>>In the northern part of the Shenandoah Valley sits a beautiful Civil War haunted house and, oh yeah, a vineyard.

Today on "Un-Wine'd," we'll visit Valerie Hill Vineyard and Winery.

Back in the kitchen, some great food.

So, go grab that glass, it's time to "Un-Wine'd."

>>Production funding for "Un-Wine'd" was made possible in part by, >>The Virginia Wine Board, promoting the interests of vineyards and wineries in the Commonwealth through research, education, and marketing.

There's a movement growing in Virginia's vineyards.

Discover more at virginiawine.org.

>>And by.

(soft, upbeat, smooth jazz music) >>Cabernet Franc is a very beautiful grape, and it grows really well here in Virginia.

Well today, I'm going to make for you a sandwich that goes with it that I love.

It's an Italian sub, and there's nothing quite like a great Italian sandwich.

We're going to start off with some fresh focaccia that I just baked last night, and I have already split it, just like that.

And I just want to tumble that over, so I have it nice and open.

So, you have the bottom, and you have the top.

All right, on the top, we're gonna place some provolone cheese Here we go.

I want to put this under the broiler for just a couple of minutes so that it has the opportunity to melt.

And what I wanna do is top both sides, eventually, with cheese, and then, when I put it under the broiler, everything is protected.

Now, let's take some Italian meats.

Start off with a little mortadella.

Now, you can use any Italian meat that you like.

Mortadella, to me, is like an American bologna, but it has more flavor, and it has a lot more fat content in it.

I like to put that on the bottom of the sandwich, because it gives a little more moisture to the bread.

So, let's just lay that out.

Don't worry if you go over the sides.

You know that Italian subs and Italian sandwiches are just not that neat.

Now, I have a couple different types of salami, and this one is a peppered salami.

This will give a lot of extra flavor to the sandwich, and you'll get that pop of pepper.

Some regular Italian hard salami, and this just adds that texture.

And, of course, a lot of flavor.

Now, we wanna use some capicola and some soppressata.

Let's lay those in there.

Continue to build that flavor.

When you travel through Europe, the street food is just so impressive.

And one of the things that my husband always loved grabbing was one of these wonderful Italian subs.

Now, a little bit of prosciutto, And let's just lay a little on there.

I'm not gonna use a lot of prosciutto on this.

Sometimes, prosciutto can be wasted on Italian sandwiches when you have all of this other meat.

So, just a little bit for extra flavor.

Now, let's take some red onion.

And I'm using about half of a medium onion here on this sandwich.

All right, and now, let's lay on that cheese.

I'm using mozzarella for this particular side, and I found sliced mozzarella, and I thought, well, gosh, that's gonna make this so easy.

This is just a deli mozzarella.

Now, I'm going to put this on aluminum foil on a tray and stick it under my broiler for just a second and come back and finish this for you.

So, my cheese is all melted.

And now, we're going to add some peppers, a little pepperoncini.

And I love to use pepperoncini on this, because it really is just an Italian favorite.

And you can also use other kinds of peppers, roasted red bells, if you want, anything like that.

But I think the pepperoncini just brings out that Italian flavor in this sub.

Just sprinkle through, and then let's add some tomato.

And I have one nice sized tomato here.

Now, before I put on the arugula, I want to add a little bit of salad dressing.

And I do that on the tomato, because if I put it on the bread at any point, it's going to make the bread really wet.

And if I put it in the arugula, it does the same.

So, I've got a little Italian salad dressing here, and you can use any kind that you like.

Of course, oil and vinegar is also awesome.

(spoon clinks) I have a jumper there, I lost a piece of tomato.

And then, we wanna top it with some arugula.

Nice, fresh arugula, called rocket on Italian subs.

All right, and then let's top it.

Let's bring that over, plop it right on the top.

Is that gorgeous, or what?

(Tassie sighs) Now, let's take, this usually makes three very large sandwiches, just like that.

And then, I want to take this one and cut it in two and place it on my plate.

(bread crunches) (slow, soft jazz music) Look at that, isn't that great?

This Cab Franc really brings out those Italian flavors in this sub.

With its green pepper flavor that's really natural in Cab Franc, it all blends together so well.

And I hope you'll love this Italian combination.

(soft, upbeat jazzy music) So, Colleen and Mike, thanks so much for having us here at Valerie Hill.

You are new owners, and we're excited to hear what that process is like.

>>Oh my goodness, yeah, it has been a process.

So, we took over the winery in March of this year, so we're five months in, and I'll always remember exactly where we're at, 'cause my son was born that same week that we finally closed on the property.

So, it's a little bit of chaos of newborn, and new business, and renovations, and figuring everything out, but.

>>It was a great celebration.

We closed on St. Patrick's Day, so the timing worked out.

So, it was a busy week.

>>Yeah.

>>Yeah, that's fantastic.

So, what is it like to take over an existing winery, from the governmental perspective, and from the personal perspective?

>>It's been honestly pretty great because you're walking into an established community, with people who love the wine and love the environment.

And so, even moving somewhere new, usually it's hard to make friends and find community.

And here, we kind of felt like, in taking over the business, we were able to have that instant community, which was so nice.

So, I think from a personal aspect, it's been just very cool.

And then, yeah, obviously, on the other side, was just lots of paperwork, and, (Colleen laughs) yeah, lots of juggling, I guess, also, on the personal front of jobs, and kids, and that's been really busy.

>>Oh, yeah.

>>And the whole team stayed here, so I mean, we definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

We have an awesome, awesome team.

>>They're amazing.

>>Yeah, and they have a ton of experience here, so we're very lucky.

>>Yes.

>>So, you've got all of these beautiful grapes planted out here, and this will be your first harvest.

So, what excites you the most?

>>Oh gosh, I think we're excited to see everything from start to finish.

We started, we went to our first bottling a few weeks ago, and that was really exciting.

And now, we're picking labels, and yeah, we're just counting down to when we can harvest the grapes.

My daughter's two-and-a-half, and we keep talking about harvest, and it's right around her birthday, and she keeps being like, "When the grapes come for my birthday," and we're like, yeah, kind of.

And so, it's just been, yeah, fun as a family to prepare for it.

We're super excited.

>>Oh, yeah.

And what kind of varietals do you plant here?

>>Yeah, so up front when you first pull in, is Seyval Blanc, so that's our second biggest block, which is a lot of fun to see when you're coming in, coming down the long driveway.

And then out back we have Vidal, which is the biggest block that we have.

And then, right next to the house here we have Norton.

>>That's great, those are terrific Virginia grapes.

So, do you have plans to plant anything different?

>>Ooo, I'd like to do a Cab Franc, is my dream and vision.

But we're waiting and making sure that we have a handle on what we have now before we start going ahead and planting.

>>Oh yeah, and do you buy grapes from other places, then?

>>We do.

We work with winemaker Michael Shaps.

And so, through that, we obviously have access to an amazing consortium of other wineries where we're able to buy grapes.

>>Even here in the Shenandoah Valley, we can leverage similar establishments in their fruit that they grow, so it's great.

>>Well, and I know that there are a lot of growers here in the Shenandoah Valley who don't have their own wineries, but they simply sell their grapes.

>>Mmhmm.

>>Yeah.

It's a really nice community, and cool to be able to explore that option, for sure.

>>What excites you about being in this hospitality field with people coming in from, probably, all over the country?

>>I mean, as we've been coming in, I think what people always tell us is this place feels like a home away from home for them.

They just come in, immediately feel welcomed by the staff, and the house itself has so many different nooks and crannies and the areas that you can hang out in.

And I mean, whenever I walk around, people are never having a bad time.

It's everyone kind of connecting with family and having great experiences.

So, I think for me, it's just continuing to cultivate that community feel, making sure that we're having events that support this kind of togetherness, because yeah, there's surely a great foundation here, and we're excited just to not mess it up.

(soft, upbeat, smooth jazz music) >>Merlot is a beautiful grape varietal that's medium in acidity, it's medium in body, and it's medium in tannin.

And it works so well with soups, and I love it with this one.

It's a roasted red bell pepper soup, and it's simple to make, and it's great, hot or cold.

So, the first thing we're gonna do is just chop some peppers.

And I have seven peppers in my bowl, and I just wanna show you how to easily take out that core of the pepper so that you're not fighting with the seeds.

So, what we're gonna do is just go all the way around the pepper on all sides, and just trim off.

And there, we've got that seed pocket, we don't need to deal with it.

Then, you can trim it up just a little bit on the inside, if you need to.

Now, let's just give it a rough chop.

Now, these are huge pieces.

We're going to roast them, and if you chop them too small, what I find is they actually burn, and then they can taste a little funny.

So, nice, large pieces.

(peppers crunch) Like this.

And what we're gonna do is put a little olive oil on those with a little bit of garlic, and we're gonna stick them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until they start to get a little char on the edges.

(peppers crunch) I love tomato soup, but I really love this roasted pepper soup, because it gives you a different flavor altogether, while giving you the same texture as tomato soup.

Now, let's put all these on a pan, and then we're going to stick them in the oven.

So, here I have a cookie sheet and I'm just going to lay out my peppers.

You don't want them stacked like this.

You want to make sure that you scatter them out, just like that.

(bowl clinks) Then, let's take about four cloves of garlic and just sprinkle over the top.

These are finely-minced.

Then, let's just squirt this with about two tablespoons of olive oil.

And you wanna give it a little toss, just to make sure those peppers are coated and that garlic is all over, and not just in one little spot where it will burn.

There we go.

Now, I'm going to put this in the oven, and then I'll be back with some roasted peppers, and we'll finish up the soup.

Now, my peppers are all roasted.

And look, some of them get a nice char on them.

That's really awesome, it adds to the flavor.

The other thing I love about the soup is, for most red pepper soups, you have to take the skin off of the peppers.

For this, it just adds to the texture.

Now, in my stock pot, I want to put 2.5 cups of chicken or vegetable stock.

(stock splashes) (spoon clinks) I'm using an extra deep pan for this, because I'm using an immersion blender, and I don't wanna pour it out all over myself when I use that blender.

Now, you can also use just a regular blender, but if you do so, make sure that you have a cool soup before you put it in the blender.

Let's drop our peppers into the stock.

Mmm, they look so yummy.

I started making the soup with my students when I was doing a soup course, and they absolutely loved it and made it all the time.

In their college dorms, they could make it in a little hot pot, and they just loved it.

In that case, they were actually cooking the peppers in the stock.

Now, I want to add 12 sun dried tomatoes.

Now, these are julienne, so I'm using about a half cup of julienne tomatoes, all sun-dried.

And don't worry if you still have a little of the oil on them.

I like that flavor, and it really adds.

Then, let's add two tablespoons of prepared pesto.

Now, if you don't have pesto, you can also use a little bit extra garlic, a little bit of basil, and some Parmesan cheese, but just enough to make two tablespoons, and stir it through.

This is gonna give a really nice flavor to your soup, and it gives it a little extra texture at the end.

Next, let's add just a little bit of lemon juice.

Now, I want to soften that lemon before I try to squeeze it.

So, just roll it on the counter, or if you have trouble doing that, if you have arthritis in your hands, or you just want a quick and easy way, pop it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, and it will release the juice so much better.

Now, I just wanna give a nice little squeeze, probably about a tablespoon, but catch those seeds so you don't have the seeds in your soup.

Now, I want to take an emulsifier, just a little tool for the pot.

Make sure the emulsion blender is down inside the pot when you start it, flat.

(blender whirs) (liquid gurgles) Now, you can see how it spits up the pot.

That's why we use a deep pan for this.

So, here's my creamed soup.

Oh my goodness, it looks great.

But what we wanna do is just finish it up a little bit with some sour cream, or creme fraiche.

This is about a quarter cup.

Now, you've got a couple options with this soup.

If you want to make it completely vegetarian, leave out that cream.

(whisk scrapes and rattles) There we go.

Ah, this is beautiful.

Now, I'm going to be back in just a minute all plated-up with a nice bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.

So, let's plate-up, or bowl-up, with this beautiful grilled cheese sandwich.

Mm, this is so nice and creamy.

Now, this makes about four servings.

(ladle rattles) (soft, jazzy music) Mmm.

That looks yummy.

(pot clanks) And who wouldn't want to enjoy a nice lunch, or a really light dinner, with this and a nice glass of Merlot?

(soft, upbeat, smooth jazz music) So, Colleen and Mike, I love Seyval Blanc, and I'm really excited to try yours.

So, tell me a little bit about the Seyval Blanc.

>>Yes, this is an estate wine, so it's all grown right here, which we love.

This is the 2021, and it was stainless-steel produced, and you'll notice it has aromas of grapefruit, a little bit of honeysuckle, has a light, crisp apple taste to it, with a mineral finish on this one.

>>Yeah, it's really nice.

I also get a little green pear, maybe.

>>Mmhmm, mmhmm.

>>Beautiful fruit in this.

So, this is all estate-grown.

>>This one's estate-grown, yeah.

>>And then, what do we have in the red?

>>The red is a Cab Franc.

This one's definitely one of my favorites.

This is a 2019 Cab Franc, aged in French oak.

And you'll probably notice some toasted oak.

It has a black, peppery finish to it.

>>Yeah, just a hint of blackberry.

>>Yes, exactly.

>>It's really nice, I love a good Cab Franc.

>>This one happens to be my favorite.

I always tell Mike I'm gonna switch it up, and then he always finds me with a glass of Cab Franc in my hand.

(Tassie chuckles) >>Yeah, my husband always kids me, "Do you want a white or a red?"

And of course, I'll go, "Red, redder the better."

(Tassie and Colleen laugh) >>I love it.

>>Because I do love red wine, and Cab Franc is one of my favorites.

I love that Virginia grows so much Cab Franc.

And I know you said that you would really like to plant some.

>>Yeah, that's my dream.

I think that'd be really cool to put our mark on it and have some Cab Franc here.

>>You said this was a 2019?

>>That's a 2019, yeah.

>>Very, very nice.

And I think it would even cellar for a little while.

Right, yeah.

>>Oh, absolutely, yeah.

>>So, here's to you and life in the vineyard.

(glasses clink) Thank you so much for having us here at Valerie Hill.

>>Thanks so much.

>>Thank you.

(soft, upbeat, smooth jazz music) >>The tannic structure of a Meritage calls for a beautiful protein.

You see, proteins and tannins merge in this beautiful marriage on your palate, and it creates the most wonderful flavor combination.

So today, a nice rib roast, and I'm going to rub it, stick it in the oven, and make some sauce for you, as well.

So, we're gonna start off with the rub for the beef.

I have a little bit of of thyme.

Now, you can use dried thyme, or you can use a fresh thyme.

If you use dried, about half teaspoon.

If fresh, about three-quarters of a teaspoon.

I have two teaspoons of pepper, just a nice, freshly-grated black pepper.

I have a teaspoon of fresh rosemary that's all minced.

Then, I want to take a teaspoon of onion powder.

Now, it's important to use the powder here, so you get the flavor and not the salt.

(bowl clanks) And two teaspoons of kosher salt.

Now, I want to mix that with my fingers, like this.

And then, I'm going to add just a couple tablespoons, two-to-three tablespoons, of olive oil.

Now, what you're doing here is making a nice cap on the meat so that it sears in the juices, and then everything is so flavorful.

All right, now let's just rub this on the meat.

But first, before I do that, I just wanna check to make sure that it's dry.

So, a lot of times, particularly on the bottom, the meat gets really wet from the packaging.

So, let's just flip that over, blot it really well with paper towels.

And then, let's proceed to rubbing it all over.

So, let's start on the bottom, since I have that up.

A nice rub on that meat.

Oh, this looks great.

(bowl clanks) And you always wanna roast the meat so that the fat cap is up.

That way, as the fat starts to dissipate, it goes into the meat.

So, as it renders, it creates a beautifully juicy roast.

(spices rustle) Ah, this looks wonderful.

Now, I'm going to put this on a roasting rack and put it in a 500 degree oven for 15 minutes.

And then, I'll reduce that heat to 325 and bake it for about, oh, 20 minutes per pound, or until it reaches my desired done-ness level, which, for me, is between medium and medium rare.

(hand scrapes) Now, while that beef is baking, I want to make some horseradish cream, which I love with a rib roast.

It's just the perfect combination.

Now, let's start with about 3/4 cup of either sour cream or creme fraiche.

I'm using creme fraiche, and I love that, because it was in the store, and it adds a little extra creaminess to the sauce.

To that, I want to add two tablespoons of mayo.

(bowl clinks) And then, three-tablespoons-to-four-tablespoons, depending on your flavor desires, of freshly-grated horseradish.

Now, we don't often find the horseradish root in the grocery store, but you can find it in the dairy case already grated for you, and it's absolutely delicious, and it'll stay fresh for a while.

Now, let's add the juice of half a lemon, about a tablespoon, and make sure that you catch all of those seeds as you go in.

Now, it's important to put the lemon juice in, because that will add the tartness that you need to make the sauce complete.

Whenever you make a sauce, you wanna make sure that you have more than one of those combined flavors in it.

So, in this case, creaminess and tartness.

Alright, let's stir that in.

(bowl clinks) And then, let's put in about half teaspoon of salt, because we do want this to have a lot of great flavor once it hits that meat.

And if you don't have any salt in this, it really seems to be very flat, because the meat has a good salty character.

(creme softly squishes) Now, let's taste it.

Mmm, that's gonna be great.

I'm going to chill this until the meat is ready to serve.

(knife clinks) Now, let's get a nice sharp knife, and we'll be ready to carve.

(slow, soft jazz music) (meat softly crunches) Mmm, this looks absolutely gorgeous.

Look at that beef.

This is just such a lovely dish for a holiday season, or for a beautiful family Sunday dinner, mmm.

So, with this Merlot, it's so well-balanced.

It's a beautiful meal, and I hope you'll enjoy.

Well, many thanks to my spooky, and not-so-spooky, guests today from Valerie Hill.

I hope you've enjoyed all the foods I've put together with their wines, including this delicious Italian sandwich, this gorgeous prime rib, and of course, don't forget the red pepper soup.

So, until next time, you can always get my recipes at vpm.org/unwined.

And I'm Tassie Tippert saying, "Don't forget to grab that glass.

"It's always time to 'Un-Wine'd.'"

>>Production funding for "Un-Wine'd" was made possible in part by, >>The Virginia Wine Board, promoting the interests of vineyards and wineries in the commonwealth through research, education, and marketing.

There's a movement growing in Virginia's vineyards.

Discover more at virginiawine.org.

>>And by.

(soft, upbeat, smooth jazz music) (soft, ethereal music)