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Grapefruit Roasted Beets Paired with Claystone Terrace Chardonnay

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Grapefruit Beets and Beans

Food and nourishment are pretty obvious avenues. My current mode of life allows me to choose beautiful whole foods as a regular part of my weeks, and for this I’m very grateful. It’s nice to look into your fridge after a grocery day, see the different colours and textures, and then remember that it’s all for you and the well-being of those you keep close. It’s equally nice to look into your fridge, see nothing but various hot sauces and lightly wrinkled scraps of vegetables, turn to your pantry and somehow make a meal out of the whole mess. In the realm of cooking at home, that’s when I love myself the most. It feels like sorcery to serve up a full plate out of nothing.

Grapefruit Roasted Beets, Greens and White Beans with Pistachio Butter
Serves: 4-6
Notes: The pink peppercorns aren’t totally necessary. Just finish it with some fresh black pepper or a sprinkle of za’atar, or even a nice fat pinch of salt. Also, some kind of briny, pickled component wouldn’t be out of place on top of this–like some capers or pickled red onions if you’ve got them around.

Beets:
3-4 beets with greens, peeled + greens separated
splash of sherry vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
juice from half a grapefruit
olive oil
salt + pepper

Pistachio Butter:
1 cup raw + shelled pistachios (+ extra for garnish)
olive oil
salt

Beans:
2 cups white beans
olive oil
the beet greens
the juice from half a grapefruit
salt + pepper
1-2 tsp pink peppercorns, crushed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the beets into 1 inch wedges and place them in a glass baking dish. Add the splash of sherry vinegar, grapefruit juice, a nice slick of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat the beets evenly. Cover the dish with foil and roast for 30 minutes or until the beets give when pierced with a small knife. Uncover the beets, toss them around and roast them for 5-10 more minutes, just to evaporate some of the juices.

While the beets are roasting, make the pistachio butter. Place the raw pistachios in a food processor or high speed blender. Gradually pulse or blend until you have a smooth paste, scraping down the sides here and there with a spatula. I had to add some olive oil at one point to get the motor of my blender moving a bit. Once you have a smooth paste, scrape the butter into a small bowl. Stir in a pinch of salt and a little extra olive oil to get it to a slightly runny consistency. Set aside.

Heat some oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the beet greens and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze in the grapefruit juice. Keep tossing them until all of the greens are lightly wilted. Remove from the pan and chop them up. Toss the chopped greens with the white beans, some extra olive oil, salt, and pepper. Lay the beans + greens on the base of your serving plate. Arrange the roasted beet wedges on top and finish the plate with some spoonfuls of pistachio butter. Garnish with the pink peppercorns and extra chopped pistachios. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Grapefruit Beets and Beans

Claystone-Terrace-ChardonnayLe Clos Jordanne, Claystone Terrace Chardonnay, $40

Le Clos Jordanne, under the direction of Winemaker Sébastien Jacquey, is devoted exclusively to the growing of ultra-premium Canadian VQA wines made from Burgundy’s classic Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties. These wines express the unique terroir of their respective vineyards on the Niagara Escarpment by employing time-honoured, cool-climate traditions of low yields, sustainable viticulture and vigilant handling.  The wines of Le Clos Jordanne launched in Canada and the international marketplace in 2007 and introduced the Canadian wine industry to an entirely new level of quality.

In May 2009 Le Clos Jordanne’s 2005 Claystone Terrace Chardonnay captured the top spot for Chardonnay in the “Judgement of Montreal” experts’ tasting, bringing global attention to the Niagara Peninsula and to the ultra-premium wines it can produce.

 

Winemaker’s Notes

Our Claystone Terrace Chardonnay comes from the western part of the vineyard where the proportion of clay and limestone is well suited to the climate. There is often a longer hang time at this site, allowing these Chardonnay grapes to achieve optimal ripeness.

chardonnay-grapes

The wine’s colour is a bright and clear light yellow-straw with silver/gold undertones. The legs are moderate, indicating a rich wine, but without excess weight or alcohol.

The bouquet of this wine is intense, complex and elegant with notes of lemon, white flowers, green apple, honey and fresh butter. After aeration, the nose reveals aromas of sharp minerality, wet stone, and oak spice along with a touch of orange peel.

The palate has a crisp and lively attack on citrus, lime and grapefruit. The mid-palate stays focused on minerality with a tight oak structure. The texture is elegant and soft with balanced acidity. The retro olfaction reveals aromas of white flowers, anise, stone fruits and spicy oak. The final stays fresh and long with persistent oak tannins, minerality and lemon aromas with a touch of flintiness.

Vineyard-&-Blue-Skies

Overall, this wine stays true to its terroir by being balanced between a strong minerality and a lovely citrus ripeness. Its lively palate and tight structure will allow the wine to age from 3 to 5 years in the cellar, gaining complexity and balance.

 

 

Why we think this works – Claystone Terrace Chardonnay is a complex wine. The bouquet is elegant and intense while the wine’s finish is long and persistent with crisp mineral flavours and rich citrus fruit. This wine is typical of its terroir showing dominant minerality along with a powerful, ripe palate.

Contact Wine Club Specialist Candis Scammell or Le Clos Jordanne Winemaker, Sébastien Jacquey for more wine information!

Read the full wine report here and check out Laura’s full post here!

The Author

My name is Laura and I live in the Niagara region of southern Ontario. My home sits between a peach orchard and a vineyard–millions of peaches, wine for days, good life. I went to culinary school, but learned considerably more about food and being in the world from working in restaurants and growing up with agriculture. I have a staggering/embarrassing collection of cookbooks and food-related literature.

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