One of my favorite dinners of the summer was this spring roll salad which I paired with our 2019 Roussanne pet-nat. This salad is light but extremely filling with cold rice noodles, shaved cabbage, cucumbers, fresh herbs and a ginger-citrus dressing. The Roussanne that year had a lot of tropical fruit and citrus flavors that pair perfectly with this bright, aromatic salad. Perfect for those sweltering evenings when the last thing you want to do is go anywhere near a hot stove.

Spring Roll Salad (vegan)

8 oz vermicelli rice noodles (boiled, strained, rinsed with cold water, and strained again)
1 head Napa cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 bunch each Thai basil, Mint, Cilantro picked and torn (reserve half of the herbs for the dressing)
5-6 Scallions, thinly sliced
2-3 Carrots, shredded on a mandolin
1 Cucumber, peeled, seeded, halved and cut thinly
¼ Cup Peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Reserve half of the remaining herbs and half of the scallions for garnish.

Dressing
1/2 cup vegetable
2 T sesame oil
1 inch piece of ginger peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, de-stemmed and chopped (or other pepper or chili for desired heat level)
1/2 of the above herb blend (thai basil, mint, cilantro)
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
s&p to taste

Puree all ingredients in a blender until incorporated.
Add the noodles to a large bowl with half the dressing and toss. Add all remaining ingredients and remaining dressing and toss. Let this salad sit in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before serving. Any leftovers will still keep well for lunch the following day.
Serve in your favorite bowls (maybe the ones you don’t use all that often) and garnish with scallions and herbs. Share with friends (maybe the ones you don’t see all that often).

Pairs well with our Roussanne pet-nats.

Serves 6-8 for a dinner sized salads

Historically, piquettes intended to be consumed by field workers and a more affordable alternative to wine. Piquettes can be wildly diverse, with no consistent varietal, blend, or firm tradition associated with the style. It is great territory for experimentation! I have often described piquettes to people who have not tried them as being like a hybrid between sour beer and a wine spritzer. Or, what hard seltzer would be like if it were made with the thoughtfulness of craft beer and wine.

I choose to undergo USDA organic certification at our production facility and estate vineyard because it lets you, the consumer, know that at a minimum we adhere to these baseline rules. Certification is an intense, borderline excessive process, but I took it on because I feel it is worthwhile to participate in a standard of best practices that promote environmental, consumer, and producer health.

A note on sustainability

Sustainable is a broad unregulated term in the wine industry but generally speaking the many certifications that are out there exist to provide oversight on the environmental impacts of farming. This is a big plus but it isn’t strict enough and a lot of the rules are more like strong suggestions. For example, the weed killing chemical Glyphosate is discouraged but still permitted by many sustainable certification bodies.

Sustainable and Organic are not interchangeable terms. A farm can be sustainable but not Organic but it is more difficult to be Organic and not Sustainable because the products that are approved for use in Organic farming are, on the whole, less impactful on the environment. Some have argued that because Organic sprays are less effective than synthetic/systemic sprays that the use of more diesel required for the tractor to spray a field is just as bad or worse for the environment. I would argue that removing chemicals from our food and the land is achievable now so we should start there. Better sources of clean, affordable energy will hopefully become more available in the near future but why should we sacrifice soil health and our personal health in the meantime.

New to the group is a same-day-pick and co-fermented Chardonnay / Pinot Noir blend also sourced from Acadia Vineyard. This wine is delicate and fresh, a tip of the hat to single vineyard-style Champagne. Next is the Albariño with a bright lemony acidity. We bottled this wine in 375ml bottles particularly for those folks who don’t like sharing their bubbles. This wine is in a dead heat with the Grüner Veltliner for top seafood friendly wine - but which to choose is fairly straightforward. If the flavors in a dish would be complemented by fresh lime then go with the Grüner and if they lean more towards a lemon profile, then choose Albariño.