September Newsletter
As we celebrated our 17th anniversary we dug out some old pictures that we all had fun looking at, here are just a few.
The hand painted wine barrel at our entrance for many years. Thanks to Rudy for the artwork.
Who could forget the HRTH “Shocking!” Christmas Tree
Anyone remember this one?
Memory Lane. Shout out to some of our long term members:
Eric and Sarah from Ocean Shores have been members since 2006.
Libby B. Thanks for joining back in 2007.
Ron B. been a member since April, 2008, hails from Everett.
Chrissy from Pasco. Since November 2007
Dick, Donita and Mike (you know who you are!) members since 2006
Claudia and Tim from Issaquah have been members “forever”
I could go on for a few pages there are many more of you who have been with us for 15 years or more! We will get to you in future newsletters. We love you guys!
Shipping Notice to some of our East Coast and Mid-West members: If you live in New England, north of Virginia and anywhere in the upper mid-West We are changing when we ship your wines from twice a year to 4 times a year. You will now receive you shipments in March, June, September and November. If you prefer to stay on the “twice a year’ shipping schedule let us know.
Gift Certificates for the Win. These are delivered by email and make gift giving fun and easy. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to get a gift certificate from Hard Row to Hoe? Can be used online or in our tasting room.
Recipes from the September Newsletter
Roasted Eggplant with Curried Yoghurt
From one of our favorite chefs, Yotam Ottolenghi. Excellent with the Dry Riesling.
Ingredients
3 large eggplants
7 tbsp. peanut oil
2/3 c. Greek-style yoghurt
2 tsp medium curry powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 lime: finely grate the zest to get 1 tsp, then juice to get 2 tsp
1 onion, thinly sliced
¼ c. sliced almonds
½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
¼ c. pomegranate seeds
salt and black pepper
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 F
Use a vegetable peeler to peel away strips of eggplant skin from top to bottom, leaving the eggplant with alternating strips of black skin and white flesh, like a zebra. Cut widthways into round slices, ¾ inch thick, and place in a large bowl. Mix well with 5 tbsp. of oil, ½ teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, and spread out on a large parchment-lined baking tray. Roast for 40–45 minutes, until dark golden-brown, then set aside to cool.
Mix the yoghurt with 1 teaspoon of curry powder, the turmeric, lime juice, a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper. Keep in the fridge, until required.
Put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into a large frying pan and place on a medium high heat. Once hot, add the onion and fry for 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and dark golden-brown. Add the remaining teaspoon of curry powder, the almonds and a pinch of salt, and continue to fry for 2 minutes, until the almonds have lightly browned.
When you are ready to serve, arrange the eggplant slices on a large platter or individual plates, slightly overlapping. Spoon over the yoghurt sauce and top with the fried onion mix. Sprinkle over the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, pomegranate seeds and lime zest, and serve.
Maque Choux
End the summer with the showy, sweet, hot juicy and buttery corn and pepper dish. Serve this with any hearty and smokey red wine like our 2019 Estate Malbec
Ingredients
3 fresh ears of corn, shucked
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
½ red onion, cut into small dice
2 celery ribs, cut into small dice
Kosher salt
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice
1 small poblano pepper, cored, seeded and cut into small dice
1 small serrano chile, very thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Working with 1 corn cob at a time, set the ear of corn upright in a medium bowl. Shave the corn from the cob by slicing down the sides using the tip of a sharp chef’s knife, holding the knife almost vertical. (This gives you neat tablets of corn that land squarely in the bowl and keeps the kernels from scattering all over the counter.) Using the back of the knife, scrape each cob to release all the nibs and the “milk” of the kernels into the bowl. Repeat with remaining ears of corn, then snap the cobs in half, and add them to the bowl.
In a large, deep sauté pan, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat until foaming. Add onion and celery, and season with 1 or 2 pinches of kosher salt. Stir constantly until softened and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons butter and the bell pepper, poblano and serrano, and stir constantly, adding another pinch of kosher salt, letting the butter melt and the peppers soften and become translucent, about 2 or 3 minutes.
Add the final 3 tablespoons butter and the corn mixture from the bowl, cobs included, and another pinch of kosher salt. Stir constantly to coat with the butter and combine thoroughly.
When everything starts to hiss and sound hot, but isn’t cooking so hard as to take color, add 1/2 cup water and a healthy few grind of black pepper, and cover the pan for a couple of minutes to steam/shallow braise the mixture.
Remove the lid, and stir well, noticing the corn releasing its liquid and the kernels softening, and the cobs turning somewhat translucent. Discard the corn cobs.
Taste for salt and serve
Recipe courtesy of NY Times Gabrielle Hamilton
Wines in the September 2023 Wine Club Shipment:
This is an eclectic mix of Lake Chelan AVA wines that really showcase what the Lake Chelan Valley can produce in terms of breadth of styles and variety! From the rich and satisfying Malbec, to a more fun to drink style Tempranillo and one of the highlights of the whole AVA a racy dry Riesling. They are so different in their own special way. We would love to hear your feedback on them and about where and when you tried them.
2021 Tempranillo
From high above the Chelan Goats High School, like a gem of a vineyard called Farmer Jon’s. The tempranillo planted there in 2015 is finally just reaching full fruition and gaining respect for producing this wine. Close your eyes and it may remind you of of the delicious Rioja wines from Spain or even transport you to a Barcelona Tapas bar. Very versatile, will pair with many types of food. Try it with Spanish specialties like Paella, Iberian Ham, Patatas Bravas or with potato chips and olives. Drink now through 2025
2019 Estate Malbec
Our Malbec vines “thrive” in the poorest reaches of the Glacial Gravels Vineyard on Ivan Morse Rd. In the Southeast corner of the vineyard, high on the hill where the leanest, boniest soils lie, the vines struggle to survive. But in their struggle, they put all their energy into their fruit rather than growing shoots and leaves, resulting in small, thick skinned, sweet grapes that make exquisite (but minimal quantity) wine. It’s up to us as vignerons to get the struggle right, not too much but just enough to make the best wine. Lay this bottle down for a few year, it will just get better with age. Enjoy with a simple grilled steak. Drink now through 2029.
2021 Estate Dry Riesling.
Also hailing from Glacial Gravels vineyard, our estate Riesling has found a place to excel. These vines are ‘cane pruned’ which is a method we learned when touring vineyards in France and is a way to grow grapes to give us more consistent yields, it can be easy adapted to that season’s growing conditions and make the grape bunches less susceptible to late season mildew. Taste the racy acidity and spice in this wine that we know you will fall in love with . Very limited amounts of this wine was produced so reorder soon.
You can get more information about the wines by visiting our website at hardrow.com