Jessup Cellars winemaker Rob Lloyd believes fall time is for light-to-medium bodied red and white varieties. Wines that provide the perfect middle ground between light, crisp and quenching summer favorites and smooth, unctuous and warming winter wines. Say thanks this Thanksgiving holiday with our Thanksgiving Wine Packages from the best wineries in Yountville, custom curated for those you most care about and be sure to share the recipe for our California crab risotto.
Our Thanksgiving Wine Package consists of our classic cool climate Carneros 2018 Chardonnay and 2018 Pinot Noir along with our Infinite Recursion Tawny Dessert Wine 11th Reflection. Here’s some suggestions on pairing this delicious collection with some special in-season dishes as well as tips on creating one decadent show-stopping crab risotto.
Our 2019 Carneros Chardonnay comes from the Truchard Family Vineyard in the heart of the cool Carneros region. After delicately pressing the Chardonnay, it ages for 10 months in a combination of French and American oak. Chardonnay with added texture and a warming hint of oak provides a contrast to the bright and crisp white wines we’ve enjoyed all summer long. What a perfect way to enjoy such a wine than with richer cuisine like seafood risotto, caramelized squash ravioli and buttery toasted piecrusts.
Pinot Noir ticks all the boxes for a light-to-medium bodied, aromatic red wine with the added bonus of being an excellent wine for food pairing. During this time, everyone deserves a pouring of divine wine. Our 2018 Carneros Pinot Noir provides a multi-layered, perfumed and complex expression of Pinot Noir. Sweet juicy tannins, bright red fruit and an herbal bouquet of bay, juniper and clove play well succulent roast duck, mushroom pithivier or rosemary and sweetcorn grits.
Our Infinite Recursion – 11th Reflection delivers a magically sweet and decadent dessert wine that belongs in every wine drinker’s collection. This limited-production fortified Cabernet is a Solera-style fortified wine sourced from Mother Barrels created from eleven historic vintages. Infinite Recursion is Time Captured in a Bottle. With every vintage, the Mother Barrels are replenished, building on the levels of complexity year-after-year. Be enticed with the allure of stewed cherry, spiced plum, blackberry and licorice. This truly original wine is one to savor through the season with festive Black Forest Cake, toasted pecan brownies, oozy brie cheese, or simply a fine cigar.
Gift the “Art of the Blend” with this festive holiday wine hampers for $180.00 plus postage from one of the best wineries in Yountville.
California Crab Risotto
Recipe Tip: For an elegant take on fall seafood risotto use diced fennel along with your onion and a healthy splash of Carneros Chardonnay. California Dungeness crab is always best during Fall when crabs are largest, sweetest and full of meat.
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. Cobram Estate extra virgin olive oil
1 small White onion, finely diced
2 cloves Garlic, crushed and coarsely chopped
1 stick Celery, finely diced
1 cup Carnaroli or Arborio rice
1 cup Jessup Cellars Carneros Chardonnay
4 cups Vegetable Broth, unsalted
2/3 lbs. Pulled Dungeness crab meat
½ cup Fresh herbs (chives, tarragon or parsley)
2 tbsp. Unsalted butter
½ – 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano parmesan cheese, fine grated
Sea salt and pepper (to your taste)
Method:
- Preheat a 400ºF oven. On a lined baking sheet distribute pulled Dungeness crab meat in a single layer. Flash roast the crab meat for 60 seconds to semi cook. This roasting process will also turn any remaining crab shell a bright red color. Remove any broken shell fragments and place crab meat in the fridge to cool and reserve.
- To begin risotto rice, heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic and celery until translucent (be careful not to brown). (Tip: Chop onion and celery to a 1/8 inch dice and sweat on a low and slow heat for a sweet, smooth, creamy risotto).
- Add risotto rice to the sautéing veg and heat while stirring for 1 minute until translucent. You’ve primed the rice for absorbing the broth, now reduce to medium to low heat and add Jessup Chardonnay. Cook, stirring until wine is almost fully absorbed.
- Stir consistently, adding broth a cup at a time, waiting for the rice to absorb the liquid before repeating with another cup until you develop a nice oozy consistency. If you run out of stock, use boiling water!
- Remove pot from the heat. Add butter, pulled Dungeness crab meat, grated Parmesan and a good pinch of salt and pepper to your liking. Cover with a lid and allow the pot to hang out for sit for 5-10 minutes. Serve on warm plates, sprinkle with fresh herbs serve to your hungry guests with a festive glass of Carneros Chardonnay.