Located between the San Rafael mountain range and the Santa Ynez mountain range in California is a place called Santa Ynez Valley. At the center of the valley is a small town called Solvang. The name “Solvang” is a Danish word meaning “Sunny Fields.” It is designed with Old World Danish architecture and is a surprising contrast with the surrounding viticulture land. One might never suspect the prestigious New World wine country lying just beyond.
One of the best Solvang wineries is known as Sobriquet Winery. It is a small winery with great attention to quality. All of the wines under the Sobriquet Winery label are aged in oak barrels and made by owner and wine craftsman, Chris Stanton. His winery boasts reputable red wines like a 2008 Grenache and a 2008 Syrah. In addition, he has an amazing 2009 Chardonnay and a good Pinot Noir wine for less than fifty dollars from 2008.
Like many other Solvang wineries – and wines – Sobriquet Winery has won awards for excellence and received many high grades from critics like Robert Parker. The 2008 Pinot Noir from Sobriquet Winery is one of these acclaimed wines. It has won the Bronze medal at the San Francisco International Wine Competition and it has received a 93 rating from Wine Enthusiast as well. Grapes from Sierra Madre Vineyard in Santa Maria about thirty miles north of the Santa Ynez Valley were chosen to represent the label because of an incredible terroir that helps this Pinot wine stand out from the crowd.
In case you are not aware, Pinot Noir red wine is lighter in color than Cabernet or Merlot. It also has a relatively high alcohol content, with a medium to a high acidity level. Usually the level of tannin is a medium to a high level as well but, since the Sobriquet Pinot is aged in oak barrels, it contains additional tannin.
Whether you’re a professional chef or a first timer in the kitchen, a cold tuna pasta salad will be a great dish for you to prepare. It is simple and healthy, not to mention sinfully delicious.
Tuna can be bought in wet markets, in the groceries or in the supermarket section of the nearest mall in your area. It can be sold frozen, in various slices and packed in plastics. It is also canned and cut into chunks or flakes. Tuna may either be fresh, in water, in oil, or flavored. But for a tuna pasta salad recipe, canned tuna in water or oil is highly recommended. You wouldn’t want the pre-mixed flavor to compete with your ingredients.
When deciding a recipe to whip up, take a look at the list of ingredients first and see if they are available in your area. If it’s a yes, then go for it, if it’s a no; try to improvise with what’s available but not to the point of spoiling the entire recipe because of all the wrong ingredients. Tuna pasta salad is usually cooked with olive oil, garlic, and tomato. Tuna is used as a healthier alternative to meat in pasta traditional dishes such as spaghetti and carbonara. However, it has always been a resident ingredient in pesto pasta. Vegetables and other sea food such as shells and shrimps are the usual complementary ingredients in a quality tuna salad recipe.
This dish is not only mouth-watering but also healthy. Tuna has nutrients which protect the body from having heart ailments and high blood pressure. It is also loaded with protein. It has low fat and calorie content. Now there’s a miracle meat meant to be enjoyed by your tongue and by the rest of your body as well.
A filled green pepper is creative way to serve scrumtuous tuna pasta salad. Top it off with powdered parmesan cheese and put two slices of toasted and buttered bread on the side. Other favorites included tuna pasta salad with peas. Have fun and feel free to experiment; this is one dish it’s almost impossible to go wrong with!
