It's March, a month when I am going to shine the light on some women in the food and wine world. Like my invitation to the #WinePW Festa delle Donne where I matched the sublime spices of Sana Javeri Kadri with the wonderous wines of Elena Fucci, I wanted to pair the work of two more amazing women. Meet Sophie Hauville of Carmel Valley Creamery and Vailia From of Desparada Wines. Talented women both...
Here we go with a series of posts on women in wine and foods that I paired with the bottles!
Sophie Hauville, Carmel Valley Creamery
Last summer Sophie Hauville, who hails from Normandy, opened a creamery in Carmel Valley which is less than 30 minutes from us. Naturally, caseophiles that we are, it's been a destination for family field trips more than a couple of times since then.
When Hauville moved to Chicago from France, she was disheartened by the quality of cheese here in America. But it wasn't until the pandemic, when she landed at the Eichorn family's Country Flat Farm in Big Sur, that she met the head cheesemaker for Carmel Valley Ranch. It was a revelation and she grew determined to bring the flavors of her home country's cheeses to her new home in California. Along with partners, Ken Howe and Justin Saunders, she opened Carmel Valley Creamery which is a cheesemaking operation alongside a retail shop filled with specialty foods, coffee, and cheeses. She sources her milk from local dairies - Schoch Farm in Salinas provides her cow's milk while Claravale Farm in San Benito County gives her goat's milk - and she makes cheese during business hours so people can watch her.
On our most recent visit, she was making Cowboy, a Camembert-style bloomy rind cheese. I picked up a round and used it at the center of a cheeseboard topped with one of the jams they carry in their shop. And I folded some of her fresh fromage blanc into a beet hummus. More on that down below.
Vailia From, Desparada Wines
I have not visited her winery, but her name popped up on a list of female winemakers in California and I was instantly intrigued by the name of her winery. The name 'Desparada' is the feminine version of 'Desparado' which is the word for outlaw. A female outlaw seemed an interesting characterization in the previously male-dominated world of wine.
It turns out that I may have met her at a wine dinner that I covered years ago when her husband, Russell From, was pairing his wines, Herman Story Wines, at The Cork & Plough in King City! I hope to visit her winery soon and chat with her in person. However, I was able to get my hands on several of her wines at local markets here. I read a few interviews of hers and love her view of winemaking as her art.
She and her husband own a small vineyard in York Mountain (near Paso Robles) where they farm sustainably and organically. They aim to convert to biodynamic in the future. Until then, she tries to source from organic and biodynamic vineyards as much as possible. Additionally, she is an active part of the community and participates in an annual fundraiser for the local women's shelter.
Cheesy Seafood Pasta + Desparada 2020 Wayfinder Chardonnay
I wanted to make an elevated mac'n'cheese, but I didn't have gluten-free elbows. So, I went with what I had and ended up with a cheesy penne with lump crab.
Ingredients
pasta, cooked according to the package directions
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups shredded or crumbled cheeses (I used three different kinds, including some fromage blanc from Carmel Valley Creamery )
1/2 cup lump crab
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Procedure
Place cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the cream starts to steam around the rim, add in the shredded cheeses. Remove from heat and let stand for three minutes. Whisk till smooth. Stir in the lump crab and black pepper.
Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta, turning to coat as much as possible. Spoon the pasta into individual serving bowls and top with more cracked black pepper, if desired.
The Wine
The Desparada 2020 Wayfinder Chardonnay is made from grapes grown in the Bien Nacido vineyard in the heart of the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County. The wine poured a light, clear honey color. The nose was complex with everything from caramel to lemon verbena and pineapple to vanilla. On the palate the wine was full with medium acidity and great balance. It paired well with the cheesy seafood pasta and peel-and-eat shrimp I served.
A Valentines' Cheeseboard + Desparada 2022 Amphora Sauvignon Blanc
I have written about how to assemble a cheeseboard many, many times with tips such as this post: A Grazing Board of Gratitude. For this board (photographed at the top) I added stuffed grape leaves (photographed below) very much like these Dolmeh and this riff on my beet hummus that subbed in some of Sophie's fromage blanc in addition to the yogurt.
Ingredients
Roasted Beets
3 to 4 organic medium sized beets, scrubbed, dried, and trimmed
olive oil
freshly ground sea salt
Hummus
3 to 4 garlic cloves
½ cup tahini
1/2 cup fromage blanc
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used Meyer lemon for this batch)
1 teaspoon freshly ground sea salt + more for taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper
olive oil for drizzling, optional
Also needed: food processor or blender
Procedure
Roasted Beets
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub and trim the beets, then roll them in olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Lay them on a baking sheet. Roast until they are fork tender. It depends on the size of the beet, but it usually takes about an hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, rub off the skin.
Hummus
Place all of the ingredients - plus the roasted beets - in the bowl of the food processor. Process until smooth. Adjust seasoning, if needed, with more salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.
The Wine
'Amphora' is one of those words that, if I see it on a bottle of wine, I snatch it up greedily. I think it goes back to my days in Italy when I wandered through the ruins of Pompeii and just imagine all of them filled with rich olive oil and ruby-hued wine. So, when I saw the Desparada 2022 Amphora Sauvignon Blanc, I ordered it immediately.
Aged for four months in amphorae, this wine poured a pale golden hue. 'Zippy' and 'zesty' were the first words that popped into my head. I noted a spicy bouquet with layers of ginger and stone fruits. On the palate there were crisp orchard fruits and candied citrus. It had both sweet and tart flavors and was a true delight to sip.
That's a wrap on my first post about women in wine in a run up to International Women's Day. Stay tuned! I had so much fun creating these pairings for my readers.
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