Gruner Veltliner – makeupandwine

Wines to Enjoy with your Thanksgiving Meal

November 18, 2015November 19, 2015dbLeave a comment

thanksgiving wine For my readers in the U.S.A., Thanksgiving will soon be upon us. Next week! This means a feast of turkey or ham, or perhaps shellfish (the Northeastern Indians incorporated clam chowder into their diet long before the albarino-wine-0810-m Pilgrims landed). Turkey, Ham, Fish – sounds like white wine to me – right? Not exactly. While there are no hard and fast rules about which wine to drink with what food, it is a beautiful thing when the wine and food complement each other to bring out the best in your meal.

There are many lovely white wines out there, and yes, they go beautifully with Turkey, Ham and Fish, but when enjoying a day like Thanksgiving, don’t limit yourself to white wine. Definitely start with white. Start with a Prosecco or sparkling white. Enjoy your deviled eggs, baked brie or iced shrimp while sipping an Albariño or Pinot Grigio. Enhance your Fennel and Citrus Salad with a Grüner Veltliner, Vermentino, or Vinho Verde. Yes, these are all white wines and they pair beautifully with your apps and salads syrah . Now, when moving onto the main course, think red. Instead of a Pinot Noir, think about serving a light-bodied Syrah, one grown in a cooler climate such as Washington or Northern Rhône. I recently enjoyed a lovely Syrah; a 2014 Les Vignes d’ à Côté from Yves Cuilleron. If you are unsure of the region where your Syrah comes from (no information on the bottle), check the alcohol level. The lighter syrahs will be under 14% ABV.

A light-bodied Syrah will allow the flavors of the turkey or ham to come through and will not overwhelm any seafood you are serving. Another light bodied red to consider serving to your guest would be a Côtes du Rhône.

cote-du-rhone-wines There is a lot to learn about a Côtes du Rhône wine. I’m not going to expand on it now, but I will tell you these are the basic wines of the Rhône region. They come in a red, white, and rosé variety. I’m talking about the red right now. The reds contain a blend of Grenache noir, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignane, Counoise and Mourvèdre grapes varieties. Not all reds will have all varieties, but they will all have Grenache in the blend. Look for a Southern Rhône, one that is medium to light in color. You can pair this wine without worry. This wine will not upstage anything you’re serving to your guests for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner; turkey, goose, ham, pork roast.

If you really want a white wine to go with your turkey, then try to find a roussane Roussanne. Roussanne is a white wine grape grown in the Rhône region of France, typically used as a blending grape, this grape makes a fabulous wine all on its own. You will also find this grape in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This grape is also found growing in California, Washington as well as Australia, Italy and Spain. My favorite Roussanne wines come from France. With honey and pear notes, together with a light acidity, you will find a French Roussanne is the wonderful complement to your turkey.

Of course you will be serving much more than just the protein. You will certainly have potatoes, perhaps both mashed and sweet, and a thanksgiving dinner green vegetable, possibly a green-bean casserole or asparagus with parmesan cheese. If you’re not serving sweet potatoes, you’re sure to have butternut squash. Carrots may make their way to your table, along with corn and onions. And, if you’re serving turkey, don’t forget the stuffing (I make mine with apples and sausage), and cranberry sauce. For those of you serving ham, you’ll need to add some bourbon-orange glaze to this list. Now, just how well will a Roussanne, Syrah or Côtes du Rhône wine go with all of this? Perfectly!

Has anyone mentioned pie lately? For dessert, you will want to sherry bring out a different style of wine. If you’re serving pumpkin pie (yum, my favorite), try to steer clear of the sweet dessert wines, look for something with a little raisin and hazelnut flavor to it. Something along the line of Amontillado style of Sherry. Yes, Sherry. This will bring out the cinnamon/nutmeg goodness of your pumpkin pie.

pie and wine For apple pie, one leaning towards the tart side, I would suggest a rich white dessert wine, perhaps a German Riesling or Sauterne. Pecan pie calls for Madeira.

If you are completely stuffed and cannot eat one more bite, end your festivaties with Iced Wine. I particularly like the Ice Wine that comes from the Finger Lakes area of Up State New York or the Quebec region of Canada. Okay, so you may want iced wine and cheese a slice of aged cheddar or Vermont Plymouth Blue Cheese to go with this, go ahead, it’s Thanksgiving.

bon appetite

The Odd Wine Pairing

August 19, 2015August 20, 2015dbLeave a comment

Most wine drinkers know the typical pairing rules; beef = heavy red, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo, Brunello. Seafood/Shellfish = white, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pork/Pasta = Pinot Noir, Zin. But what about those evenings when you’re not eating the standard fare for dinner? I do not usually eat a full meal for dinner, most nights I’m not wanting or needing more than a small nosh before bed.

While attending a recent wine tasting, I realized I do not always pair the wine I’m drinking with conventional food – or any food. There are those days when I just don’t want a big meal at dinner but I do want a glass of wine. It is those evenings when I’m just enjoying a peanut butter and cherry jelly sandwich that I find myself thinking – now…what wine goes with peanut butter and jelly? Answer: Pinot Grigio. I really like the Twirl Pinot Grigio which is from California. This is a dry, slightly fruity Pinot Grigio. The cherry jelly brings out the fruit in this wine. Any type of sweet jam or jelly would do the same.

Captain Crunch is a bit more of a challenge to pair with wine. I personally do not eat cereal but there are those in my family that do. And, while I do not advocate eating a sugary cereal in the evening, if you’re a person that enjoys a bowl of Captain Crunch late in the evening, try a Dry Riesling, such as Chateau St. Michelle Dry Riesling. We usually drink this with sweet or spicy foods (think Thai food or spicy Asian food).

Nachos is more my style for dinner than cereal. We recently enjoyed some nachos with pickled jalapeño peppers and pulled pork. A typical wine to go with this would be a red Rioja. The oak aging of a red Rioja brings out the best in any barbecued beef, pork or chicken. However, the sweetness of the pulled pork made me think a French or Californian Sauvignon Blanc would be tasty, and yes it was. We paired this with Lillie’s Californian Sauvignon Blanc. While the Rioja was good, Lillie’s was a surprising tasty treat. Lillie’s is from the Northern Coastal region of California, with medium acidity with flavors of lemon and grass, not a lot of melon in this Sauv.

Now, let’s talk about Mac n Cheese. I imagine you’re thinking “Mac n Cheese in the summer?” Yes! My personal recipe calls for a sprinkling of shredded cheddar/jack, then blue cheese crumbles, a dusting of panko crumbs or bread crumbs then a drizzle of Vermont maple syrup. Yep, Vermont maple syrup (if you’re going to make this recipe please use Vermont maple syrup). This particular recipe works well as an appetizer, especially at barbecues or an afternoon get-together. A nicely chilled Grüner Veltliner goes perfect with this recipe, keeping it light and fresh. We enjoyed Broadbent, from Austria. A typical Grüner Veltliner is crisp, light and fresh with notes of toasted almonds and melon. Broadbent is no exception to the freshness of this grape varietal. The flavors of the Broadbent Grüner Veltliner enhance the blend of the blue cheese and maple syrup. Mac n Cheese is a good choice to have at parties because many people cannot eat shellfish, fish and/or beef. Most everyone I know can, and does, eat Mac n Cheese!

For those evenings when a grilled cheese sandwich and/or tomato soup is on the menu, try a Central Coast California Chardonnay. Of course the wine choice would change depending on what cheese you choose, but for a typical medium cheddar grilled cheese sandwich, I’d go with a medium oaked, medium bodied chard. Most of the Chardonnays coming from the Central Coast region of California fall into this category. One of our favorite Chardonnay wines from this region is Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay which comes in a unique ceramic bottle (very easy to locate in your chilled wine storage).

If your choice for dinner is the fresh produce of Summer, and veggies are on the grill, try a Vinho Verde. Grilled veggies are synonymous with Summer as is Vinho Verde. Coming from Portugal, most Vinho Verde wines have a light effervescence and a hint of sweetness, together with citrus and melon flavors, making them perfect for a light grilled supper. One of my favorite Vinho Verde wines is Casal Garcia. The lightness of the Casal Garcia makes it perfect for any mildly flavored dish or as an apéritif.

We have covered a lot of wine for the summer weather but for those of you that are stuck in colder weather and craving the comfort carbs such as potatoes (mashed or baked) or some good old dirty rice and beans, try pairing these foods with a easy going red such as a Merlot, Right-Bank Rhône or even a Grenache. These wines are usually easy on the tannins and lean more to the fruit forward side. Keep the Big Boy Reds, the Barolos and Cabs for the meals heavy in beef. We recently enjoyed a lovely Merlot from Whitehall Lane. Nice and soft with notes of plums and blackberries. Not a lot of structure in this wine but then a meal without heavy protein does not need a wine with a lot of structure.

And finally, when you’re not in the mood for a meal but want a bit of something to end the day, try pairing smooth Blue Cheese with Warre’s Warrior Port. If you’re looking for something on the sweeter side consider pairing very dark chocolate with a slightly chilled Petite Sirah. We usually open a bottle of McManis Petite Sirah when we’re in the mood for this combination.

Now that you have some ideas for ways to pair what is in your wine stash with what you’re having for supper, what will you be eating and drinking tonight?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

April 16, 2015April 16, 2015dbLeave a comment

Here in the Northern Hemisphere we’ve made it to the start of the growing season – woo hoo! Personally, I still have snow in my yard but I’m beginning to see spots of lawn and dirt show in the sunnier parts of the yard. This means we will be turning the earth and planting the seeds very soon. With this thought in mind, I’m thinking of drinking some wine with minerality in it. Not really sure if minerality is a word in the English dictionary but in my dictionary it means wine that has the taste of minerals. This includes the flavors of slate, essence of rain, aromas of newly mowed grass. A balance between fruit, floral, acidity and tannin. Perfect for the growing season.

If you are not familiar with the flavors and bouquets of a mineral wine, think of going to the opposite side of sweet and fruity. If you’re able to get to salt water, that smell you get from the water and the salt in the air. A mineral wine is dry and flinty, never sweet and little fruit. Most mineral wines are white but there are some reds.

When I think of a wine that is high in minerality, my first thoughts go to a wine that comes from the cooler climate, for instance a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley such as

Joseph Destinea Mellot or a Chablis such as Louis Michel & Fils. A bit more obscure wine would be a Domäne Wachau, which is made of the signature grape, Gruner Veltliner, from Austria. Turning towards the reds, a Pinot Noir from the cooler regions such as Oregon or the North Coast of California, is my obvious go-to red for something in the flinty tasting category but a wine from Priorat, Spain would be a more unique choice. A red wine with peppery notes, nuances of licorice and steel, the wines coming from Priorat, Spain are usually a blend of Garnacha, Cabernat Sauvignon and Carinena which give them that earthy, graphite taste and texture.

If you’re like me, and you’ve been working outside in the warmer weather, you want to sit down to a chilled, crisp white and a plate of honeyed goat cheese, some lightly salted crackers and perhaps a bit of fruit chutney or Potlicker Jelly. My first choice from my inventory would be the Louis Latour Marsannay Blanc which is a white burgundy full of steely goodness. If I was headed to my local wine shop, I would ask for a Chablis or a dry Chenin Blanc (most under-rated varietal right now – in my opinion). Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier would fall into this category. The best part about the white wines is; they are nice even without food, just sipping on the porch. Okay, I like my nibbles, but if I was stuck with nothing but the wine – I could make it work.

Now – if we’re talking barbeque or grilling then that’s a different story. If I was grilling some lovely spring veggies and perhaps a little pork, chicken or fish then I may go with the red. I’m not talking about a deep red (notice, no red meat was mentioned above) but the lighter reds that have no fruit but more of a structured pepper taste to it. Pinot Noir is the obvious choice but a good earthy Sicilian such as Buceci Myrina Nero d’Avola would work – perhaps even a Chianti in a pinch. Be sure to pick a red that does not have a lot of fruit or floral to it, a red with more of a blend of controlled tannins and a balance of spice to the fruit. Be sure to take advantage of the Spring seasonal veggies and foods such as Fiddleheads, Fennel, Greens and Artichokes. Put a bit of garlic infused olive oil on these, toss a few mushrooms in with a bit of parmesan or assiago cheese, wrap in foil and grill for about 5 minutes on each side. This will really bring out the flavors in your wine.

So…pick up that shovel, spade, rake, hoe, whatever your garden tool of choice is and start digging, planting and spreading that fertilizer, then sit back with the wine of your choice and admire your hard effort. What wine will you be drinking?