Tag Archives: machete

Wines To Serve This Holiday

The holidays are a time for celebration, and celebrations are a time for drinking…and eating! If you are still trying to figure out what wines are best to serve with your holiday meals, I have some excellent suggestions that will pair beautifully with any dish you will be preparing.

Feast of the Seven Fishes (or any seafood dish)

Image result for Bodega Garzon Albarino 2018, Uruguay

Bodega Garzon Albarino 2018, Uruguay ($18) – I grew up in an Italian household with the prohibition against eating meat on Christmas Eve. Instead, we indulged in the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Bodega Garzon Albarino is a perfect wine to pair with any of your Christmas Eve seafood dishes. It is medium to full bodied with bright flavors of citrus, peach and pear and a slightly creamy finish. This crisp, yet luscious wine will compliment, and not overpower, any seafood dish.

Charcuterie/Cheese/Antipasto

La Battagliola Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetrano DOC 2017, Italy ($15) – I love to kick off my holiday with a glass of bubbly and appetizers. Not only is Lambrusco a perfect pairing with any meat and cheese board, that beautiful dark red color is festive and seasonal. This red sparkler is dry with beautiful aromas and flavors of strawberry, plum and cherry. It is fuller-bodied and higher in alcohol and tannins than many other Lambruscos, which is why I love it. It is big, flavorful and fresh.

Honey Baked or Glazed Ham

Image result for Champalou Vouvray La Cuvee des Fondraux 2016

Champalou Vouvray La Cuvee des Fondrau 2016, France ($22) – If you are preparing a honey-baked or glazed ham, you will want a wine with just a touch of sweetness to stand up to the sweet glaze. This Vouvray (made from Chenin Blanc grapes) is only slightly off-dry with just a touch of residual sugar. The sugar is well balanced by bright acidity, and has flavors of apple, honey and pear. This wine is a fresh and fruity, easy-drinking compliment to a sweet/salty ham dinner.

Game Birds/Poultry (Duck, Turkey, etc.)

Image result for Mohua Pinot Noir 2015, New Zealand

Mohua Pinot Noir 2015, New Zealand ($16) – Pinot Noir is an excellent compliment to medium weight dishes like salmon, chicken, duck, and turkey. It also works really well with roasted vegetables and mushroom dishes. This Pinot is from Central Otago, New Zealand, a region that is producing excellent cool-climate Pinots at great prices. This wine is everything a Pinot should be – medium-bodied with fresh flavors of strawberry, raspberry and red cherry with a touch of herb and spice on the finish.

Beef (Filet Mignon, Prime Rib, etc.)

Image result for Orin Swift Machete 2016, California

Orin Swift Machete 2016, California ($48) – Not only is Orin Swift’s Machete my favorite wine label ever, it is also my favorite wine in this price range, and can easily stand up to heavier meat dishes. The Machete is a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache. It is inky dark in the glass with rich, jammy flavors of blackberry, blueberry, fig and boysenberry, complimented by a dash of vanilla and cinnamon. It is a big, bold and fruit-forward California wine that can just as easily be enjoyed as a meal in itself, or paired with a tasty filet mignon.

Dessert

Image result for Royal Tokaji Late Harvest 2016, Hungary

Royal Tokaji Late Harvest 2016, Hungary ($20) – The wine enjoyment shouldn’t end after the entree! Bring out the Christmas cookies, cakes and pies, then crack open a bottle of Late Harvest Tokaji. This wine is pale gold with sweet tropical fruit flavors of mango, pineapple, citrus, peach and honey. Although it is a dessert wine, it is not cloying or syrupy sweet. It has a beautiful lightness and freshness to it that lifts the sweetness.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!!!

 

 

Recipe: Pappardelle with Scallops

This recipe is filled with umami flavors! Umami is the “fifth flavor” in addition to sweet, salty, sour and bitter. It is that earthy, savory flavor you find in monosodium glutamate (MSG) – think miso soup, cooked mushrooms and soy sauce.

Umami is not an easy flavor to pair wine with. It tends to make wine taste more astringent and bitter, especially wines high in tannins (big red wines). The typical suggestion is to pair umami dishes with white or sparkling wines. However, salt is a magical pairing agent for wine. If you add sufficient salt and salty ingredients (in this case, parmesan) to your dish, you can easily pair umami flavors with red wines with delicious results!

I chose to pair this recipe with a 2014 MACHETE by Orin Swift. Not only does this wine have the most bad-ass label EVER, it is wine is bursting with rich, ripe black fruit flavors – blackberry and black cherry all over the place. It is so fruity that it works beautifully with this rich, umami dish, cutting those earthy flavors with gorgeous berry flavors. Yum!

Ingredients

1 pound large sea scallops, patted dry

1 pound pappardelle pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon sea salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon

2 cups mixed chanterelle, oyster, trumpet, mushrooms, thinly sliced

3 black garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more for serving

3 cups arugula

2 tablespoons white truffle oil

2 ounces best quality Parmesan, shaved

Directions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of salt.
  2. Rinse and pat dry the scallops. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt.
  3. Prep all of your ingredients and have them at ready, then cook the pasta according to package directions.
  4. While pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add the scallops, cook for 2 minutes then turn over and cook another minute. When scallops are just cooked, remove from heat and set aside, keeping them warm.
  5. Add the mushrooms to the scallop juice in the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Add in the reserved scallops, half of the truffle oil and the parmesan. Add in the drained cooked pasta, then the arugula and gently toss or stir to combine.

(Recipe courtesy of Guy Fieri)