April Amista Friends of the Month Newsletter!

Here at Amista we want to thank all of our Club Members for supporting us this year. We would like to take the time to honor our Wine Club members as each and every one continue to stay passionate about our wines.  We love to hear their stories of sharing with friends and family.  

These are Club Members who we have special relationships with, and who visit us from near and far!  Once a month we feature Amista Friends of the Month in our monthly newsletter.  In accepting this invitation, they receive additional benefits... such as extra savings on wine, food pairings, and other treats during the month.  We do this every month, and reach out to Club Members asking if they would like to participate.  Keep an eye out in your inbox to see if you have been nominated by our Wine Club Coordinator!

For the month of January, we are featuring Tom and Julie who live in Orinda, California and has been visiting us since 2006! Awesome!
 
We appreciate their continued passion and loyalty to our wines. Below is their story!

Becoming a Member:

After moving to Orinda from Oakland, our new neighbors presented us with a home-made gift basket featuring both an Amista Chardonnay and Cabernet.  They were members and introduced us the club. Sharing wine with them was a great start to our friendship.
 

Favorite memories here are many: 

Our favorite memory is of joining a summer celebration at the club around 2008 or 2009 and touring the vineyard with Mike in his ATV.
 

Favorite Wine and Food Pairing:

We love Amista Cabernet Sauvignon.  We believe Mike's talent for bringing  out dry, dark fruit flavors is found consistently in this wine.  The Amista Rockpile from 2009 was fantastic. 

Our pairings may be a little more exotic than most.  Tom hunts, so we enjoy dishes like pan seared antelope steak with Mourvèdre or Syrah, grilled wild boar chops with Cabernet or Zinfandel, and snow goose stew with Syrah or Chardonnay.

Snow Goose stew with Celery Root and Wild Rice - Pairs with Chardonnay or Amista Rhône's. This recipe is adapted from Duck, Duck, Goose

INGREDIENTS
5-6 goose breasts (2 to 3 pounds)
3 tablespoons duck fat, lard, or unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large yellow or white onion, sliced
1 pound small mushrooms (such as yellow foot chanterelle or beech), halved or left whole
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1/3 cup brandy
7 cups Basic Duck Stock or vegetable stock
1 1/2 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup celery root, peeled and cubed
1 cup carrot, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon caraway seed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
4 to 6 tablespoons sour cream

PREPARATION

Trim the breasts of any skin and excess fat and cut into 3/4' cubes. In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot with a lid, heat the duck fat over medium-high heat. Add the breasts and brown, salting them as they cook. Take your time to get them well browned. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.
Add the onion and mushrooms to the pot, turn the heat to high, and stir to combine. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, until the onion begins to brown. Lower the temperature - Add the marjoram and caraway, return the breasts to the pot, carefully deglaze with the brandy and then pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until the meat is tender. Skim it off any fat.
When the ingredients are tender, remove them, let them cool a bit.  Add the carrots, and celery root, stir well, and cook for about 30 minutes, When the celery root are tender, return the reserved ingredients to the pan along with the cooked wild rice. Season with salt.  Allow to come up to serving temperature.
Serve garnished with the dill and a sprinkle of black pepper, and top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream at the table.                         

 
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Amista Vineyards
3320 Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
707.431.9200

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