Sarah Marshall's "red haute" collaboraton with Union Wine Co.
Sarah Marshall, the creator behind Portland, Oregon-based Marshall’s Haute Sauce, took a moment to check in with tasteMAKERS host Cat Neville and raise a glass. Her stock-in-trade is making hot sauces and spice mixes. She’s now taken her talent for melding bold flavors and partnered up with Union Wine Co., a well-loved Oregon wine company known for its personal and approachable wines.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Sarah and Cat taste some of her infused wine and dive into a wealth of topics, including the value of collaboration, the pandemic’s impact on farmers and makers and, most importantly, what Marshall’s Haute Sauce has on tap for spring.
Here we present a condensed version of Cat’s interview with Sarah. For the full conversation, just watch the video above.
Cat Neville: How did this unusual partnership begin?
Sarah Marshall: It actually just started out when we were going to make a drink with our friends at Union Wine for a party. And then we just liked it so much that they wanted to bottle it. And so now, every year, we go out to the winery and make it.
CN: That's so fun. You see a lot of beers that are infused with different flavors, obviously a lot of spirits, but you don't see it very often in wine. So how do you guys work on that? Do you taste the wine first and then say, "Oh, I think this could use a little bit of this, that?” How does that collaboration work?
SM: If you're a wine purist, maybe this would be like some kind of blasphemy or something. But I think that Union Wine has quite a few wine labels under their brand – they have the Kings Ridge line and the Alchemy line, and they make really wonderful wines. Their whole thing is that they want to make affordable wines from Oregon. And so it just made sense for us to partner together because we're buddies, for one, and we were doing a lot of shows together and holiday parties and things like that. We were just in the same circle and group of friends.
And so, because all of our sauces tell the story of Oregon, we decided that we were going to just combine our flavors and do it. We took one of our seasonal sauces, our Cranberry-Red Jalapeño sauce. We didn't put the sauce in the wine because that probably wouldn't be very good – we just used a lot of the flavors. A lot of cranberries grow here in Oregon and in Washington. We're known for that, for our cranberry bogs. So we use local cranberries and then we infuse this sauce with warming spices like star anise, we use this beautiful cinnamon. And so, we just took those flavors from the sauce and put them into their wine. It was really just expanding the story of Oregon and all the great things that come from here.
CN: I love it. I find the magic really happens when two great makers get together and create a collaboration, whatever that might be. It could be a beer, it could be a wine, it could be anything. But having these two really awesome culinary brains coming together and creating something totally new, I think that is just a lot of fun. And the fact that you're really focused on what is coming from Oregon, I mean, it's a natural extension of what you're passionate about.
SM: Yeah, and that's my favorite thing to do. When I come up with sauce flavors or recipes or when I'm cooking, I'm really just walking the market and trying to tell the story of what's happening. So sometimes people are like, "Where do you come up with these flavors?" And really, it's just about what's happening at the market at that time. I mean, one of our most popular sauces is our Serrano Ginger Lemongrass sauce, and that just came about because local ginger and local lemongrass and serrano peppers are all in season at the same time. So it wasn't like exactly me being like, "I'm going to put these things together." It's just what's going on in the market. And then I feel like this wine is the same thing. It's what's going on in Oregon.
CN: I think we should taste now.
SM: Yeah, let's do it. It's kind of fun because it has a little cap on it. You can drink it in just a regular wine glass, which I think is what you're going to do. My husband really likes to drink it over ice like a cocktail. I always garnish it with little cranberries, just frozen cranberries. And then I like to drink it warm, by the fire. Because usually this sauce, we make it right before harvest season so then it gets kind of cold by the time it comes to market. I like to serve it hot.
CN: Cheers to you.
SM: Cheers.
CN: Oh wow, that's really good. It's like a really sophisticated take on mulled wine.
SM: Yeah, that was kind of the idea. So we made it for a holiday party at first, but we found that it's great all year ‘round. It has all these nice warming spices with the cinnamon, the clove, the star anise because those flavors are in the hot sauce, and then the cranberry juice gives it this nice tart, tangy aspect. And then we use just dried chili flakes, the Calabrian chili flakes, and so it gives it just a little bit of spice in the end, but it's not overwhelmingly spicy.
CN: No. That's really lovely. I've had other flavored wines before, and they'll tend towards sweet because I think that a lot of people who infuse flavor into wine assume that people who reach toward a flavored wine are looking for something that's more sugary, candy-like, that kind of a thing. And this is not that at all. The wine has a really nice backbone to it. What is the base wine? Is it a Pinot?
SM: It's a Pinot. I think that's really the big difference. So this is the Underwood Pinot, which is one of the brands under Union, but in this one, we use the King's Ridge Pinot. So all the grapes are from Oregon and it's just a really nice wine to start with. And I think that's why we don't have to make it sweet. It's not a wine cooler. It's just a really nice infused wine beverage. I think that cranberry is really the key because it gives it this tartness with all those warming spice flavors. It’s really fun.
CN: Yeah, it's very fun. So have you expanded your line of infused wines with Kings Ridge beyond this?
SM: No, we just do this one. And the reason I love this project is that we were just going to make it for a party, we were all going to hang out and drink wine, and then we decided that we were going to do it every year. So [my husband] Dirk and I go out to the winery with their winemaker and just make it at the winery. And so, we're putting the spices into the barrels and we're infusing it, and then they put it into these big tanks, and then they bottle it. So we don't actually have anything to do with the wine-making because I don't even know how to make wine. We just have to do with the wine infusing. We do that piece of it.
CN: Were they open to your ideas? I know that you said that it was based on just knowing these folks and being friends with them and also you have this wonderful seasonal sauce, but did they just trust you? I mean, were there various batches that you guys came up with? What was that like?
SM: There’s always risk involved when you're doing a big run. So our first run, we made the one that was for the party. It was great, everybody liked it. I just made it in one big jug and then brought it over and I had my recipe on a piece of scratch paper. And so then we had to actually go into the wine lab and do all these different things with the different blends, and we did all of these taste tests. [The winemaker] did some versions and I did some versions. And in the end, the one that they chose was the original one after we had everybody taste it.
Then we had to figure out how to do it on a bigger scale because it's much different than what I was doing. I'm putting two cinnamon sticks in legitimate wine. And this was like, we're dumping these big barrels of cinnamon sticks into the heater. So it was a much different process, but that's what makes it super fun. I love learning new things from people. I learned a lot about what it's like to make different wine blends and taste different wines and then just go out there to their facility, which is really cool. I'm sure you've visited a lot of wineries. It's a lot different to be there in person. It's just like this very wonderful experience to be there. And so, it was really cool to be a part of that. And now, I get to do it every year. I think this is our fifth year of making it together.
CN: So does it make you want to get into winemaking or experimenting? You already are very into fermentation. Does it spark any interest in you?
SM: Everything I do sparks interest in me and I always want to do new projects and I'm always interested in trying new things. I think for now just doing it once a year is plenty but I love it. I love being part of it. I love working with other local people. I mean, that's why I started this business. I wanted to work with people that were in my community and build these friendships and be able to tell other people's stories along with mine. It's just part of my passion and why I keep doing it. This is actually my 10-year anniversary of being a sauce maker right now.
CN: Congratulations, Sarah. I did not realize that it has been 10 years for you.
SM: It's been 10 years. I did social work before and that's how long I did social work for, so this is like, "I'm at the equal point." I feel like this is my journey. I've been on it for quite some time, and I think that it's never boring for me because I get to do these really fun things with other people.
CN: Well, you create that for yourself. You seek that out. That is the heart of what you're doing. You aren't just ordering peppers and ginger and whatever from some large distribution company. Like you said, you are specifically walking the market in Portland and getting to know the farmers and finding out what they might have an overrun of, or what's fruiting, or what's coming into season. And because of that, what you have is unique to Portland, but it's also unique to you because it's about your experience and where you have found your relationships.
SM: Yeah, definitely. A lot of the farmers I started sourcing from in the beginning that were permanent at the farmers’ market, they have now retired. So now, I have these new relationships with new farmers and I love that opportunity because I can support their farms when they're just starting out. And we have this big movement of female farmers in Oregon that are getting land and starting small-scale farms and starting them closer to the city. And so, I can have these friendships with them too that I couldn't always have with the farmers that are a little bit further away. And so, it's really nice to have that, especially during this time where I think it's so important to bond together when we can, and the space that I have for that right now is the farmers’ market. And so, it's really lovely to be there and have that community because it's so much less isolating during these times, you know?
CN: It’s been about a year, since all of this insanity started. And it was right at the beginning of farmers’ market season when this hit. Where do you see everything now as we're entering into a new market season? Have you seen that people have reached an equilibrium? Are they figuring things out?
SM: So last year at this time, right before the shutdown, that was actually the last time I saw you in person. We were both at the InTents Conference at the Farmers Market Pro Conference as speakers, and I just did the conference again this year, but virtually. And last year when I was there, I was there to tell people to interact with the farmers’ market, to have this face-to-face conversation, to bring your friends and family. And then weeks later, everything was shut down including our markets. They were making it just essential, so it was just for farmers. I wasn't there as a vendor but I went and volunteered at the market. But then I was able to come back and did, and I'm back at the markets again now.
I feel like right now, people have figured out how to do it safely. I think they've figured out... They're less stressed, I think. In the very beginning, people didn't know, and some people were wearing masks and some people weren't, and everybody was afraid to talk or to get close to anybody, all this stuff. There was just a lot of tension in the air. And I feel like that has changed because we've figured out how to be in an open outdoor space safely, so it feels good to have that now. And I think it'll just keep getting better as people get vaccines and all of that.
People like me, food artisans, were really supported in this area by our local grocery stores. So we have New Seasons Market and Market of Choice and Zupan's, and those are all local chains that are just in Oregon. They really grabbed on to all of us, local makers, and said, "We're going to make special endcaps for you because our community wants to support you. We're going to put your product on sale and you don't have to take that cut." So they really supported us because we, all of a sudden, didn't have any events to sell at. So I think that our community here is really strong. I mean, we're still all just hanging on, just waiting for things to get back but we're all still here, which is good.
CN: As long as you're here, that's the most important thing. People are realizing the importance of supporting the local and regional food system and the way that that support reverberates throughout their community. It's kind of like people had almost like something of an aha moment, like a light bulb finally went off, that it's not just this trendy, feel good, "Oh yeah, we're supporting local." It supports the economic vitality of your community and your region, and that's why it's important. I mean, the fact that it's delicious and environmentally sustainable and all these other things, that's great too, but when you can economically support your neighbor, I mean, that's when you have a resilient community.
SM: People want to buy from us directly and buy from our website, which usually, people, when they search that out, they would be like, "I'll just go get it from the store or something." But now, they're like, "No, I want this money to go for you so you survive, so that you get through this," and it was so important.
And now I think the big focus is on restaurants – now it's their turn to get all of our love and help and support. We had really awesome restaurant owners that were telling Congress what they need, telling us what we needed to do to be able to help them and support them. And so, everybody else has now been trying to support the restaurants to keep them going because that's so important too.
CN: It's a huge, interconnected ecosystem, a web of people. Everything is interconnected and it all matters. But you mentioned that people can buy directly from you, so tell us your website and what people can access there.
SM: You can order all of our sauces on our website, marshallshautesauce.com. You can get all of our sauces there. The wine, you buy from Union. And so you can go to their website, it's unionwine.com, and the Red Haute Pinot is under the Kings Ridge label. They also have a combination on their website where you could get the wine and a gift pack of our hot sauces together and they'll ship them both out to you.
CN: Sarah, it is so good to catch up with you. Before we sign off, let us know what's coming up for spring. Are you working on any new stuff?
SM: Well, yeah. Our flavors come in and out of season, so we have a couple of really fun ones we're adding this weekend. One is that we do this sauce, this is the Charred Chive Dulse. This is another one that just tells the story of Oregon very well. So I dehydrate seaweed, dulse seaweed, from the Oregon coast and it's this really beautiful purple seaweed. I dehydrate it and put it into the sauce with charred garlic chives that I get from one of our farmers at the market. It's really awesome for doing like stir fries and things because the seaweed adds this nice saltiness, it's got organic miso in there. It's just a really beautiful sauce for cooking with. I was trying to make something that since everyone's cooking at home and they want a quick and easy meal, they can just throw that in with some veggies and do a quick stir fry, or it's great on meats on the grill.
And then, another one we have is this Hatch Sesame Balsamic. That one is a really fun one because I put sesame seeds into it with all these toasted spices like coriander and cumin, and then I strain it out. So what's left is this nice silky texture. So it's a really wonderful, fun sauce that we have going on. And it has some white balsamic vinegar in there. It's really beautiful. So you can find those on our website.
CN: That sounds amazing. And I also want to plug your cooking videos. You get on Instagram, and you cook for people, how many times a week, at least once a week?
SM: I do it on Thursdays at 2pm. That was really a way for me to stay connected with our shoppers, with my friends, with my family that I was not seeing. So when I'm doing it live, a lot of my buddies will come on and just chat with me about things. But what I'm really doing is trying to get people to get some things from the farmers’ market to cook something quick and easy at home. I'm really just making lunch or dinner for my family really fast and I'm doing it in 20 minutes about. So I'm getting local ingredients, making something really easy.
CN: Perfect. Well, we will be watching, Sarah. Thank you. It's great to catch up with you and to raise a glass together.
SM: Yeah, it's so good. It's so good to see you. Cheers. I miss you. I hope we can see each other in real life sometime soon.
CN: Absolutely. I look forward to it, Sarah. I will see you soon.