>>In the Monticello AVA sits a beautiful greenhouse where you can sit and enjoy some wine.

Today on "Un-Wine'd", it's Glass House Winery.

So go grab your glass.

It's time to "Un-Wine'd".

>>Production funding for "Un-Wine'd" was made possible in part by... >>The Virginia Wine Board, promoting the interests of vineyards and wineries in the commonwealth through research, education, and marketing.

There's a movement growing in Virginia's vineyards.

Discover more at virginiawine.org.

>>And by.... (gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music continues) >>Rosé is such a versatile wine, so you can use it with entrees, with appetizers, just to sit on the deck and enjoy.

Well, today what I'm going to make for you is an appetizer, and it's so simple.

You can have it ready in minutes for your friends.

So what we're gonna do is start with some toasted crostini, and I'm gonna top that with a little hot pepper jelly.

Now you can use strawberry jam in this if you'd like.

You can also use fig jam if you'd like, but I really like that little bit of heat in this recipe.

So I'm gonna take a little hot pepper jelly and just put it right on top of those crostinis.

Then I want to take just a piece of Manchego cheese big enough to cover the top and put right on the top of that jam.

We're gonna stick these under the broiler for just a minute till it melts, and then I'll be back to show you the rest.

Now our Manchego is melted and we're gonna top that with a little bit of prosciutto, some fresh fig or dried fig if you can't find fresh, and some chives.

So I have some chives and prosciutto right here.

And I'm just gonna put this on each one of the pieces.

Now you can use a Serrano ham if you prefer.

You can also use a country ham on this, or you could use a fresh Western ham.

Any type of meat that you want, you can use on this, and it will taste delicious with this appetizer wine.

Every rosé will taste a little bit different because it's a different varietal and every rosé is made differently.

Now let's top this with a little bit of that fig.

And don't worry if you get your chives on your ham or your fig, it all goes together.

And actually it kind of makes it a little more attractive.

There we go.

Just fix this one.

Tuck it in.

That's the other great thing.

These are easy to just fix, and they don't have to be perfect.

All right, so dust with a little extra chive.

And there you go.

A wonderful appetizer, ready for a glass of rosé.

(gentle music) (gentle upbeat music) So Jay and Josh, thanks so much for having us here at Glass House.

This is an incredibly beautiful place, and I want you to tell me a little bit about that, Jay.

>>Well, I'm a fairly new owner.

I bought the place in 2020, right in the middle of COVID.

>>Oh my.

>>Interesting thought.

The original owners started the place in 2006.

They lived in Honduras for about five years.

Jeff and Michelle Sanders.

They got the idea to come back to Charlottesville, build a winery 'cause they love Virginia, they love Charlottesville.

And Jeff got into tropical plants.

So the idea was to bring the tropics to the Virginia Mountains, make wine, and eventually his thought was to sell tropical plants.

So we have another greenhouse here where he intended to grow them and sell them, but the winery kinda consumed them.

We got all this growing, which is awesome.

>>It's beautiful.

>>We got banana trees in here, lime trees, beautiful exotic plants.

>>Oh yeah.

>>And when I looked at wineries, looked at this one, I only found two like it on planet Earth.

I could find nothing this unique.

The other really neat things about it is we do our own custom chocolates here.

We have a chocolatier, my daughter Jessica's the chocolatier.

So it sits on about 48, 49 acres worth of property.

We got about 15 acres of grapes.

And like I said, it's so unique.

>>Well, as I drove in, I noticed that you were in veraison, and I think that that time of veraison is so cool.

So what is the importance of veraison and what the grapes are going through now and how that affects the wines ultimately?

>>Well, it's a transformation with the acidity that's in the grape, and now the grape is starting to produce that sugar, and from that, that you get that transformation of the color within the grapes.

And they start to turn red.

Right now, the Pinot Gris' kicking off.

And so I'm about to run some samples on that here either today or tomorrow, and start picking them and kinda going through and testing them for that pH level, the acidity and that sugar content that's in them and kinda keep track to find out when that particular window is when we need to harvest.

>>So tell me about the varietals you grow here.

>>On the reds, we've got Barbera, which we're known for, which is one of our great grapes.

I say Cab Franc, Chambourcin.

We got Merlot, Norton, and Petit Verdot.

>>Yeah.

>>That's the reds.

Then on the whites we've got Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Traminette, Viognier, and Petit Manseng.

>>Oh wow.

>>So six and five.

(gentle upbeat music) >>Pinot Gris is a very light and tasty varietal.

It's a light red grape, so sometimes you'll see it come out a little bit rosé-ish.

Other times it's clear.

This particular one that we're doing today is in a classic style.

It's very clear.

We're going to have a little bit of halibut with it.

And I love this recipe.

Halibut, potatoes, and lemons.

So we're gonna get our pans started and get it nice and hot.

And I'm going to add to the pan about oh, two tablespoons of olive oil.

I don't want too much because it pops a lot when you put the lemons down in the pan.

So let's get a little bit of olive oil started in our pan.

And I did spray the pan first, just in case the olive oil doesn't go all around.

I'm covered.

Now, I want to take some just baby potatoes.

You can use red potatoes, white potatoes.

I just happen to have these three colored potatoes, and I'm just gonna lay those down in the pan all around.

And this particular recipe serves four to six people.

Today, I am putting six pieces of halibut in the pan.

So let's just arrange these all around.

And what we're trying to do is get just a little color, a little fry on those potatoes.

And then I want to take three lemons, and I've pulled out most of the seeds, but there will still be a few.

And I'll show you how to get those out at the end.

These are cut in half, and we're just gonna nestle those down in the pan as well.

So we're gonna caramelize the lemons and the potatoes.

Just kind of make it fit.

There we go.

Now while I wait for those potatoes and lemons to start caramelizing, I'm going to get my garlic ready.

I want to use six to seven really large cloves of garlic, or you can use as many as 12 small cloves.

Now, to get your garlic ready, you just want to take off both ends.

Give it a little whack, and that peel will come right off for you.

The garlic oil comes to the top of the meat of the garlic, and it just releases all of that very difficult to peel skin.

Just like that.

So I have my garlic ready and I just want to plop that in my pan, fill in those little spots.

All right, now I'm going to let this go for about 10 minutes till those potatoes are caramelized, and then I'll be back and show you how to install that halibut in this delicious dish.

So my pan of oil has gotten a little bit dry.

That's perfect.

This is what you wanna see, these beautifully caramelized lemons and potatoes.

The potatoes look absolutely great.

It's hard to see on the purple.

There we go.

Just like that.

Now, what I wanna do is add a cup of stock, and you need to turn your heat off for this because it does snap back.

Hitting that hot pan with this cold stock can be dangerous.

So just a little at a time.

(pan sizzling) There we go.

You see it, comes to a boil.

Now we want to take two stems of rosemary, and just strip those and scatter them throughout the pan.

Just like this.

Then I'll grab my halibut, which is nice and cold from the refrigerator.

You want to keep fish cold as long as possible, and I'll put that right on top.

Now let's put our fish right on the top.

Ah, it's beautiful.

This is six, five and a half ounce portions of halibut.

Just lay them right on the top, just like that.

Now, let's sprinkle 'em with just a little salt and pepper.

Just a touch enough to give flavor, but there's so much flavor in this pan, we don't need a lot.

Now I'm going to cover this with aluminum foil and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about eight minutes.

Then uncover it and finish it out at 325 degrees for about eight minutes.

Now my fish is all done.

The potatoes are nice and just aldente.

I don't want them to get too soft, but I also want to be able to eat them.

So I'm gonna move my fish first, And then we'll move those potatoes and lemons as well.

Now let's pull the potatoes out.

And when we get to a lemon, I want to put that in a strainer because I'm gonna take the juice out of those caramelized lemons.

Now just take the tongs and squeeze the lemons.

And the reason we're doing this in the strainer is, first of all, we want to catch all of those extra little seeds, but we're also going to strain the rest of the juice from the pan as well.

Now just push that lemon through a bit so all the flavor is in the sauce.

Now what I want to do is just incorporate in a little butter to finish it.

So just like a beurre blanc, we're going to start with a little bit of butter at a time and just move that around in that nice hot sauce.

If your sauce starts to get cool, put it back over the heat.

And I'm using about four tablespoons of butter.

Now, this isn't enough to thicken the sauce, but it certainly does give it a beautiful flavor.

(soft music) All right, my butter is melted.

I'm gonna set that aside while we plate.

Now let's create a gorgeous dish.

So what I wanna do is start off with some of my potatoes, just like this.

Make sure you get all of those colors onto your plate.

Maybe a couple upside down and a couple right side up.

All right, make sure you get a piece of garlic per person, because that is so flavorful.

Then we're gonna take one of our pieces of fish and just give it a little angle there.

Make a nice looking plate.

There you go.

And then we want to drizzle with some of our sauce.

Really get over that fish.

Then let's finish it with a little sprig of our rosemary.

Now who wouldn't want that with a great glass of Pinot Gris?

It's so delicious and it makes a great company night meal.

(gentle music) (gentle upbeat music) So we have two of my favorites here, Pinot Gris and Barbera.

And I adore both of these grapes.

So tell me a little bit about the Pinot Gris and what you're really trying to get out of that.

>>This here's the Pinot Gris from last year, 2022.

And yeah, that's got some nice like apple notes.

Yeah, real nice and crisp.

>>Yeah.

>>Oh, that's gorgeous.

>>That stainless steel aged in stainless steel.

>>Yeah.

Pinot Gris is just such a nice light grape, and it's so drinkable, so refreshing.

>>Especially on a nice hot summer day.

>>Oh, yeah.

>>Perfect.

>>Oh yeah.

I love to have Pinot Gris just to sit and relax on the deck, or to have it with some delicious food that's super light.

You know, maybe a little bit of fruit.

I love it.

>>Yeah.

>>It's got great acidity.

>>Yeah, nice balance.

>>Oh yeah.

>>Great acidity in that.

>>Yeah.

And I understand Jessica pairs up a wonderful rum and coconut milk chocolate with this.

>>Yeah, it's a milk chocolate ganache, melt in your mouth.

Again, we are known for it.

And the Pinot Gris is a great match.

>>That's a beautiful chocolate.

Mm.

>>Delicious.

>>Oh yeah.

Well, tell me about this Barbera.

I know not a lot of people grow Barbera in Virginia.

>>No.

Yeah, we're only one of three.

>>Wow.

>>In the state of Virginia.

>>Wow.

>>And it's Italian grape.

This is 2019.

And this has got some nice, like that dark fruit, and then you've got that like blackberry.

>>Oh, yeah, I get that.

>>Oh, you get the blackberry.

>>Yeah.

>>Oh yeah, on the nose.

It's beautiful.

You know, I love that Piedmont region of Italy where Barbera is just so classic.

And this one's just takes me back, takes me back to Turin and Alba.

>>Right, some nice tannin structure in there.

Really smooth as well.

Not too heavy.

>>Oh, beautiful.

That is gorgeous.

And she's paired this one up with a chocolate cherry... >>Cherry chili.

Yeah, dark one.

>>Yeah, it's got a nice little spice too.

>>Got a little little fire on the back end.

>>Let's give it a little try.

Ooh!

>>Yeah.

>>Mind if I do.

>>Oh wow.

Yeah, that's nice.

Just a backend kick.

Perfect for this.

Mm.

I imagine that you get a lot of people interested in trying Barbera because they just haven't heard about that.

>>Exactly.

Yeah, it's unique to Virginia.

>>Yes, yes.

Yeah, I've tried all three of them now from Virginia, and I love it.

I just love Barbera.

Italian grapes are some of my favorites.

So I'm so glad you're doing this.

Well, guys, this has just been an incredible time.

I thank you so much for having me here to Glass House and for joining me in a little chocolate and wine.

>>Anytime.

>>Anytime.

(gentle upbeat music) Barbera is a lovely soft grape that grows in the Piedmont region of Italy.

Whenever I have it, I love to pair up Italian foods.

One of my favorite is octopus, but I couldn't find octopus for this show.

So I'm going to pair up one of my second favorites, which is spaghetti and meatballs.

So today we're gonna make a simple sauce, a simple meatball, and it can all be ready in about 45 minutes.

So let's start with the sauce.

In my blender, I have a 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes.

Now San Marzanos are long, thin tomatoes that have very little juice, so they give you a nice body for the sauce.

I'm gonna add three cloves of garlic to that, I'm going to add about a half teaspoon of dried oregano, a teaspoon of dried basil, a pinch of red pepper flakes, then about a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of parsley.

Now let's just blend that together for a few seconds.

You don't wanna over blend because the sauce becomes pink and too aerated.

(blender whirring) Just like that.

Now I want to take my sauce from my blender and just put it in a pot on the cooktop.

Now you can make this sauce without a blender.

It's not a problem.

You can actually put all of the tomatoes in a bowl and just crush with your hands if you want.

It will just give you a chunkier sauce, but that's still delicious.

Now let's turn that onto a medium heat and bring it to a simmer.

While my sauce is coming to a simmer, we're gonna make some simple meatballs.

You can use this for meatballs, you can also use it for meatloaf, and it's so delicious.

Now, I like to work with a glove when I'm making meatballs, just because I like to keep my hands relatively clean while I'm throwing things in, and it just seems to work better for me.

But by all means, just wash your hands and stick your hands in there.

So I have about three pounds of ground beef, and in that three cloves of garlic.

There's a lot of garlic in Italian cooking.

I'm going to add a tablespoon of parsley, a teaspoon of dried basil, a teaspoon of dried oregano, then a half cup of just a freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

First thing I wanna do is just kind of get that down in there so things aren't clumping all in one place.

And then let's add a cup to a cup and a half of panko crumbs.

Now, panko is an easy crumb to use, and you can also use just a seasoned Italian crumb, but you want to decide what kind of filler and how much based on how much fat is in your meat.

So this is a very lean meat, only 7% fat.

So I don't want to use a whole lot of breadcrumb because I don't have a lot of fat to soak it up.

The other thing you can always do with your crumb is to soak it in milk.

And a lot of people really prefer to do that.

That's called a payard.

Now, let's take three eggs and we'll just put right in there.

And I'm gonna mix all this through.

Now traditionally, meatloaf is made with just beef or with meatloaf mix, and meatloaf mix changes depending on what part of the country you're in.

Some places meatloaf mix is one third beef, one third veal, and one third pork.

In other parts of the country, it's one third beef, one third lamb, and one third pork.

But today, I'm just using beef.

Now beef will give you a little more solid meatloaf and solid meatball.

I kind of like that because I'm actually not frying these or baking them to begin.

I like to just drop them right in my sauce.

So let's get in and make sure that we mix things well.

But don't overmix your meatballs, because what happens is all of the fat starts to seize up.

It comes out of the meatballs and the meatloaf before you ever cook it.

And when you do that, you end up with a tough product.

There we go.

We've got it almost done.

Let's flip it one more time and make sure those breadcrumbs are off the bottom.

Now, let's make some meatballs.

Now, I like to use a scoop when I'm making meatballs.

That way, I know how much meat I'm pulling out.

Lots of people like different size meatballs.

I kind of like them a little bit small.

I can use them as a first course, or I can use them as spaghetti and meatballs.

And I like to make a lot when I make them.

So I make the meatballs and I stick them in the freezer.

I love to do that.

And that's usually the way that I make my spaghetti and meatballs for this.

I'll put these meatballs in the freezer and then cook the sauce later.

Drop the meatballs in straight from frozen.

It just gives a really nice texture to the meatball.

So let's just take this nice little scoop, and I just scoop them out first and then roll them.

Just like that.

Now let's roll those little meatballs, and you wanna tighten them up just a little bit so they don't fall apart in the pan.

And my sauce is starting to simmer and actually starting to boil.

So as soon as I put those meatballs in, I'll turn it back to a lower simmer so they don't fall apart.

All right, let's just drop those right into that sauce.

Now, this only takes about 30 minutes to cook the meatballs from non-frozen.

If you do the meatballs frozen, you wanna go about 45 minutes.

Let's just turn that down.

We're gonna pop that top on, and they'll be ready in no time.

Now let's plate up this beautiful spaghetti and meatballs.

Ah, it looks so rich and thick.

It's just gorgeous.

Now I usually go with about five meatballs per serving on this.

(soft music) There we go.

And then let's dust it with a little bit of Parmesan cheese, and of course, some fresh basil.

Mm, they look so good.

Good enough to eat.

So with this Barbera, it makes a perfect evening meal.

(gentle music) Many thanks to my guests from Glass House Winery for a fun afternoon sitting among beautiful plants.

And I hope you've enjoyed all of the recipes I've put together with Glass House wines, including the spaghetti and meatballs, this delicious halibut, and of course, the appetizer.

For these recipes and a whole lot more, visit me at vpm.org/unwined.

And until next time, I'm Tassie Pippert saying, go grab that glass.

It's always time to Un-Wine'd.

>>Production funding for "Un-Wine'd" was made possible in part by... >>The Virginia Wine Board, promoting the interests of vineyards and wineries in the commonwealth through research, education, and marketing.

There's a movement growing in Virginia's vineyards.

Discover more at virginiawine.org.

>>And by... (gentle upbeat music) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle upbeat music continues) (gentle music)