As many of you might know, this past April, I went down to Unadilla, GA for a two-day class with six-time world competition barbecue champion Myron Mixon. While I was there, of course, I had to sample some of the cuisine available in the Peach State.
In one restaurant, on the menu was a pulled pork sandwich with garlic bread offered as an alternative to a regular roll. From the moment I bit into it, I knew this was something I had to recreate at some point when I was home.
One day in early fall, I decided this was the time.
I won’t bore you with the details on the cook itself. For that, I refer you to the post about my July 4 dish – same method here, the only difference this time is the bread.
To make the garlic bread, I followed a simple recipe:
- 1 stick butter
- 5 cloves of garlic
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of pepper
- 2 Tsp parsley
I put the ingredients into a food processor and mixed until I achieved a consistency that was easy to spread on the artisan-style bread I bought for the occasion. I heated up a nonstick pan and toasted each slice of bread until both sides were a light golden brown.
Then, voila! I had before me a recreation of the pulled pork sandwich I’d yearned for since leaving Georgia in the spring. The buttery, rustic flavor of the bread was an awesome complement to the sweet, slightly spicy pulled pork.
If you’re a fan of pulled pork sandwiches, I urge you to give this a try. I’ll stand by for your thank yous.
The Wine: 2019 Sandhi Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
The rustic, more hearty flavors of the garlic bread led me to pursue a wine that had a little more umph than a white wine that I might normally pair with pulled pork. We had just taken a class at Collier’s of Centreville during which this bottle was featured for tasting.
Why wait to put it to good use, am I right?
The nose on the wine was light with hints of dark fruits and a touch of perfume. On the palate, black raspberry, dark cherry, and a slightly herbaceous quality.
Overall, this Pinot Noir did what a good one should: offered a red pairing option with lighter meats that don’t take away from the character of the food. The garlic bread from the sandwich definitely gave the meal a more hefty element for which a lighter red like this would complement.
Now, a little more about the wine…
I found out later that the winery was founded in 2010 by Rajat Parr, a well-known sommelier and the wine director for Michael Mina Restaurants. Winemaker Sashi Moorman also owns Sandhi. If you’ve watched the SOMM films (and you should if you haven’t), you’ll know Rajat is one of the sommeliers featured in a few of the interviews.
Visiting Sandhi’s website, you get an immediate glimpse as to the motivation and philosophy behind their approach to winemaking.
In my regular travels to wine regions all over the world I have discovered that what is consistent in all the wines I admire is the importance of minimal intervention: growing healthy, balanced grapes without the use of chemicals and making and bottling wines without manipulation. My work in California and Oregon has revealed to me, that here in my own backyard, we can produce wines that hold true to this philosophy with as much success as anywhere in the world.
My goal is to produce wines that honor the tradition of their origins and embrace the amazing terroirs we have in California and Oregon. With these wines, … my hope is to create a community that celebrates the diversity of wines styles, grape varieties, microclimates and soils we have here on the West Coast of the United States.
This is the kind of passion you want from a winemaker, and the appreciation for it is one of the reasons one becomes a wine lover.
Sandhi is in the Sta. Rita Hills region in Santa Barbara County, California. To learn about this area, there’s a website hosted by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance that provides comprehensive history and insight into why it’s such a great region for winemaking:
The Sta. Rita Hills American Viticulture Appellation is located on California’s Central Coast in Santa Barbara County. The Pacific Ocean’s marine layer and afternoon ocean breezes traverse the coastal valley corridors between the Purisima Hills and the Santa Rosa Hills, creating the perfect environment for growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and other cool climate wine grape varieties.
The Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance was formed in 1997 to unify growers and winemakers in the Western Santa Ynez Valley for the purpose of developing their own American Viticulture Area and to promote this unique wine growing region.
Inspired by the incredible potential offered within this wine region, a diverse group of talented growers and winemakers are producing some of California’s most exciting wines. When visiting our neighborhood you will enjoy relaxed hospitality, world class wines and world class personalities.
It’s a region I plan to visit once the COVID insanity dies down and we can travel again without worrying about masks, etc.
Until then, I’ll enjoy it via my favorite wine shop.
Cheers!