In the heart of Napa Valley there is a special wine producer that gives guest an extra flavor bonus with one of the only olive presses operating on property in the region. Located in Rutherford, Round Pond Estate gives guests the chance to taste both their incredible wines, as well as their fresh and very green olive oils. Though there are a lot of producers making olive oil, few can actually grow the olives and press the oil on their estates.  For Round Pond this means creating the absolute freshest product as olives come of their estate trees and quickly arrive at the mill where two different techniques are available, either a gentle stone mill, enhancing delicate characteristics in some of their Mediterranean variety olives or a hammer mill, which will enhance the more robust characteristics of others. In addition to their traditional Italian blend and Spanish blend (my favorite of the two), they have a full line of infused olive oils like Meyer Lemon Oil, Basil, Roasted Garlic, and Blood Orange, which we used as a finishing oil on this gorgeous piece of Alaskan King Salmon that Gary had caught on his fishing trip last year….can’t find King, no problem, I got a note the other day that TJ’s Seafood Market has Copper River Salmon in at a great price. We paired this delicious salmon, simply grilled, with a watermelon, ruby red grapefruit and tangerine filled Stoller Rose from Willamette Valley, but Round Pond produces a crisp, lively and citrus fruit filled Sauvignon Blanc as well that would be perfect with this dish.

Recipe:

 Alaskan King Salmon with Round Pond Blood Orange Olive Oil and Citrus
Ingredients:
2 6 ounce pieces of salmon, we used King – make sure all your pin bones are removed, skin left on
3 tablespoons Round Pond Blood Orange Oilve oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon, 2 limes and 1 orange, divided in half (save the citrus to include with your marinade)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch red pepper flakes
5 sprigs fresh thyme, half of them chopped
8 sprigs fresh dill, half of them chopped
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Salad greens, radishes, cucumber – chopped for serving with the salmon

Preparation:
Whisk the mustard, honey, 1 tablespoon oil, the zest of all the citrus and 1/2 of the citrus juice together with 1/2 of all the herbs (chopped together) and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Season the fish generously on the flesh side with salt and pepper. Pour the marinade in a shallow baking dish and lay the fish skin side down to coat then flip and marinade the flesh side for at least 30 minutes. When ready to cook, heat the grill to medium and lay the fish skin side down on your grill (make sure to oil it a bit with vegetable oil so the skin doesn’t stick.) Cook for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile prepare your greens adding in the remaining herbs, torn, with any additional vegetables on a plate or in a large serving bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper and drizzle with one tablespoon of the remaining oil and 1/2 of the remaining citrus. Gently toss. Then remove the fish from the grill and lay on the greens.  Drizzle with remaining oil and citrus. Serve with the fish still a bit warm with a very cold Rose.