DECEMBER WINE CLUB:
Alchemy Premium Wines
Grenache
Colchagua Valley, Chile
MELLOW WINE STYLE
This wine is exceptionally vibrant red in color with aromas of cranberries, sage, and spice. It has firm yet mature tannins, a result of ripe fruit from this thick-skinned Grenache and the gentle care given during the winemaking process.
WINE DETAILS:
- Appellation: Colchagua Valley, Chile
- Varietal: 100% Grenache
- Alcohol: 14.1%
- pH: 3.47
- TA: 6.3 g/L
- Residual Sugar: 0.2 g/L
- Barrel Aging: 12 months in French Oak, 15% new
- Production: 500 cases
- Aging Potential: 6-8 years
- Pairings: Pasta with cream sauces, rich cheese and mushroom risotto
WINEMAKING:
Alchemy Grenache is made from grapes 100% harvested by hand and then 100% destemmed by hand. The grapes never touch a crusher, a de-stemmer or pumps and is bottled un-fined and unfiltered. Grapes are fermented with native yeasts in small open top vessels, then gently pressed using small hydro presses that extract the juice slowly and gently as to not extract astringent tannins. Wines are settled and then transferred using gravity in French oak barrels where they spend the next 12 months aging.
ABOUT THE WINERY:
Alchemy is a hand-made creation of winemaker Alphonse DeRose and friends. Inspired by a late night evening of music played by Chilean friends Juan Pablo and Omar, the three concocted a vision of only the best grapes being processed 100% by hand. Each berry is hand removed from every cluster one by one. The result is a robust wine with aromas of dark red fruits, spice and toast. Alchemy is only produced from exceptional years and has limited availability.
Mushroom Lasagna with Parmesan Béchamel
INGREDIENTS:
- Mushroom Ragù
- For the Parmesan Béchamel
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces/ 84 rams) salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- ¼ cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
- 4 cups (1 quart) half and half
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- 5 ounces (1 ½ cups) finely grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup, packed chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley
- For the Lasagna:
- 12 oven ready no-boil lasagna noodles or 1 pound fresh pasta dough, rolled into sheets
- 5 ounces (about 1 ½ cups) grated parmesan
- ¼ cup chopped parsley, for sprinkling over the top of the lasagna
DIRECTIONS:
- Make the mushroom ragu. Mushroom ragu will take about an hour to prepare but can be made up to 5 days in advance.
Make the Parmesan Béchamel:
- Add the butter to a 3 quart or larger saucepan and set it over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.
- Add the half and half gradually, whisking constantly as you slowly pour it into the saucepan. Add the nutmeg and red pepper flakes and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until the béchamel is thickened and does not taste like raw flour, about 12 minutes. (The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon)
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in 4.5 oz grated Parmesan, stirring until the cheese is melted.
- Stir the fresh parsley and the mushroom ragù into the béchamel. Add salt and pepper to taste, then cover and set aside. (Click here for notes for make-ahead instructions.)
Make the Lasagna:
- Heat the oven to 350° F (176 °C). If using oven ready no-boil lasagna noodles, see the notes about pre-soaking them before layering them into the lasagna. If using fresh pasta, roll the pasta dough into thin sheets and then cut the sheets to fit the pan.
- Layer #1: Spread a thin layer of the béchamel and mushroom mixture over the bottom of the dish. Lay 1/3 of the noodles in an even layer over the sauce. Spread 1/3 of the béchamel and mushroom mixture over the noodles and top with 1/3 of the cheese.
- Layer #2: Add another layer of noodles. Spread 1/3 of the béchamel and mushroom mixture over the noodles and top with 1/3 of the cheese.
- Layer #3: Lay the remaining noodles over the last layer, spread with the remaining béchamel and mushroom mixture, and top with the remaining cheese.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese across the top of the lasagna is melted and the sauce is bubbling around the edges of the pan.
- Remove the lasagna from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with more fresh parsley before serving.
Information & Photos © Alchemy Premium Wines – All Rights Reserved.
© Recipe courtesy of A Little and A Lot.
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