Hello Spanish Table wine friends! Busy, busy, busy! August has flown by & so has my Thursday as we were tasting new wines nearly all afternoon... Next week we should be able to fill you in on our fravorites from today's line up. Until then, I will keep things short but sweet & remind you that Labor Day is right around the corner (sniff.) At least we're getting some proper summer weather to finish out the month. And remember, Vinho Verde & rose next go out of season at Spanish Table! Salud! Catherine PISTO from The Spanish Table Cookbook by Steve Winston "This is not actually a sauce but then perhaps it is. It differs from sofrito in that it includes additional vegetables such as eggplant and zucchini. It differs from escalivada in that the vegetables are cubed rather than sliced lengthwise, so the result is chunky, and then it is cooked down to a marmalade consistency. In cocina pobre, it is served topped with a fried egg. The Catalans claim they taught this dish to the Provençal French who call it ratatouille. It actually is much more likely to be Arabic in origin." ½ cup Olive Oil 1 Onion, chopped 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped 1 Eggplant, roughly chopped 2 Bell peppers one green and one red or yellow, roughly chopped 2 Tomatoes, very ripe, roughly chopped 1 Zucchini, roughly chopped ¼ teaspoon Pebrella (or oregano, or thyme and/or cumin) 1 tablespoon Minced parsley pinch Salt 1 tablespoon Wine vinegar 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil for finishing Cook the onions in garlic slowly and patiently in the olive oil. Add the eggplant and the bell pepper and cook until soft. Add the tomato and cook until liquid evaporates. Add the zucchini and cook until soft. Season with herbs (optional). Add the minced parsley. Salt to taste. Correct the acidity with some vinegar. This will depend on the vegetables. Now add a splash of extra virgin olive oil. USING PISTO Pisto can be served hot or room temperature as a side dish. Or try cooking a chicken in this sauce. Or toss it with some pasta. If it is used on baked white fish, you have a delicious result something akin to the Mexican preparation for fish “a la Veracruz.” Pisto is also used as a topping for coca, Catalan pizza. Since this is one of those dishes which originated with a trip to the garden, sometimes artichoke hearts or lima beans are tossed into the mix. Pisto is traditionally a vegetarian dish but since it is Spanish, occasionally a recipe will call for ¼ cup diced Serrano ham trimmings to be added with to the onions and garlic. NEW & NOTABLE Juan Gil Monastrell 2005, Jumilla $14.99 New vintage! Old-vine Monastrell (Mourvedre) makes for power-packed flavors, earthy intensity, extracted color & this is one of the finest producers in the area. I visited the Gil family & not only is their wine great, so is their hospitality. Juan Gil is packed with smokey bramble fruit & marionberries, making for one of the juiciest vintages yet. Toasted vanilla & licorice are the frosting on the cake--or more like a heaping slice of fresh blueberry pie! This is always one of our best-selling Spanish wines since you can drink it now or cellar it for years, all for fifteen bucks. Resalte Crianza 2000, Ribera del Duero $16.99 (reg. $24.99) Take advantage of this opportunity to drink a high class Duero on the cheap! Rich classic nose of berries & musk with fine acid & gravelly tannins that are true to terroir... "Elegant, in the traditional style, this firm, silky red offers cigar box, dried cherry, licorice and spice flavors, evolving but still fresh. It's graceful, and the lingering finish brings you back for another sip." -90 points, Wine Spectator Domaine Brana Harri Gorri Rose 2005, Irouleguy $17.99 From a producer whose painstaking methods have been lauded by the Slow Food movement, the wines from Domaine Brana represent some of the finest Basque bottlings from across the border. Brana’s obscure blend of Cab Franc, Tannat (red varietals), Gros Manseng, & Petit Courbu (white varietals) adds intrigue to this bone dry rose with cherry & orange pith nuance, lasting finish that ends on a subtle caramel note. A fascinating rose year after year... COLLECTOR'S CORNER Bodegas Numanthia Termes 2005, Toro $24.99 Highly allocated Have you tried Toro's? Big savory, blockbuster wines that remind me of Harley-Davidson's-- classy with a wild side. This wine comes from Toro’s most internationally noted producer, & this is their “baby Numanthia” (the pricey cult wine that made them famous) but Termes now has a reputation almost equal to Numanthia's more expensive bottlings. Incredibly dark with black fruits & gritty soil tones, this wine's brawn comes from 30-year-old ungrafted vines aged for 20 months in French oak. The last vintage was rated a 94 in the Advocate, & usually by the time the score hits the wine world, Termes is gone. Think ahead of the curve! Catherine Reynolds Seattle Wine Manager The Spanish Table 1426 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 (206)682-2827 .