Culbertson, Farnbach teaming up to write winery food pairing book

There's likely no better person to write a book about pairing food with Temecula wines than Martha Culbertson. And there's nobody more qualified to write about the history of the wineries than Rebecca Farnbach.

Fortunately, Culbertson and Farnbach are teaming up to do just that.

The duo is currently working on "Flavors of the Temecula Wineries," to be published by Pechanga's Great Oak Press, sometime in late 2019.

"The Temecula Valley Wine Society came to me and asked if I would be interested in doing a book," Culbertson said. "But I was in the process of moving, and I said after I am done moving I will let them know. But by the time I came back to them, they just lost interest, I guess.

"And one day I said to Rebecca, 'How would you like to write a book with me, because she's got all the publishing knowledge and I know all about food and wine. So, we're a great team."

Culbertson is a name well-known in the Temecula Valley as well as Fallbrook. She and her husband John, who died in 2014, started in the wine business in 1981, operating Fallbrook Winery out of their home, specializing in sparkling wine made in the methode champenoise style.

Even before they opened Culbertson Winery in Temecula some time later, their sparkling wines had won major awards and had been served at two White House state dinners.

Martha Culbertson, at the same time, was becoming something of a cooking expert in her own right, she said, and while she never studied to become a chef, she learned from some of the best.

"I studied with every cooking teacher in the 80s and 90s I could find," Culbertson said. "I went to France; I went to Italy. So, I am not self-taught, but, because John and I used to go to France a couple of times a year with our Michelin guide and go to all the restaurants, you learn a lot just by eating and drinking."

Her extensive knowledge became well-known back in the states, and it wasn't long until she was invited to join the national board of the American Institute of Wine & Food founded by Richard Graff, Robert Mondavi and Julia Child, whom Culbertson considered a dear friend until her passing, she said.

In fact, Child stayed with the Culbertons at their ranch in Fallbrook, whenever Child had an event in the area. Culbertson did most of the cooking for her when she stayed, she said.

"She wasn't hard ...except that one dish I did wrong," Culbertson laughed. "You took some good ingredients and messed them up, that was just intolerable."

Farnbach is the co-author of five books in the Arcadia's Images of America series, an award-winning poet; she was awarded the Sherwood Wirt Writer of the Year award 2007 by the San Diego Christian Writers Guild and leads the Temecula Writers Critique Group.

She is also a founding member of the Vail Ranch Restoration Association and of the Temecula Valley Historical Society.

If someone wants to know if anything might have ever happened in the Temecula Valley, Farnbach is the person to ask.

"We are excited about the book," Farnbach said. "Martha wanted to do this wine pairing book; she wanted to do it honor our history and our wines here."

The book is a gigantic undertaking, they said. Farnbach and Culbertson have asked 44 wineries to select four bottles of wine – two red and two white – to be included in the book and suggested they could provide their own food-pairing recipes to go with each wine.

If they don't respond to the request, Farnbach and Culbertson said they will make the selections for winery and Culbertson will go about pairing each bottle with food in recipe form.

The pair said they are expecting to have about 140 dishes in the book.

"We might change our mind," Culbertson said, laughing. "But right now, that's what we're doing."

The book will be a hardback edition with full-color photos of each dish, the wine label and some history of each winery provided by Farnbach. The pair said Great Oak Press would like to follow up with the portraits in a coffee table-style book about wine country.

"I don't know if (Great Oak Press) has done any other books on non-Native American subjects," Farnbach said. "But they love the Temecula Valley and want to be good neighbors and participate in what's going on in the valley."

As for the finished product, Culbertson has some big goals, she said.

"I am hoping for a book that we can win awards with," she said. "I'm just doing what I have been doing since 1981, matching wine and food together. I think I am pretty good at it."

Below is a popular recipe for salmon in paper, a dish Culbertson teaches in her classes.

Salmon in Papillote paired with White Merlot

Makes 4 Servings

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium carrot peeled and cut into julienne

1 medium leek, white and light green parts only, cleaned and cut into julienne

4 medium mushrooms cleaned and cut into julienne

4 small sprigs tarragon

4 thin lemon slices

1 pound fresh salmon filets cut into four equal portions

4 tablespoons white wine

4 pieces parchment paper cut into 14 inch squares. Fold parchment in half and cut into heart shapes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a small pan of boiling water, blanch the carrot and the leek. Immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.

Open the parchment hearts and brush or spray with olive oil. Place one salmon filet in each heart placing it near the fold and in the middle of the heart.

Divide the carrot, leek, mushrooms and shallots into equal portions and place on top of each of the four filets. Sprinkle each filet with one tablespoon of white wine. Put a sprig of tarragon on each filet.

Fold the top of the parchment over the salmon until the edges meet. Start at the top of the heart and roll a small section of the edge over on itself, then press flat with your fingernail making a sharp crease. Continue in this way, a small section at a time around to the opposite side completely sealing the packet. When you press the edges of the paper flat, little pleats will form which not only seal the papillote but look pretty as well. When you reach the bottom of the heart give it a little twist to seal.

Place a baking sheet in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Place the papillotes on the hot sheet. Bake the papillotes for 5 to 7 minutes until the packages puff up. Remove from the oven and place the packets on a plate to serve. The packets can be slit open in the kitchen or at the table for a dramatic effect.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].