Last week I attended an incredible wine tasting at the University Club in Chicago that featured wines from various producers in Napa Valley, California. A few of my favorites included wines from Trinitas Cellars, Folio Wine Producers, Rutherford Hill, Oakville Ranch, and an incredible Cabernet Franc (which I usually do not like because a lingering green pepper taste) from Larkin Wines. Since this was a private event (that I was oh so lucky to get invited to), the crowd in attendance was not overwhelming and so the guests could speak to the folks pouring the wines without feeling rushed to move to the next table. Additionally, most of the people pouring the wines were actually intimately involved with the winery they were representing – for instance, Sean Larkin, of Larkin Wines, was pouring for the guests. Certainly this is a step above the typical ‘cattle call’ wine tasting event where everyone is herded around and the people pouring the wines were hired only hours before from a temporary labor agency.

I have a special love for wine tastings, above and beyond trying the wines themselves (of course that is a BIG part of it), because these events remind me of how similar wine is to unrefined salt. There are distinct varietals in both wine and salt, which have unique characteristics that can be teased out or enhanced by blending in other ingredients. And perhaps because of the many similarities between wine and salt, there seems to exist a special appreciation by ‘wine people’ of the remarkable variation between types of unrefined salts. These people embrace the notion that there is not just one single type of naturally occurring salt, and that each salt brings something different to the kitchen table in terms of flavor, color and consistency. In wine, you see variants identified in many of the same ways as salt, and so there exists a natural analogy.

After the wine tasting, I ran into a friend and we got to talking about Beyond the Shaker, and the use of salt in general. I had several samples that I proceeded to dose out to my friend, and I then began to describe some culinary applications for the various salts. Before I could get based on my second recommendation, Jake piped out, “well aren’t these salts only good for finishing a dish?!” Two problems with that question – first, unrefined salts in both their Pure and blended form, can be used for much more than just finishing the flavor canvas of a dish. Indeed, in the information provided with each of our Pure Foundation and Beyond Blend salts, you will find application ideas that fall into every part of the cooking process.

The second (and more serious) problem with Jake’s question/statement, was that there is an assumption that being part of the ‘finishing’ of a recipe or dish is something that is not incredibly meaningful to how the food turns out on the whole. This mistaken notion is downright hogwash! I would argue that it is indeed the opposite- that the ‘finish’ on a dish may be the most important influence on how the flavor is ultimately transmitted to the person eating the food. Adding a sprinkle of our Hickory Maple Blend to a grilled lamb chop just prior to serving means that this will be the very first flavor that hits the tongue and mouth once consumed. Indeed it sets the ground work for all other flavors to come, and so if it is off balance or over powering this finishing could wreck the entire meal. Likewise if this flavor is deep and sophisticated (like what you will find in the Hickory Maple Blend), it can carry the rest of the dish even if you screwed up and grilled your lamb chop a bit too much or made some other culinary misstep along the way. One of my recent favorite application involved finishing herb encrusted salmon that has been grilled with a sprinkle of Citrus Basil blend right before serving (picture above). The flavor is incredible and the Citrus Basil acts as a warning to your mouth that some awesome food is about to be eaten. YUM.

Jake agreed (and I don’t think he was simply doing it to placate a salt fanatic) that he would need to rethink his perception of salt, and flavor in general the next time he did some cooking. Similarly, after my conversation with Jake, I was reminded of one of the vintner’s comments at the wine tasting earlier in the evening. He elaborated on wine making and the focus that needs to be had at every step of the process to create an ideal wine. This could be years in the making as the grapes are harvested and aged before being bottled. So in reply to the question of what part of the process was the very most important, he replied that in his mind it was really the little things that happen at the ‘end’ which can make or break a great wine. The final processing of the wine can destroy an otherwise fantastic wine, since mishandling at this point will erase all the time, work and effort exerted. And similarly, an example that the vintner used to prove his point that the finishing on a wine can be the most critical part of the wine tasting experience, was describing the importance of decanting particular wines. This final step can take a wine that initially would only taste mediocre and allow its true flavor to shine.

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