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The Kosher Connection along California's Central Coast By George Medovoy, Editor If you're driving up Highway 101 between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, you'll pass Oxnard, where new housing growth is pushing up to the edge of beautiful beaches and broad farmlands. And what may surprise you is that this Central Coast city, located 43 miles north of Los Angeles and just 11 miles inland from Channel Islands National Park, is the home to the kosher Baron Herzog Wine Cellars and its Tierra Sur Restaurant.
(The large new Herzog facility, including Tierra Sur restaurant, is located in Oxnard, north of Los Angeles, on the way to Santa Barbara) The large winery, built in 2005, represents eight generations of winemaking, going back to Baron Herzog, who made wine in Slovakia before the Holocaust for Emperor Franz Joseph. Indeed, Franz Joseph liked Herzog's wines so much, that he bestowed upon him the esteemed title of "Baron." Touring the Winery My wife and I toured the winery with Herzog's Monica Agyekum and then enjoyed a great lunch at Tierra Sur, the open-kitchen restaurant where Chef Todd Aarons prepares wonderful lunches and dinners in a rustic, Mediterranean-Tuscan style. On the winery tour, visitors walk along a windowed-corridor one floor above the winery and look down on the operation below. Herzog gets its grapes from California's central and northern wine growing regions, including Lodi (near Sacramento for old-vine zinfandel grapes), and Napa and Sonoma for others. It does not own its own vineyards, but "sources" grapes from private vineyards. Sourcing the Best Grapes "It's a bonus for us not to have our own vineyards," said Agyekum, "because we can source the best area for each varietal." The winery, which is an arm of Royal Wine Corporation, markets two lines: the Baron Herzog value line, which is sold in places like Trader Joe's, and the Special Reserve program, whose European and Israeli wines are sold in higher-end wine shops.
(Visitors can take a tour of Herzog's winery and peer down at the operation from above) The Baron Herzog brand includes old-vine zinfandel made from 79-year-old vines, an off-dry Rose made of Cabernet Sauvignon, in addition to Black Muscat, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. The Special Reserve wines include several Cabernet Sauvignon as well as some innovative Cabernet-based blends, Russian River Chardonnay, Edna Valley Syrah, and two late-harvest dessert wines. Herzog's winemaker, Joe Hurliman, has started a single-vineyard program from vineyards in Napa Valley. One of the wines from this program is a 2006 single-vineyard Cabernet from To Kalon vineyards, which retails for $200. Herzog's modern tasting area offers two reasonably-priced options: the Baron Herzog tasting for $3, which includes Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Blanc, and Black Muscat, and a Special Reserve tasting for $6, which includes California Chardonnay, Cabernet/Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon/Zinfandel/Syrah. Herzog also features four kosher wine clubs: Herzog Cellar, World Tour Club, VIP Membership, and finally the Chill Club for those just getting into wine. Lunch at Tierra Sur Following our tour, we ambled over to Tierra Sur Restaurant, which can seat up to 40 people in a pleasant setting with white table cloths and comfortable leather chairs. There
is also patio seating for when the weather warms up. But it was most likely his year-long experience at Restaurante Da Delfina in Tuscany, Italy that instilled in him a fascination with Tuscan culture and cuisine - reflected today in memorable creations at Tierra Sur.
(Tierra Sur has an open kitchen, where guests can get a view of all the "action") In seeking to classify Aarons' style of cooking, one could call it Mediterranean, Tuscan, or a mix of either of these two with additional evidence of Mexican flavors and styles. But whatever label you choose, Aarons' style reflects a simplicity built upon fresh ingredients from local farms and the use, of course, of a wood-burning stove. In Italy, he noted, the connection between land and food is very strong. Though we're seeing more of this with the spread of farmers markets in America, Aarons notes that "you have communities (in Europe) where they know where their food is coming from…" Visits to Local Farms The chef makes it a practice to visit local farms and claims with some pride that "our best friends are all the farmers in the area." So now comes the kosher equation: just how did Aarons get to this point in his professional life? In the late 1990's, as he was becoming more religiously observant, he traveled to Israel. While there, he also worked in food, developing Italian/Mediterranean menus for new cafes. Following his return to the United States, he opened an upscale glatt kosher French-Mediterranean restaurant/bistro called Mosaica, in New Jersey. In terms of cooking kosher, Aarons likes to say that the food "just happens to be kosher." "It's not in the forefront of my mind when I'm putting the menu together," he says. "It doesn't change the style of the food."
(The Herzog gift shop offers shoppers an opportunity to purchase wine and other products, including fine olive oils) Thus, for example, thanks to Mediterranean influences, olive oil "reigns supreme" at Tierra Sur rather than butter, since kosher laws don't allow the mixing dairy and meat. The proof, of course, is all in the pudding -- and what a tasteful proof it was! Soon
after we sat down, our waiter brought us a generous serving of wonderful French
bread with a dish of rich olive oil for dipping. First, there were salt cod beignets, presented in a cream puff dough. Next were miniature chile rellenos served in "toy box" chiles, which Aarons had filled with a heavenly mix of whipped potatoes, eggs and fish roe. And finally, there was a serving of Greek olives along with large green olives and red ones, the reds red because of a different brining. My main course was a bow-tie pasta-and-duck ragout with a really good tomato sauce, which had hints of rosemary and garlic. Mixed-in crouton bits added a nice crunch to the pasta and duck. Herb-Marinated Chicken Breast Sandwich My wife selected the herb-marinated chicken breast sandwich with garlic aioli and homemade hickory-and-maple smoked lamb bacon and sweet potato fries, which was so substantial that we had to ask to have part of it boxed to take home. For desert we shared the orange almond flan, which came with a splash of cream on top. The dish artfully captured Spanish-Moroccan influence through its ingredients of almond milk with a caramel sauce, which was made by caramelizing late-harvest Riesling. Ironically, Tierra Sur's sophistication stems from the way Aarons combines not more than perhaps four or five components on a dish to yield a unique flavor profile, one that will make you want to come back time and again for more. WHEN
YOU GO… Tierra Sur hours are Sunday - Thursday: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., and 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., and Saturday (in winter): 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Reservations suggested. Self-guided tours of the winery are available when the winery is open. Tours on Sunday are available by appointment only. The cost of the guided tour and tasting is $10 per person. Call the tasting room ahead of time to arrange for this tour.
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