Time to work on the label.... really.

I drove down the mountain with my daughter, Darci, for another day at the custom crush facility. We are getting closer and closer to the finished Vin de Noix. Today we made some additions, including Clary Ranch Syrah and I am pleased. It feels like my kitchen counter escapades, but with a much bigger jar! Afterwards, I took my brother, Paul Clary, out to lunch for his birthday. Went to the Ace in the Hole Pub in Graton, which is outside Sebastopol. Paul has now joined me in the 5th decade of life. We had a nice visit. Time to work on the label.....

Testing and Tasting

We checked on our walnuts wallowing in wine. Inhaling the aroma as we opened the container was exciting. A taste, even more exciting. We made plans for the final additions and will return next week.

Paul and I did calculations and careful measurements followed by repeated tastings. We have come up with our final numbers. We will return on Wednesday to finish up the process!

Vin de Noix - Without a little bit of work, there is no pleasure!

I am so excited about our newest ranch project! Our first commercial bottling of Clary Ridge Ranch Vin de Noix. Our very own Franquette walnuts are used in the creation of this hand crafted aperitif that originated among the walnut orchards in the southwest of France. On June 16th, my brother Paul and I spent the day hand cutting nearly 2000 green walnuts to prepare them for the first part of the process. Read my brothers blog, Wine Growing on the Edge for an excellent description of the process. It took hours for us to carefully quarter each nut without losing much of the yellow-green juice that oozes out of each one as it was quartered with a sharp knife. The fingernails on my left hand are still stained light brown. It reminds me of my childhood. Brown knees lasted a long time after harvesting walnuts in October.

108 Years Later - The Work Continues

30 years ago this summer, my father built a little cabin on the southwestern-most corner of the original ranch. 6 acres of Franquette walnut trees were put in by my parents, Paul and Alice Clary, shortly after. Each year, after we harvested the BIG orchard, we would harvest "our" orchard. Over the years, as more and more of our spare time was required on the BIG orchard, "our" little orchard was a bit neglected. What would we do? Read more about how a dream to keep the ranch for another hundred years led us to green walnut harvests on our website: www.claryridgeranch.com

We are busy fertilizing and tending to the trees that aren't so little anymore. They yielded a small but healthy green harvest this past June. We sold them locally and via LocalHarvest. There is a market for these green walnuts, throughout the United States and even Canada. You can make your own with our green walnuts, but we believe you'll love Clary Ridge Ranch Vin de Noix, made in collaboration with my brother, Paul Clary, Owner and Winemaker of Clary Ranch Wines.

Oh! Nocino

Delizioso! This is my best batch of Nocino EVER. I am so excited to bottle it. But, it isn't time. The smell is wonderful. The color darkens daily. I will use the wonderful little malt vinegar bottles that I purchased for making my pickled walnuts. They are perfect and cost under $3 a piece. What a wonderful treat poured over vanilla ice cream with some cracked walnuts on top. Unbelievable. You have to try it. Come to the ranch and try some at Christmas time. I will share..... Oh yes, Nocino!

Ready or Noix

This is the first year that I haven't personally stirred, checked, monitored, shaken, my entire batch of vin de noix. I do have a mini batch macerating on my counter at the cabin. (Thank goodness for air conditioning!) Also some deliciously spicy nocino turning a lovely motor oil-ish color. Soon it is time to connect with the winery where our 2000 green walnuts are steeping in a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendocino on it's journey to becoming Vin De Noix. Time to attend to the next part of the process. It will be time to remove the walnuts, filter and fortify. My brother, Paul Clary, is my guide on this journey. He is an accomplished winemaker who owns Clary Ranch Wines We will bottle in a 375 ml Antique green bottle. Karen Bertolini, of Paragon Labels, went to high school with me. She suggested taller rather than wide, so that the info all shows when you see the bottle on the shelf. She also suggested that I take a look at port bottles at BevMo for label inspiration. I saw a couple of appealing labels. The internet has more images than BevMo. I like the shape of this label from France. I have had to actively turn off that compulsive section of my brain that spent countless hours drawing and erasing. My brother-in-law, David Macy, is an artist and I will leave that to him.

The other "W"

I've made Biscotti al Nocine and I've finished pickling the walnuts. They are interesting, dark brown with a sweet, malt vinegar-y taste and hints of the same spices used in Nocino. I imagine that they would be best used as a garnish or flavoring, in small amounts. They have a strong, unusual flavor. I read that pickled walnuts are an ingredient in Worchestershire Sauce, a homemade version. The source said the taste of pickled walnuts resembles lumpy worchestershire. Here is an interesting link with assorted recipes for worchestershire, along with a recipe for walnut ketchup that uses pickled walnuts. You'll find this quote on that same page:

"In conclusion, pickled walnuts are perhaps the most ancient and widely consumed condiment in the world, thanks in large part to the British, who took it almost everywhere they colonized. As a result of the cultural diversity in the history of this "King of Pickles", there is a pickled walnut recipe to suit almost everyone's taste, whether vegetarian, carnivore, or just a sweet tooth. Pickled walnuts are an acquired taste and are not for everyone, but this is actually a good thing: There probably aren't enough to go around!"

I will share my 7 pints of pickled walnuts. Next year, I want to cut more of the ends off..... I wonder if using alum would make them more firm? Also, making sure that the blossom end is completely removed, like when pickling cucumbers. Perhaps however, the ideal pickled walnut really should taste like lumpy worchestershire! I think I prefer Vin de Noix!

2009 - Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....

We pause in our historical narrative of work....

I've just started my home batches of all things green walnuts. I've got Nocino, Vin de Noix (aka Perigord Port), Biscotti, and this year, making it's first appearance..... Pickled Walnuts. I was recently certified as an El Dorado County Master Food Preserver and I am putting my new found knowledge to good use.

Here is the first step in the process of pickling the green walnuts. 1) Pick. They are picked when they are one to one and 1/2 inches in diameter. Our family picked. It is much like picking apples, except we only picked from what we could reach. Dad, Paul Clary, found he could pick much higher in the tree using his ATV. We will utilize more pickers and perhaps a cherry picker next year. Another possibility is to stand in the back of a pickup bed truck. Any who...... we could have picked much more had we had these ideas before we picked.

2) The second step is to use a fork to make holes in the walnuts, place them in a quart jar and then fill them with a salt (or brine) solution. They will now sit for one week and we then drain the and subsequently repeat the process. To be continued

1901 - The Work Began

The hard work was harder back then. No machines to clear the land. No cars to drive to town on a whim. They grew their groceries. Our rancher/farmer ancestors had to work outside jobs to make ends meet, just like we do today. Our great grandfather rode a horse from Fair Play to Ione for work. Now that was a long ride! Check out our "Meet the Folks" page on our website, for more info on our family history.

Unlike many of us today, they were frugal. Maybe you had frugal grandparents, too. (I remember the smallest leftovers, carefully preserved in foil in the freezer to be put to good use the following day.) This is important when you try to eek out a living on the land.

They also knew the importance of family. There was the expectation of working together for the common good. Because of their willingness to work hard, the ranch stayed in the family. And when the work was through, there were family dinners, Grange dances, County Fairs, sleeping over at cousins down the road. The walnuts planted by Grandpa sustained my Grandma after his death. Those same walnut trees grew as their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren returned to the ranch at harvest time, picking the nuts from the ground all day long during harvest.

We all savor the memories of laughter, lots of it. Singing together: You Are My Sunshine, Barney Google, Pistol Packin Mama, Chickeree Chick, Mares Eat Oats, When You Wore a Tulip, etc. We savor memories of sleeping up in the attic at Christmas time and actually hearing the reindeer bells as Santa Claus approached. We savor memories of feeding the sheep and weeding the garden. And don't forget the joys of playing in the dirt!

Most of us connect to moments in time, and though we didn't live full time on the ranch growing up, I connect to those savored moments. The beauty of conifer and scrub oak. The quiet. The togetherness. And even the work.

My life long dream to live on the ranch took shape over decades of wishful thinking. It was time to dream with a purpose.