Alsace vineyard

Nudged against the eastern flank of the Vosges Mountains, the vineyards of Alsace enjoy the ideal vine growing conditions of low seasonal rainfall and warm, sunny climate. The northerly location ushers cold, snowy winters and long, sun-filled summer days, vital requirements for optimal vine health and balance. From a geological standpoint, Alsace offers a patchwork of rock and soil types: slate, granite, limestone, clay, pebbles, sand, marl and loess. The multiple soils permutation, varying topography and microclimate as well as the chosen grape variety ensure a broad range of styles. The best vineyards are located on slopes, yielding intense, concentrated and mineral wines; lower altitude vineyards tend to produce light-bodied, clean and fresh wines. The varietals choices revolve around whites, namely riesling, pinots gris and blanc, gewürztraminer, muscat and sylvaner. Most wines are made from a single varietal and labeled as such; edelzwicker is a blend of several varieties and is often sold under a proprietary name such as Hugel’s Gentil. Being blessed by a long and usually mild growing season, most growers offer a wide selection of bottlings, ranging from bone-dry to honey-sweet wines and from basic Village to Grand-Cru levels, many of various varietal compositions.

Riesling is Alsace’s jewel in the crown, with racy, lime-like acidity and fruit notes of green-yellow apples, peach, pear, flint and apricot it is highly suited for dry and sweet wine production.

Pinot Gris is generally less acidic and often develops distinctive smoky notes intermingled with dried fruits, apricot, honey, beeswax, and gingerbread.

Map of Alsace

The pronounced aroma of Gewurztraminer is hard to miss: intense and complex, offering a rich concoction of exotic fruits, lychee, mango, pineapple, roses, orange peel and spice with ginger, cloves and peppery elements.
Pinot Blanc’s pretty and delicate aromas of white flowers, peaches, melon and apples make it ideal as an aperitif or starter wine.

This month Café Campagne invites you to a gustatory tour of the wonders of Alsace, France’s most picturesque and delicious white wine road.

Bordeaux lies in the western region of Aquitaine, a province that was surprisingly under English control from the twelfth century, thanks to the marriage of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine until   the end of the Hundred Years’ War in 1453.

Geographically, the region is split from the northwest by the Gironde estuary, which is fed by two rivers: the Garonne which comes down from the Pyrenees and then turns northwestward from Toulouse, and the Dordogne, which begins southern central France in the region referred to as the Massif Central, near Limousin and Limoges.

As we focus our sights on Bordeaux and its culinary traditions, the breadth of the region’s lexicon of ingredients offers a veritable bounty of choices.  Mushrooms, in particular the cepe, are prominent in the pine forests south of the Gironde estuary.  Lamb and duck are prominent throughout, from the agneau de Pauillac, or “milk-fed lamb” to the famous foie gras of the more inland areas Périgord and Dordogne.  The Agen prune is the more flavorful European counterpart to our softer California prunes.  Walnuts are plentiful as well.  In fact, many locals have their own walnut trees, to the extent that many will harvest enough walnuts from their own property to sell them to the local mills for consumer production!

Located in the north and south parts of Aquitaine, respectively, Cognac and Armagnac are the world-renowned French brandies made in the specific areas surrounding the towns that are their namesake.  Finally, Bordeaux’s eponymously-name sauce, Bordelaise, includes a classic combination of red or white wine and marrowfat, with nearly infinite variations thereof.

Our French 101 menu in January showcases the Bordeaux region with a little bit of local northwest flavor.  Three course for $30, we begin with a haricots verts salad that evokes a classic dish from the nearby Périgord area , what we call Haricots verts en salade avec tartine.  Simple green beans are marinated in lemon verjus with parsley and garlic and topped with a large, toasted slice of peasant Levain bread, on which we spreadbeurre de gascogne, made from shallots reduced in red wine, cooled and whisked into rich clarified duck fat.  The second course is our Pleurotes Bordelaises.  Instead of the traditional cèpe mushrooms, we have sourced King Oyster Mushrooms from Vancouver to be cooked slowly in a bit of duck fat and finished with a sauce of parsley, garlic and white wine and paired with a house-made roasted pork sausage.  We finish the meal with Roquefort Coccinelle, accompanied by a couple of Bordeaux’s usual suspects: walnuts, toasted and steeped in honey, and cognac prunes.

Café Campagne will be celebrating Bordeaux with this unique dinner menu through the rest of January.  Please come in to take a little trip to Bordeaux with us!

Next blog post: By the bottle breakdown of the Bordeaux wine feature for this month!

Bordeaux and it's primary wine-making regions

A quick study of the map of Bordeaux vineyards will point to important regional characteristics.  For one, the area is quite large -in fact it is France’s largest wine producing region- and composed of a multitude of neighboring, sound-alike appellations. Secondly, the vineyard land  lies quite close to the Atlantic Ocean and is divided into three major areas;  the Left Bank to the west, Entre-Deux-Mers in the center and Right Bank to the east. The proximity to sea and river has a profound impact on viticulture; from climate to microclimate, soil structure and composition and on down to the choice of grape varietals and ultimately to style and quality of the wines. In order of total plantings; red grapes outpace white. In order of importance they are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc for reds and Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle for whites. The long-established practice of blending ensures some level of consistency from vintage to vintage; each varietal’s contributing structural and flavor elements associated with the appellation and individual properties. Cabernet Sauvignon aromas of cedar, cassis and roasted coffee dominate on the left bank whereas Merlot flavors of plum, violet and black truffle will often grace the right bank wines of Saint Emilion and Pomerol.

Although mostly renowned for its reds, Bordeaux also produces dry whites, rosés, sparkling and sweet wines . This month, we explore the intricacies of Bordeaux, where the unending tension between nature’s challenges and the vigneron’s skill never fails to stimulate the taste buds.

Cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc account for 90% of red plantings, malbec and petit verdot planted mainly to add flesh and spice to the blend.

Come celebrate La Fête des Rois with Café Campagne and have a chance to win a $100 gift certificate!

What is La Fête des Rois?

The Magi, the three kings that visited the infant Jesus, took twelve days to travel to Bethlehem.  This travel has become known as the 12 days of Christmas.  The day of their arrival, what is now January 6th, is now celebrated by much of the Christian world as the Epiphany, l’Épiphanie in French.

This tradition has been continued through the centuries and in France, La Fête des Rois (translated as the Feast of Kings) is observed throughout the month of January.  The Galette des Rois, a puff pastry cake filled with rich frangipane (a delicious almond paste) is an integral part of the French custom.  It can be purchased at almost any neighborhood boulangerie (bakery).  From the store, the cake usually comes with a paper crown and has a small figurine (called the fève, originally a Fava bean) actually baked into the cake!

On Epiphany, friends and family get together and the cake is served by slices to the attendees.  Whoever receives the slice with the fève is crowned the King or Queen of the party and is thereby elected to host a Fête des Rois the following week.

This tradition varies throughout France. In certain areas, the Galette actually has a bean and a figurine.  In that case, the person who gets the figurine is the King or Queen and the person who receives the bean hosts the next Fête.  Furthermore, you can find variations on the Galette in Latin American countries (known as La Rosca de Reyes) and the American South during Mardi Gras (King’s Cake).  These are all very different types of cake, with candied fruit in Mexico and colorful frosting in New Orleans.

At Café Campagne, we’re celebrating La Fête des Rois by offering La Galette des Rois on our dessert menu.  And don’t think for a second we’re leaving out the fun of the fève!  If you find the fève in your slice of galette (we’re using the traditional Fava bean), you get a $100 gift certificate!

Hope to see you soon!

Evening view from the Inn at the Market

To celebrate a recent special occasion, I decided to treat myself to a pampering stay at our neighbor, the Inn at the Market. Considering how often we serve their guests both in the restaurant and through room service, I had wanted to see what the experience of a night there was like. I had heard wonderful things about it thus far and had already gotten to know many of the staff members.

Sunset in the patio door

The patio door of the Inn at the Market

The day of my reservation, December 1st, turned out to be a beautiful Seattle winter day.

There was hardly a cloud in the sky as I pulled up to the valet stand for the Inn, several hours early for my check-in time. I was planning to have lunch nearby with my mother before checking in and didn’t want to bother with finding street parking before I could have my car parked in the hotel lot. John, the valet, was happy to take my car for me. The front desk was incredibly accommodating as well, allowing me to check in early and letting me upgrade into a better room. Since I had never stayed in the hotel before, I had no real idea what to expect, aside from some of the pleasant looking pictures on their website. I received my room key and headed upstairs. (As a note, there was always an elevator open and waiting for me every time I entered the lobby!)

I opened the door to a nice, spacious room. It was clean and bright and brightly lit by the afternoon sunlight despite all the curtains being drawn.
I was in a bit of a hurry to meet my mother for lunch down the street, so I set my belongings down and went to head out the door. Before I left, I thought to myself, “I can’t really leave without taking a glance at the view, can I?” I walked back across the room to pull the curtains aside and involuntarily gasped. The view was stunning and was coupled with a private patio that was almost as large as the room itself!

Southerly sunset from the Inn at the Market

Now, those who know me are familiar with my great love for Seattle and both its natural and man-made beauty. To be on that patio, standing over Elliott Bay with the embracing cityscape of the Emerald city surrounding me, was invigorating. After a moment of appreciation, I turned back into the room and noticed out of the corner of my eye four delicate cupcakes and hand-written card acknowledging my special occasion.

An excellent touch.

After lunch, some friends joined me in the room for some sparkling wine and conversation for a couple hours before dinner (dining out is my favorite way to celebrate).

Sunset with a ferry

The hotel was quick to provide some extra glasses for our festivities and brought them up nearly in the time it took to open the bottle!

The night was wonderful. It was so pleasant to wake up in their luxurious bed to another clear winter day beaming in through the windows and through the patio doors.

Morning northwestern view from the Inn at the Market

A couple very relaxing hours of lazing around and I called down to the front desk to alert them that I would soon be ready for my car (as they had asked).

After returning my keys I walked out the lobby of the hotel to see my car already waiting for me.
Soon after returning home I realized that I had misplaced couple items. When I came back to the restaurant the next day I stopped by to inquire with the front desk if I had left them there. Sure enough, they had them set aside to return to me.
All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better downtown Seattle experience to celebrate.

Matt Longman
Manager, Café Campagne

Beaujolias Nouveau fever is about to break out the world over, although received with much yawn from our local press and pundits (too sophisticated I presume) this phenomenon still holds sway in diverse cultures around the world. From Japan, to Europe, India and of course the US sommeliers, cavistes and consumers await the new wine, eager to take part in the celebration of the newest  harvest, to take pleasure in the somewhat symbolic  act of sharing wine with friends and complete strangers from around the globe.

Long before fast airplanes and trains the local cafés and bistros of Beaujolais and Lyons would offer the young wine straight out of barrels (they still do), nothing fancy but with enough fanfare and reverence to inspire other cities in France to take on the tradition. Nowadays, it is hard to separate the logistical and marketing feat that Beaujolais Nouveau is from its true meaning, but every so often one needs to set aside cynicism and let be seduced by the simple pleasures of life.

I’m planning on doing just that this coming Thursday, hope you can join.

Cyril

IN THE HEAT OF THE BATTLE

Hey Friends,

here is a shot of me during my Iron Chef America battle against Bobby Flay.

We are having a viewing party on October 11th starting  at 6PM.  The entry is $25 for assorted charcuterie and snacks.  There will be a cash bar. Reservations are required.  If you can’t make it to the party, be sure to tune in on the Food Network

I just started serving this new dish at Cafe Campagne  petit’ sale aux lentils.

it is a variation on a traditional dish of the Lyon region, as we run a program called French 101 at Cafe Campagne consisting of changing 3 course menus for a month at a time or so.

The dish actually started out as a charcuterie project.  I love the taste of pork hock and wanted to do something to capture the fantastic flavor that comes from the long simmer of the connective tissue and ligaments.  I placed  the hocks in a brine, then cooked them in a vacuumed bag  with mirepoix for several hours.  When the cooking was complete and the hocks were sufficiently tender, I pulled the bone from the center and dressed the insides with minced shallots, parsley and red wine vinegar.  I reshaped, pressed and refrigerated the hocks.  The finished product was sliced and dressed with a simple vinaigrette. It reminded me of several meat salads I had had in France-pigs ears and snout and beef nose/snout.

Anyway, every time I was assembling this item I would nibble on the hot meat just out of the bag and the flavor and texture was so good it would make my toes curl.   I thought,  I gotta put this on the menu as a hot item. The aroma was fantastic and the flavor and textures were so satisfying.

Here is a pic of the finished product and my challenge to my twitter followers.

“If u think u r man or woman enough, step up to Cafe Campagne’s French101 special petit’ sale aux lentilles”

The Tablee du Marche outdoor lamb event has been postponed until a later date.

White Beaujolais

Although 99% of the vineyard land is planted to the red producing grape Gamay noir à jus blanc variety, the Pays Beaujolais also produces also a delicious white made with chardonnay.  The predominantly granite and schist based soils are indeed ideal for gamay, bringing forth the austere minerality and bright red- fruit character of red Beaujolais. The best whites however, come from the northerly, limestone chalk and calcium-clay-rich soils underlying the red Cru Saint Amour and vineyards adjacent to the Maconnais appellation.  The wines tend to be weightier than straight Macon, with fleshy stone fruit and grilled almond notes. They are a perfect match to the charcuterie and rich sauces found in the countless bouchons and restaurants in neighboring Lyon.

Cyril