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August 25th, 2006 - More than Grapes
Our friend Jonathan Beard from Bistro Aix was visiting us the other day, and we loaded him down with a box of vegetables that were at their peak of ripeness: heirloom tomatoes, oozing with the flavor of summer, peppers of every color of the rainbow (the more interesting colors, anyway), eggplant with a little bite, and zucchini (maybe we should have picked that one a few days earlier). Jonathan made a ratatouille, a dish he had made hundreds of times in the past, but he proclaimed that this incarnation was the best he’d ever made. I attribute this largely to the fact that we take as much pride in our gardening as we do in our vine tending (after all, they really are the same thing in essence), but I know I can’t take all the credit. Cooking with perfectly ripe vegetables makes all the difference in the world; it’s impossible to find that level of ripeness at the supermarket. There’s nothing worse than biting into a mealy tomato picked for storage and keeping properties and not for flavor. It can hardly be called food! But a vine ripened tomato, warm from the sun, that dribbles down your shirt as you bite into it is what summer is all about.
 In the vineyard, our Cabernet and Merlot are just about finished coloring up, and we’re removing some of our crop to ensure that everything ripens evenly for an October harvest. We will harvest our first Sauvignon Blanc in a week or two, which I’ve impatiently awaited for the past three years. This inaugural crop will be tiny, producing perhaps as few as 60 cases, but already I can tell it is destined for greatness. The berries have a delicious lemon flavor right now, but are still a little too tart to harvest.
Our flock of sheep has grown to 38 and they now have a friend and protector in Poquito, a jet-black guard llama. Llamas are supposed to have a special hatred for coyotes and relish attacking canine predators with their hooves and by spitting. I fear however that Poquito might not be cut out for guard work. He seems to take his job seriously and displays his grave demeanor to all who pass by. His intense stare is powerful. But lately he has become terribly frightened of our terrier Royal. I have serious doubts as to how he would respond under an actual coyote attack. We may have to trade Poquito in for his tougher older brother, Ace.
You'll find my recipe for ratatouille here. I’m sure it can’t compete with Jonathan’s, but it’s perfect if your garden is overflowing with produce that you can’t eat fast enough (or palm off on your neighbors), and so satisfying! It also freezes well – to help you remember the summer long after it’s gone.
— Ames Morison, Winemaker
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