tasting with a menu that changes as new local ingredients come available throughout the year.
Caprio Cellars 2021 Estate Rosé
The first small course of the day was a beautiful Spiced Red Potato Salad with English peas, red grapes, Greek yogurt and micro celery. The hint of spice in the delicious fork tender potato salad was a fantastic addition to get your taste buds ready for the remaining courses, plus it was a true compliment to the Estate Rosé that it was paired with.
Though I am a big Cabernet Franc fan I don’t always enjoy it as a Rosé because of the somewhat bitter finish. This 100% Cabernet Franc Estate Rosé from Caprio Cellars however is a fantastic exception. This Rosé made in the Provence style expresses the high elevation basalt vineyard of Sanitella perfectly with its balanced fruit and minerality. Great acidity with fresh watermelon and just the right amount of tart fruit makes this Rosé a true crowd-pleaser.
“My style of winemaking is to let the fruit speak for itself.”
Dennis Murphy
In regards to Washington wines and more specifically Walla Walla wines, I asked Dennis if he had a philosophy of winemaking—a style that he was aiming for and how he would describe it.
“The Walla Walla Valley is on a similar latitude as Bordeaux France. This has proved well to grow Bordeaux varietals and produce Bordeaux style wines. Caprio is known for their Cabernet Sauvignon based Bordeaux blends. My style of winemaking is to let the fruit speak for itself, use great French oak barrels and produce a layered wine with integrated tannins. An approach that I think will ultimately have Caprio as a world class red wine producer.“
Caprio Cellars 2021 Estate White Wine
When the stunning plate of Poached Prawn Nicoise arrived it was almost to beautiful to eat. These perfectly cooked prawns on top of a bed of vegetables and country olives with a sauce gribiche and garden thyme was a real show stopper and Savignon Blanc forward Estate White with a touch of Semillon couldn’t have been a better pairing for this dish.
A beautifully concentrated blend of 72% Sauvignon Blanc and 28% Semillon from the Santilella Vineyard, this Estate White Wine surprises and enchants with its delicious texture. White blossom floral notes combine with delightful layers of subtle spiced peach and pear aromas and flavors in this noteworthy Estate White from Caprio. Incredibly food friendly, this wine would be the perfect table wine for get togethers and family dinners.
When asked if his winemaking style has changed over the years, Dennis replied:
“My style of making wine has not really changed over time. Each vintage presents a new offering of opportunities and challenges, this demands that I address the vintage and honor the conditions.“
Caprio Cellars 2019 Red Label Cabernet Sauvignon
The week that I visited in July, Washington Cherries filled the farmers markets and Chef Ian took advantage of the cherry bounty by combining it with beets, smoked pork belly, caramelized fennel and golden raisins to create a stunning Castoldi Farm Beet Agrodolce that was an ideal companion to the Caprio Cellars Red Label 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon.
This Walla Walla Valley 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon from Caprio Cellars is the first vintage to welcome grapes from Sanitella vineyard into the blend. Comprised of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc this blend has a beautiful boutique of black fruit with soft floral and mineral notes, tying the best of these three grape varieties together. Soft tannins and gentle acidity create an incredibly well balanced sip. Really a lovely Walla Walla red.
While tasting wine I always wonder what influences the winemaker choices during the crafting of the wine. So I asked Dennis if aesthetic concepts such as elegance, harmony, character or finesse played a role in his decision-making process.
“I want my wines to balance between acidity and mouth feel. This is easier said than done. I have worked hard on raising the acid level and achieved it in the 2015 vintage of our Eleanor Red Wine. Since then, I have been able to achieve the mouth feel and longevity I have been looking to present in our red wines. I am gifted with a very sensitive taste and smell, so I use this to my advantage when blending. I blind taste the blends and rely on my first impression of smell and taste for the final blends.“
Inspired by the Blue Mountains
When traveling I always like to seek out back roads and off the beaten path destinations to explore so before I left Caprio Cellars I asked Dennis if he had any suggestions for an afternoon drive outside of Walla Walla. Dennis told me about a special lake up in the Blue Mountains about half an hour away and I knew it would be the perfect place to spend the rest of the hot July day.
The Blue Mountains, or as most people call them “the Blues,” cover more than 4,000 square miles of eastern Oregon and Washington. The mountains span from southeast of Pendleton, Oregon, over to the Snake River bordering Idaho, and then up into Washington, where they fill up much of the land east of Walla Walla. The blue hue of their pine- and fir-lined ridges inspired the name “Blue Mountains” by early settlers. After driving up past the Bluewood Ski Area and taking in this magical area, I think it is one of the Northwest’s best-kept secrets.
During the drive I couldn’t help but stop and take some photographs of the Caprio Cellars wine that would be going home with me. This beautiful lake in the Blue Mountains made the perfect backdrop to these lovely wines. Also, since two of the interview questions I asked Dennis mentioned the Blue Mountains I thought adding them now would be a fitting way to wrap up this article about Caprio Cellars.
Walla Walla is really such a great destination for wine lovers and I wanted to know what Dennis thought, besides Caprio Cellars, were the top things people should experience when visiting Walla Walla.
“The Walla Walla Valley is a great place to visit for wine lovers because of the high quality of wine and enthusiasm of the wine industry. With this comes some great restaurants as well. The other benefit of Walla Wall is the natural beauty of the area. For people visiting the area, the best places are a drive up Mill Creek, go all the way to the Forest Service roads if it is not the winter, the Blue Mountains are amazing. Another favorite place is Pioneer Park, the trees and flowers are beautiful. The down town of Walla Walla is a must see as well, the history and architecture are interesting and intriguing.“
The final question was one that I always have to ask, ‘Do you Have a Favorite Food and Wine Pairing?’
“I love to cook, so my favorite food paring with wine is the 2015 Eleanor with a Snake River Farms Wagyu New York steak, topped with sauteed morel mushrooms hand picked in the Blue Mountains. The steak needs to be smoked for a short period of time and the Eleanor needs to breath for a few hours.“
Caprio Cellars is always thinking of new ways to disrupt the industry and push the envelope of hospitality, this unparalleled hospitality is just one reason that they are a must visit for all wine enthusiasts coming to the Walla Walla Valley.
The Caprio Cellars Tasting Room is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. by reservation only. In addition, Caprio Cellars also hosts special events and regular winemaker dinners. Visit the Caprio Cellars Website for more information.
I will be sharing more of my trip to Walla Walla in an upcoming article, but for now if you are interested in exploring the Walla Walla Valley you can read some of my past articles, including; Walla Walla Wine Country: Dunham Cellars, Exploring Walla Walla Wine Country: Pepper Bridge Winery and Food & Wine Pairing Experience at Seven Hills Winery.
Welcome to Drink In Life! I’m Elaine—a writer, wine expert, photographer, and lifelong collector of moments that deserve to be remembered. This space began as a place to share the beauty I found in a vineyard’s quiet morning light, the rhythm of travel, and the way a glass of wine can hold history, place, and emotion all at once. Whether you’re here for the wine, the words, or something in between, I’m glad you found your way. The stories are just getting started.
