The “Behind the Cellar Door” “Passport to the World” theme created a worldly adventure for visitors touring the 36 participating wineries this year. A focus on wine and food originating from different countries created a call for creativity in theme and taste. Among the participating wineries closet to the visitors center where tickets could be purchased was Tanis Vineyards. Although the actual vineyard is further out on Willow Creek Road, Ione and less often receiving the huge event crowds, they presented a wine and food pairing tasting at Amador Vintage Market located at 9393 Main Street, Plymouth.
The little strip of Main Street is a pleasure in itself and beckons photographers to capture a bit of old town structure and ambiance. The main strip of the old town is short and sweet and is home to the market that often provides the foods paired with Tanis. During the BCD event, Tanis decided to go Dutch in honor of their Dutch ancestry. According to owner, Andrew Tanis, some of the traditional main dish Dutch faire was turned into hors d’oeuvres to accompany three of their featured wines. The pairing was a success indeed and spoke well for both Tanis Vineyards and the Amador Vintage Market. Yum!
For the Tanis 2009 Chenin Blanc, which is described as “crisp and refreshing, well-balanced fruity palate” a delicious bit of cheese topped with pork belly and sweet and spicy almonds atop an endive leaf was served first. The pairing made tasters eager to seek out the next set which consisted of the Tanis 2009 Mourvedre paired with Dutch potatoes. The traditional red potato was hollowed out and filled with beef seasoned with capers, dill, anis and other on-the-spot flavors to compliment the wine.
For the final pairing taste, Andrew Tanis had the Market create an hors d’oeuvre out of the Dutch hotspot that he recalls enjoying in his youth. The mini hotspot consisted of potato and shredded beef short rib on a puff. This delicious bite was paired with the Tanis 2009 full-bodied Amador Zinfandel. This particular Zin fools the nose and tongue into detecting sweet due to the vanilla essence and was another fine presentation.
Additional Tanis wines were available for tasting at the vineyard location in Ione. The pairing was only presented at the Amador Vintage Market which was a good idea to insure BCD participants didn’t overlook Tanis in their rush from winery to winery in the cluster on Shenandoah and Shenandoah School Roads. The owner, Andrew Tanis, and his staff created a fun and friendly corner of tasting pleasure as well as information. The Tanis label, according to Andrew, came about after coming up with all kinds of names, including some very bizarre ones. After the name attempt task ran its course, Mrs. Tanis (Jill), clever lady that she is, insisted that Tanis was actually the perfect label. Mr. Tanis, so used to the name thought it perhaps humdrum but the lady proved correct and the label now sings a good song as it grows in recognition as another top caliber Amador winery.
You can find out more about upcoming Amador County wine events at the Amador Vintners Association page here. Tanis Vineyards website can be found here and Amador Vintage Market can be found here.
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