Sustainably Sourced Seafood + Organic Wines: Rock Crab Claw Crêpes with Bonterra's 2020 Chardonnay #WinePW #PourOrganic #Sponsored

 This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the September #WinePW organic wines event. 

Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. 

This month, Gwendolyn, the Wine Predator, is hosting the Wine Pairing Weekend bloggers as we look at organic wines and pairings. You can read her invitation here. And, if you are reading this early enough, feel free to join us in our Twitter chat. We'll be live on Saturday, September 11th at 8am Pacific. Follow the hashtag #WinePW and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it.

Here's what the writers are sharing...

• Robin Bell Renken brings Organic Wine – Sustainability and Beyond (Plus Recommendations and Pairings to Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Camilla Mann suggests Sustainably Sourced Seafood + Organic Wines: Rock Crab Claw Crêpes with Bonterra’s 2020 Chardonnay on Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
• Wendy Klik is Drinking and Dining Sustainably and Organically on A Day in the Life on the Farm.
• Terri Oliver Steffes sees Slow Wines and Organic Farming with Lettuce Grow at Our Good Life
• Nicole Ruiz Hudson presents a Chardonnay and Chicken Showdown: Chile vs. California on Somm's Table
• David Crowley offers an Organic Wine Pairing with Veggie Burgers on Cooking Chat
• Linda Whipple suggests Vegan Black Bean Burgers and Organic Wine: a Planet-Conscious Pairing on My Full Wine Glass
• Cynthia and Pierre Ly present Mystery Organic Wine “Le Vendangeur Masqué” with Crêpes Dinner and Economics on Traveling Wine Profs
• Jennifer Gentile Martin considers Organic Wines with Pasta and Shrimp on Vino Travels
• Pinny Tam goes with Organic White Wines: Bonterra Chardonnay, Cono Sur Chardonnay & Sauvignon Blanc Paired With Asian Vegan Dishes on Chinese Food and Wine Pairings
• Martin Redmond offers Sustainable Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Paired with White Pizza on ENFYLZ Wine Blog.
• On Wine Predator, Sue Hill and Gwendolyn Alley have AmByth’s Natural Wines, Biodynamic Farming for the Future.

Sustainably Sourced Seafood

When Gwendolyn first talked about this event, she pitched organic wines paired with vegetarian dishes. I loved that idea. But her invitation ended up being more general and, so, I opted to pair my organic wine with some sustainably sourced seafood.

We take part in a CSF (community-supported fishery) in our area called Real Good Fish. It's a collaborative system made up of food nerds, ocean lovers, and fisherman who are all interested in working together to sustain and celebrate the bounty from our ocean. Just like a CSA (community-supported agriculture) box from a local farmer, the weekly deliveries are varied. I know some people prefer to eat and cook with ingredients that they know they enjoy. But, for us, I love the mystery in both our veggie box and our seafood deliveries.

And, for the CSF, I enjoy reading about the people behind the catch. For example, these rock crab claws were caught by trap in Moss Landing by fisherman Alex Revenko on his boat the Sweet Water. I know that this is local, caught sustainably, and supports a small business. Win, win, win! 

Organic Wines + Bonterra's 2020 Chardonnay

If you follow my blog, you'll know that I belong to a local organic farm's CSA program. And I do appreciate learning  how producers are employing processes that are better for our bodies, our community, and the planet. But I'll be honest: while I appreciate learning about organic and biodynamic practices and I truly respect growers that are following those practices - whether they get the certifications or not - those designations are not a guarantee of a "good" wine, in my mind. 

But, for this event, I was lucky enough to receive a shipment of three organic wines to sample and pair. To go with my Rock Crab Claw Crêpes, I poured Bonterra's 2020 Chardonnay. I'll be sharing other pairings to go with the wines from Cono Sur - one Chardonnay and one Sauvignon Blanc.

At just $14 for a suggested retail price, this Chardonnay - made from certified organic grapes - is a lovely summer sipper. The grapes are primarily from the estate vineyards at Blue Heron Ranch and McNab Ranch both in Mendocino. Winemaker Jeff Cichocki shares that the grapes were harvested in September and October 2020. The grapes were pressed with skins on and, then, seventy percent of the fruit was fermented in oak barrels. The remainder were fermented in stainless steel to retain brightness and freshness. The oak-fermented wine underwent a second malolactic fermentation which added a fuller, creamy texture.

The wine poured a brilliant golden straw color. On the nose, I noted aromas of green apple with a tinge of orange blossom. On the palate, the wine had a more tropical lean than I anticipated. And there was a creamy vanilla finish that felt warm and round.

Rock Crab Claw Crêpes

Because I wanted to pair my organic wine with some sustainably sourced seafood, I was excited to get rock crab claws from our CSF. I opted to make a batch of crêpes. Then I filled them with a smear of artichoke pesto, added the crab claw meat, squeezed lemon over the top, sprinkled with a local sea salt and rolled it on up. A smear of romesco sauce over the top finished up this culinary adventure.

Ingredients makes approximately one dozen

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups organic whole milk
• dash of ground cardamom
• butter, for cooking
• For serving: cracked crab, artichoke pesto, lemon juice, salt, romesco sauce

Procedure

Whisk all of the ingredients together until lump-free. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Heat a large flat-bottom pan and rub the bottom with butter. Pour the batter into the pan and quickly make a tilting motion to distribute the batter all over the pan. The goal: have as thin a batter layer as possible.

Cook until the crêpe is a bit stiff and flip over, cooking for another minute The pancake should be lightly browned on both sides. Repeat till all the batter is used; I made 12 crêpes with the quantities listed above.

Let everyone assemble their own crêpes. 

Thanks to Bonterra Organic Vineyards for the wine sample.

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*Disclosure: I received sample wines for recipe development, pairing, and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.