Wine & Country Living

I found it very comforting to be home this weekend to answer letters from you, readers, to re-pot house plants and do a little cooking of all things. Last week, I had such an incredible wine tasting while visiting Livermore, California, wine country, that all the way home I knew I needed to get into the kitchen and revamp an old 1960s Haight Ashbury Chicken Mole recipe ,to pair with the one wine that "blew my cork in Livermore."

But first, a discussion about the Livermore Valley AVA. As a child I remember driving through this part of Northern California, always windswept, dry and hot. It's here that as children, my brother and I would observe a hundred early wind turbines twirling beside plump spotted cows dotting the grassy hillsides.

When you hear the radio ad for Berkeley Farms Dairy and the cow that goes, "Moo," these are the same cows that bay-area advertisers have been writing about for years.

The wild lupine, chamomile and mixed grasses covering the hills and valley floor are tempting nibbles for cows, sprouting out of delicious top soil, and perfect for growing all species of wine grapes.

The terra is not made so much of ancient hurled granite and volcanic matter, but of rich, dark moist mineral sediments that once simmered at the bottom of a monstrous lake, heated by day, cooled by night, wild and windy, visited by fowl, pounded by rains for millennium.

Although Livermore Valley is the biggest producer of Chardonnay in the state, it's the Big White House '06 Syrah produced by winemaker John Evans that really gets me going.

You've heard about Syrahs with spicy profiles? Here, you have anise, blueberries and graceful oak, barreled together for 36 months. Upon my tasting of the '06 Syrah, I was smitten by the nose, so anise-like. The first sip took me to grandma's succulent blueberry pie.

As the wine proceeded to roll over my tongue, a little cup of fresh-ground espresso ushered in a long oak finish. This wine is also a reasonably priced wine. Because this Syrah truly does carry the nuances of chopped fresh anise, macerated ripe blueberry, and just-ground espresso beans, Wine and Country Living gives winemaker John Evans 98 points for his Big White House Winery '06 Syrah. Congratulations John!

Here's that simple one-pot mole recipe you might try pairing with this excellent bottle. Until next week, "Eat Art, Drink Imagination!"

Wholesome Chicken Mole Serves 4

2-tablespoons corn oil

4-skinless boneless chicken breasts

1-onion, chopped

2-cloves garlic, minced

1-can crushed tomato and juices

1-tablespoon creamy peanut butter

1-teaspoon white sugar

½-teaspoon each: cinnamon, cumin powder

1-ounce unsweetened chocolate

1-tablespoon very fine-ground espresso coffee

2-mild chipotle chilies in adobo, rough cut

Method: In a Dutch oven, add oil; over medium heat, cook onion and garlic to limp. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through, about 15-minutes. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer on low for 40-minutes. Serve over organic, slow-simmered, short-grain brown rice tossed with butter and 1-teaspoon chopped cilantro.

Hear Judith Speak! www.chefjudithhenderson.com