01/21/2008 - Lamb and Big Red

By Gil Whiteley
Certified Wine Sommelier

The great thing about lamb is that is so versatile, you can pull almost any big red out of your cellar and open it, and the experience is different each time. Here are some can’t miss suggestions.

Kendall-Jackson 2004 Meritage Vintner’s Reserve: retail $12

McWilliams Hanwood Estate 2006 Shiraz: retail $12

2004 Ray’s Station Vineyards North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon: retail $15

2005 Martín Codáx “Ergo” Tempranillo Rioja: retail $15

2006 La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir: retail $22

Montevina Terra d’Oro Deaver Vineyard 100 year old vines 2004 Zinfandel: retail $30

2003 Terrabianca Campaccio Selezione 50% Cabernet Sauvignon 50% Sangiovese, Super Tuscan: retail $68

Clarendon Hills 2005 Syrah Bakers Gully: retail $70 NOTE: This is my favorite

Cignale 2003 Colli Della Toscana Centrale 90% Cab 10% Merlot: retail $110 - Wow!

Clarendon Hills 2005 Astralis Syrah: retail $350 – When only the best is called for.

01/18/2008 - Colorado Lamb

Colorado lamb is often thought to be some of the highest quality lamb available.  The main factors bringing about this high quality are Colorado’s favorable climate and its high quality lamb genetics.  These factors work together to optimize the lambs’ quality.  Most lambs are born in the pristine mountain pastures where the air is pure, the vegetation plentiful, and the temperatures comfortable—helping to minimize stress to the animals and allow them to grow at nature’s pace.  Lambs grown in Colorado are meatier than lambs grown in many other states due to the optimal growth environment and unique genetics.

The seeds of what is now Summit Creek Natural Lamb today began in Colorado almost 50 years.  Many of the company’s lamb ranches are located in Colorado and produce a steady stream of high quality animals.  Its feed yards consisting of acres and acres of open space–where around 10,000 to 30,000 lambs receive a grain ration before going to market–are located in Brighton and Brush, Colorado.  The grain ration contributes to the animals’ mild flavor and tender texture.  Summit Creek Natural Lamb is the choice of many of the finest restaurant chefs in the United States.

For those who want to serve Summit Creek Natural Lamb at their next party or special event, gift boxes of this high quality lamb are available from their website at summitcreeklamb.com.

01/17/2008 - Sommelier Pairing Wine with Lamb

By Gil Whiteley

If I prepare a special meal and I want to impress my guests, I use Summit Creek Natural Lamb Chops or Rack of Lamb, period. It doesn’t get any better than that for me. I recently broiled a couple of racks with a dry rub (recipe below) for New Years Eve dinner. I never go out on New Years—amateur night on our highways. First, you can’t drink a bottle of wine and drive. But even if you are sober, drunken people will crash into you. Still, New Years is special, and to me that means serving lamb. This New Years, I served an extravagant bottle of Clarendon Hills 2005 Astralis Syrah, which has a street value of around $350.00. In 2007, Astralis was the highest rated wine in the world. I only drink it with lamb, although it goes terrifically with other things. 

Clarendon Hills is in Southern Australia where lamb is what they eat five days a week. The wines of that region are grown to accompany lamb—perfectly paired for any dinner highlighting lamb. Summit Creek Natural Lamb is a perfect choice for the complex unfiltered wine of Clarendon Hills, which can make a great meal memorable. No skimping here.

It’s funny but my favorite wines with lamb are from what I refer to as the mostly overlooked red grapes: Syrah/Shiraz, Grenache, Zinfandel, Sangiovese and the newly discovered, in America at least, Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, a nice Spanish Rioja, maybe a Meritage style blend, or even a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, all can be incredible with lamb.

These wines—big luscious fruit—have enough heart to stand up to and enhance the rich flavor you find in lamb. When shopping for wine for lamb think big, but give a try to some of the grapes you don’t always reach for. It should be special, and not the same ol’ same ol’.

Lamb allows us to experiment with so many great wine varietals, and the same preparation of you lamb can be a completely unique experience by just changing your wine selection. Experimenting with different wines can be a luxury, but also an adventure in your wine life. The rules set down by the wine geeks (that would be me to an extent) can be limiting.

It’s your palate and pleasing your palate is all that is necessary. Don’t be afraid to try a buttery Chardonnay or a Rose Brut Champagne with lamb either. Lamb is one of our great culinary treats, and should always be looked on as such. It’s a staple comfort food for much of the planet, and at its best it stands alone.

If I had to match a wine with lamb tonight, I’d head back to Clarendon Hills and open a 2005 Bakers Gully Syrah, it’s about $70.00 a bottle, but is in the top five bottles of wine I’ve opened (about 600 Bottles) in the past eight months. The Lamb? That’s easy, Summit Creek, of course.

Gil Whiteley is a sommelier and has been writing about wine for the past 10 years, he is currently the wine columnist for Wild Blue Yonder, the in flight magazine of Frontier Airlines. Gil discusses wine regularly on his radio show; Gil Whiteley, Sports and More, on 1510-AM, Mile High Sports Radio in Denver.

11/30/2007 - Preparation of Lamb, Lamb Cooking Tips: Rack of Lamb, Steaks, Cutlets, Loin Chops, Shanks and Legs

From the Lamb Guru…

Preparation of lamb: Many people think lamb is a mystery meat that is difficult to prepare. The guru prepares lamb all the time and knows preparation is easy. You just have to follow a few simple steps:

• Buy lean cuts of lamb and make sure the lamb is trimmed properly.
• Never overcook lamb - lamb cuts should be cooked no more than medium, preferably medium rare.  Remember - lamb will continue to cook slightly after it is removed from its cooking source.   Lamb should be juicy and flavorful and it loses these attributes when overcooked.
• Lamb is great when grilled.  Use your outdoor gas or charcoal grill as weather permits (indoor grills are excellent, too).  Remember to sear the juices in by first cooking the lamb briefly at high direct heat, being careful not burn it.  Then, you can use indirect heat to finish the lamb.  Again, the key is: do not overcook the lamb.  Depending on the type and thickness of the cut, cooking lamb generally doesn’t take long.
• Lamb can be cooked easily in the oven, too.  It can be roasted (legs, rack of lamb) or broiled (steaks).  You can even use portable indoor cooking devices such as Farberware grills or George Foreman grills.  These latter devices are nice for cutlets (e.g., top round or top sirloin cutlets…or simply cutlets made from the leg.
• If you are cooking lamb shanks (whether heel-on hindshanks, regular hindshanks, or foreshanks), you need to cook these using moist heat (braising).  When fully cooked, braised lamb will almost fall off the bone and be very tender.

The Guru’s Suggestions…

• Racks of Lamb (8 ribs) - Grill or Roast
• Steaks, Cutlets - Grill or Broil
• Loin Chops - Grill or Broil
• Shanks Braise - (moist heat)
• Legs - Roast or butterfly* boneless leg and cook on grill

*butterfly—cut boneless leg open lengthwise so thickness is somewhat uniform (for more even cooking).