Sokol Blosser Wine Blog

The Nagle family loves to grill, smoke, roast and cook anything outside over an open flame. Grilling is not a summer thing with the Nagles who in past winters, in NJ and PA, have needed to shovel as much as 18” of snow from around their grill just to cook dinner. Now living in wine country in Oregon, grilling through the rainy winters seems very manageable. It is June in the Willamette Valley and we are in prime grilling season. The much needed sun is out, the patio is ready for friends, so let the serious grilling begin!

Over the last 15 years the Nagles have used everything from the classic Weber Kettle to the fancy three burner rotisserie, stainless steel, gas grill. But it is our Big Green Egg that makes us dance around like proud mother hens! The Big Green Egg is like a ceramic Weber Kettle grill. It burns lump charcoal and can smoke and slow roast at 185 degrees or flash sear a steak at 800 degrees plus. We love the Big Green Egg so much that we added a second Egg when we moved to Oregon. What a wonderful luxury to have! We decided to name the eggs so we knew which one to refer to in conversation. My wife bought the first one for me as a birthday present. She bought it in Medford, NJ from Ed at Stove Works, so we call it “Medford”. Our second Egg we affectionately called “Mac”, because we bought that one in McMinnville from Ray at McMinnville Hearth and BBQ. A boy and his Big Green Eggs.

My wife and I saw a TV program about a guy in NYC who photographed everything he ate for a year. Kitri at the winery, is always looking for Blog entries. So my wife and I thought that we would spend the summer grilling on our Big Green Eggs, enjoy Sokol Blosser Wines and share our experiences with you. I can see Kitri smiling and stamping her feet as she reads this. More Blogs! Just to make sure this is a good idea I ran the ideas by some grilling buddies back East. They thought it was a good idea, but they were not totally happy. Their complaint? They can’t get Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir.

You see, we have been sold out of our Pinot Noir in most of the US since November and the 2006 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir will not be released until September. Not enough Pinot! So, even though there is Pinot Noir available for sale at the winery from 2005, 2004, 2003, the benchmark 2002, elegant 2001 and delicious Pinot nectar from 1998; my wife and I decided to avoid the nasty e-mails from friends back East. You know the ones that would read something like this, “…enjoy that alder smoked side of Chinook salmon that I can not get in NJ, with that Sokol Blosser Pinot that I can’t get either. Thanks Scott you @^*&$(# !”. So, for the most part we will be grilling and drinking Evolution and Meditrina! If we sneak an older bottle of Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir in every once and a while could you blame us? “Hey Jersey & PA Boys, Deal with it!”

So for our first entry, Our 9 Year Anniversary Dinner.

Toast with Argyle Blanc de Blanc 2000.

First Course
Food: Evolution Spice corn, with fire roasted red peppers and caramelized onions. Topped with Alder smoked sea scallops, cilantro and a sweet corn cream drizzle.
Grill: “MAC” Red Peppers roasted 650 degrees till blackened; Scallops smoked 6 minutes 300 degrees.
Wine: Evolution 12th Edition.

Second Course
Food: Baby Italian greens with fresh raspberries, pistachio and brie topped with a shallot and raspberry vinaigrette.
Wine: Sokol Blosser Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2001.

Main Course
Food: Egg Roasted Prime Rib with Rosemary, onion and carrots in a Meditrina a jus. All served with herbed baby, Yukon, gold potatoes and sautéed broccolini.
Grill: “Medford” Seared Prime Rib 425 degrees, Roasted at 325 degrees for 1hr 25 minutes.
Wine: Meditrina IV. Meditrina with a big hunk of meat, on the grill, always works!

Dessert
Food: Joseph Meuchel’s Homemade Cheese Cake. More please! Delicious.

It was an evening of good food, wine, friends and laughs. Thanks to the Meuchel’s for making it extra special! Thanks to my wife for putting up with me for 9 years! What a saint!

Stay tuned for more Grilling Adventures with the Nagle’s; the Big Green Eggs: Medford & Mac and Evolution & Meditrina that wash down all the tasty goodness!