NEWS
Copia's Love Affair with Cheese
CURRENT RELEASE
PAIRING RECOMMENDATIONS
2019 The Story (Grenache)
pairs with Ossau-Iraty
2019 The Cure (G-S-M)
pairs with Cave-Aged Gruyere
2019 The Source (Syrah)
pairs with 5-Year Aged Gouda, Artikaas
Tandoori Shrimp | Recipe by Anita and Varinder Sahi
There is nothing quite as satifying as the traditional Indian method of cooking clay vessel called a Tandoor. What results are delectable, tangy morsels of meat and seafood or pillowy naan breads and rotis. Proteins are marinated (usually in yogurt) and cooked quickly at a very high temperature. In this recipe, we show you how to achieve a similar dish using jumbo shrimp and your BBQ grill. While yogurt and shrimp might seem like an unlikely pairing, it has a very specific role in this preparation. The yogurt is not only a great base for all the spices blended into it, but it also cooks down to a light crust on each shrimp when grilled. This is always a crowd pleaser at our dinner parties. We typically serve it as an appetizer, however, add a little basmati rice and you have a marvelous entrée.
Game Meat and Prawn Paella | Recipe by Chef Rachel Ponce
View Recipe
This Steak might be jealous, but you gotta try it!
Recently, we were honored to learn that Wine Enthusiast Magazine picked 2017 Copia Vineyards Cabernet as one of it's top-rated all-American Cabernet bottlings (95 pts). We think that this lush and opulent Cabernet could make a steak salivate and we are happy that others agree!
Cooking the perfect steak takes very few things. You need a high quality piece of meat, a super hot cast iron pan and some patience to not mess with it too much!
Our 2017 Cabernet is a superstar wine and we have held on to it exclusively for our wine club members. We wish you happy food pairing and hope you try this Ribeye recipe out with some Award-winning '17 Copia Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon.
Strawberry Bakewell Tart | Recipe by Sarah Boone
Pineapple Mint Mojito | Recipe by Varinder Sahi
This drink transports you to the tropics in one sip. It’s for the days you need to travel to the vacation memory in your mind ….
The Little Things
Down the rabbit hole we all went back in March. Just like Lewis Carroll's Alice, you could say that it has been an Adventure in Wonderland, with all it's complexities, dramas and strangeness. Back in March, I'm sure a lot of us were wary of mandatory sheltering. Then in April, if you didn't have to seek medical help, you might have felt gratitude for just being healthy. And now in May, dare we try to be cautiously optimistic? To some, it may feel too soon. To others, it may not be soon enough.
This "downtime" is difficult, but it doesn't come without feeling transformed somehow. It's been the little things during this time that feel like blessings. Little reflections. Little activities. Little lessons. We learn how to just "be" in the same space at the same time as our significant other. We can gain an appreciation for the things that the other person does throughout his or her daily life. We share their struggles and relish in their triumphs. Our thoughts become unlocked and free. We share them with each other. We listen to nature uninterrupted and think about our own influence on its cycle and heartbeat. Life is taken slower than before, because we don't have much of a choice, do we? It makes me wonder how many of these "little things" I will want to keep alive in my life after the height of this pandemic passes. Years from now, I suspect I'll look back at this time with a weird sort of nostalgia. I know I'll be forever changed by it and it's not necessarily a bad thing to have life interrupted only to value it more.
It seems like we're on the cusp of moving to Stage 3 of California's "Resilience Roadmap." We shall see. This last week, we've been discussing how to successfully and safely conduct wine tastings again. On Friday, we joined a Zoom call with around 250 of our peers to learn about where we stand when it comes to reopening. It feels imminent and we are preparing for the eventuality.
Finally, to everyone who has been ill or knows someone who has been affected by COVID-19, we wish you strength and hope that there are some little things that you, too, can hold onto at this time.
A WEEK OF NOSTALGIA
Eats
Sarah's Strawberry Bakewell Tart
Drink
Pineapple Mint Mojito
Jams
This is Little Richard
Read
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Excerpt here: Down the Rabbit-hole
We're continuing our Curbside Pick-Up, Local Delivery and $1 Shipping Special. See below for more details and email or call (805) 835-6094 if there's anything we can do for you.
Warmly,
Anita Sahi
"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."
WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY.
SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
COPIA VINEYARDS STORE
20% OFF ALL WINES, EXTRA 5% FOR CLUB MEMBERS
CURBSIDE PICK-UP, LOCAL DELIVERY
$1 SHIPPING AVAILABLE ON 3 BOTTLES OR MORE
PROMO: COPIA20
How?
Go online (select "pick up" or shipping option at checkout)
Or email, call/text Sarah (805-710-7222)
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Roasted Chicken Over Root Vegetables | Recipe by Varinder Sahi
This is no trick of the eye. There is more than one way to roast a chicken, but apparently, if you’re Varinder, you need to wear the same shirt on a different day to do it! What makes this homestyle dish just a tad bit elevated is the 3-day prep process. On Day 1 you prepare your chicken and brine. On Day 2, you start the “drying” process, something that V credits Chef Thomas Keller with. On Day 3, you’ll continue to dry and roast it off that evening. The results are well worth the time and nothing short of succulent! In terms of the brine and the specific vegetables you use, be easy and free. We pulled out whatever we had at the time and put it to great use. Enjoy this elegant homestyle meal! – Anita Sahi
Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits | Recipe from Anita Sahi
This recipe was inspired by my family. In our travels to India, we would often head to local sweets shops and bakeries and find a to-die-for assortment of biscuits, milk cakes and savory rusks. We also welcomed anywhere from 2 to 20 people a day for tea at home (no joke). Each visit from a guest would have us excited over the prospect of snack pairing.
For Indians, tea time (or chai time, as we call it) is sacred. Our tea of choice is usually a Masala Chai, whose permutation differs from family to family and individual to individual. My specific chai includes influences from my own parents, from Varinder and from his family. In COVID lockdown, we’ve become even more self-reliant and I have started to bake again (one of my first jobs was baking in a professional restaurant). These Whole Wheat Tea Biscuits were dreamt up for three very specific qualities: 1) They had to be nutty and stand up to strong, aromatic masala chai (ginger, cardamom, cloves, black pepper), 2) They had to be thin and snackable all times of day and 3) They had to have an undeniable crumbliness (think of Biscoff cookies). For the latter, the use of a touch of gram flour did the trick. I mixed these cookies by hand because I love to judge a dough by how it feels, but they are super versatile and, for a less “messy” preparation, can be done in a standing mixer as well.
Chicken and Chorizo Paella | Recipe from Sarah Boone
This recipe is one of my weeknight go-tos – you can dress it up, or dress it down! Paella is tradtionally made with Valencian rice, but I know most of us don’t have multiple rice varieties laying around. Any medium to short-grain rice will work. Arborio is my favorite and it’s found at most stores. This version of paella is finished in the oven, which it allows you to walk away to set the table or do the dishes and return to a finished meal. The most important trick to this recipe is to not stir! You want the rice to be tender, but not creamy or risotto-style. A perfectly cooked paella will develop a crisp, caramalized layer on the bottom called socarrat. Let the crispy layer happen. Serve with your favorite grenache or a grenache dominant G-S-M.