Porcini

One of our goals at the winery is to produce wines that have a sense of place - wines that show off what is best about our unique location.  We frequently get the opportunity to pair those wines with vegetables we grow or cattle we raise and the combination of 'handcrafted food and wine' is very satisfying.  Occasionally, we also get to forage for wild edibles.  Porcini mushrooms are the first of this wild crop to appear and we look forward to the first hunt of each year with eager anticipation.  This mysterious (and delicious) bounty seem to pop out of the ground a good 10 days or so after the first rains and whenever we find time, we dash off to the secret hunting areas and test our luck.  The other day we had great success (see shot below) and enormous fun uncovering not only enough porcini to enjoy ourselves (Pinot noir = insanely good pairing with a simple porcini and pancetta risotto) but also to share with two of our favorite local restaurants - Zazu and Scopa.  The feeling of finding these gems is akin (I'd imagine) to unearthing buried treasure - or perhaps even compares to opening gifts as a child at Christmas. 

We try to be a generous crew up at the ranch so if you feel like foraging over the next few weeks, let me know and we'll set something up.  We might have to get you to swear an oath of secrecy regarding the location of these prized mushrooms (there are some fanatical hunters around who'll stop at nothing!) but I know that if you are anything like us you'll have fun hunting down and then enjoying a truly wild feast.  These rare porcini are a wild reminder of the special nature and real sense of place at Medlock Ames.