Grilled Salt and Pepper Tuna with McGrail Cabernet Sauvignon

Photo Credit: Frances Janisch

Tired of the same old poultry or red meat dinners? Look no further: try a nice grilled salt and pepper tuna steak for dinner tonight! This meal is easy to make and tastes like you're eating a five star restaurant! This dinner would pair amazingly with our famous Cabernet Sauvignon. While enjoying our cab, you might notice cherry, cassis, and plum as you swirl your glass around. The dark fruit is intermixed with smokey, toasty nuance and a hint of earth. The tannis are already approachable but very well balance. Our 2011 Cabernet Reserve is aged for 30 months in French, Hungarian, and American oak and is available for purchase here! 

What you'll need for the tuna

• 3 pounds sushi-grade tuna: you can find sushi-grade fish at any Ranch 99 or other Asian supermarket!
• 1/2 cup black pepper, coarsely ground
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup coarse sea salt (depending on how salty you like your food, 1/4 makes a fairly salty fish!)

What you'll need for the lemon caper butter

• 1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp capers
• 2 lemons
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions: 

To prepare the tuna:

1. Cut the tuna into 8 equal steaks.
2. Combine the pepper and salt in a small bowl and pour onto a clean plate.
3. Press each steak into the mix and coat evenly. Refrigerate until you're ready to grill.

To make the lemon caper butter:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
2. Add capers and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes to heat through.

To grill the tuna:

1. Add the tuna steaks to the grill and grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Personal tip: make sure you don't overcook the tuna, it's better that it looks slightly under cooked. I can assure you, it most likely is not!
2. Drizzle with lemon caper butter. Top each plate of zucchini with a tuna steak.

Prep Time: 

10 minutes

Cooking Time: 

20 minutes

McGrail Vineyards to Offer Exclusive PICAZO Vineyards Wines

For Immediate Release
Contact: Heather McGrail
McGrail Vineyards and Winery
925-215-0717
heather@mcgrailvineyards.com

McGrail Vineyards to Offer Exclusive PICAZO Vineyards WinesAdds Ultra-Premium Merlot and Other Award-Winning PICAZO Wines to McGrail’s Award-Winning Offerings

Livermore, California — November 1, 2012 — McGrail Vineyards and Winery, a leading producer of premium Livermore Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, announced today that it will offer the wines of PICAZO Vineyards, a neighboring Livermore Valley winery focused on ultra-premium Merlot. Previously, the exclusive PICAZO wines were offered only by allocation, so this makes them available to a wider wine-loving audience.  This is a natural partnership for the wineries since they already use the same winemaker, Mark Clarin, and each focuses on premium Bordeaux-style Livermore Valley varietals. In addition to offering existing PICAZO wines, McGrail will handle winery operations and sales for PICAZO on an ongoing basis. PICAZO will continue to
operate its estate vineyard, and provide premium Merlot fruit for McGrail to produce handcrafted Livermore Valley wine.

“We have known the McGrails for several years and share their passion to grow high-quality fruit and offer premium wines,” said Pam Picazo, proprietor of PICAZO Vineyards. “This is an ideal partnership because we wanted to get out of day-to-day winery operations and focus on producing the best Merlot fruit in the Livermore Valley. We are delighted that they will continue to offer outstanding PICAZO Merlot made from our grapes.”
“This is a great addition to our award-winning Cabernet,” said Heather McGrail, President of McGrail Vineyards and Winery. “Due to our success in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition we have enjoyed sold-out vintages the past few years, and the addition of other Bordeaux-style wines already made by the same winemaker is perfect. Starting immediately we will be offering all the PICAZO wines in our tasting room.”

About McGrail Vineyards and WineryMcGrail Vineyards is a family-owned vineyard and winery based in Livermore, California, specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon. It was founded in 1999 as a vineyard offering fruit to other wineries, and started offering its own handcrafted wines in 2003, expanding to an estate tasting room and winery in April, 2008. Since 2009, Mark Clarin has been the winemaker. The 2008 Reserve Livermore Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was named Best Red Wine in the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, beating more than 5000 entrants. While the McGrails are dedicated to offering the highest-quality wines, they are warm, passionate and down-to-earth and offer an approachable wine-tasting experience in their casual hilltop tasting room. Additional information is
available at www.mcgrailvineyards.com.

About PICAZO VineyardsPICAZO Vineyards, founded in 2004, is a family-owned vineyard and winery based in Livermore, California, specializing in Merlot.  In addition to the estate Merlot, it offers a range of award-winning wines, including Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, a red Bordeaux blend called Proprietary Red, and a Rose. Mark Clarin, partner and winemaker, has been crafting their wines since inception, and is focused on producing Livermore Valley estate Merlot rivaling the best of Napa and Sonoma counties. Additional information is available at www.picazovineyards.com.