John Brown has been a wine and food columnist in West Virginia since the 1980’s. His regular columns appear in the Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail under the title Vines & Vittles.
Wines to cure the cold weather blahs
The abrupt change in weather from relatively comfortable – if wet - days to frigid,
windy conditions has prompted me to adjust my consumption of that elixir we all love from lighter wines to fuller bodied whites and reds.
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Hearty foods = full-bodied wines
I also need an attitude adjustment due to the almost depressing diminution of daylight. So here’s what I’m doing to lift my spirits and alter my mood - without a prescription.
My over the counter solution involves selecting wines that go with the types of hearty meals that late fall and early winter demand. With stews, soups and casseroles along with roasted meats accompanied by potatoes, squash and root vegetables on the menu, you will need wines that stand up to and enhance these heavier dishes.
The wines I am suggesting below should meet the requirements of this culinary transition quite nicely and also allow you to smoothly segue into the even more substantial foods and wines of the holiday season to come.
2011 Jean Sigler Gewurztraminer ($21)- From Alsace, this gewürztraminer is a full-bodied wine with a complex flavor profile showing tropical fruits and spices like anise. Very aromatic with hints of flowers and melon, this gewurztraminer pairs beautifully with spicy dishes and strong cheeses. It is particularly good with Vietnamese, Thai and Indian cuisines.
2012 La Bastitde Cotes du Rhone Blanc ($17)– Comprised of mostly viognier and marsanne, this southern Rhone white is medium to full bodied. Citrus and apricot flavors are buttressed by good acidity and make this wine a great match to Bouillabaisse or other hearty fish stews.
2012 Steele Cuvee Chardonnay – ($22) This medium-bodied chardonnay has everything – fruit, oak and acidity - in balance. From three different vineyards in three distinct appellations (Sonoma, Mendocino and Santa Maria Valley), you should pair this baby with Chilean Sea Bass basted with a beurre blanc sauce and roasted in the oven.
2011 Easton Monarch Mine Cabernet Franc ($19) – Cabernet franc has not been a very successful wine in California with a few exceptions and this is one of them. Grown in the Sierra Foothills at about 2500 feet, this wine has peppery, ripe plum flavors, a slight hint of vanilla from the oak and good balancing acidity. I would serve it with roast pork tenderloin in a mustard crème sauce.
2010 Mercer Estates Columbia Valley Merlot ($22) – Full-bodied, but very balanced, this Washington State merlot is more akin to the Right-Bank wines of Bordeaux than to anything in the new world. Ripe dark cherry and minty cola flavors combine to make this a good match to a spicy Chicken Cacciatore dish.
2012 Penfolds Hyland Shiraz ($16) –From the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Upper Adelaide regions of Australia, this shiraz is not at all like some of the high alcohol versions of the syrah grape produced Down Under. The wine is made in a fresh style with juicy berry flavors, soft tannins and just a touch of oak. Oven slow -cooked beef brisket slathered with a spicy red barbecue sauce is just what the gourmand ordered for this shiraz.
2011 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Vecchie Viti ($31), Produced from old vines in one of the best regions of Chianti, this silky red is rich, yet structured, with black cherry, tea and cola flavors. Just enough tannic background to justify additional aging, I would allow it to breathe in a carafe for a couple of hours and serve it as an accompaniment to roasted rack of lamb that has been brushed with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, coarsely ground black pepper, Kosher salt, Dijon mustard and lemon.
So this week, warm your body, lift your spirit and adjust your attitude with some hearty food and really good wine!
windy conditions has prompted me to adjust my consumption of that elixir we all love from lighter wines to fuller bodied whites and reds.
[caption id="attachment_1137" align="alignleft" width="279"]
Hearty foods = full-bodied winesI also need an attitude adjustment due to the almost depressing diminution of daylight. So here’s what I’m doing to lift my spirits and alter my mood - without a prescription.
My over the counter solution involves selecting wines that go with the types of hearty meals that late fall and early winter demand. With stews, soups and casseroles along with roasted meats accompanied by potatoes, squash and root vegetables on the menu, you will need wines that stand up to and enhance these heavier dishes.
The wines I am suggesting below should meet the requirements of this culinary transition quite nicely and also allow you to smoothly segue into the even more substantial foods and wines of the holiday season to come.
2011 Jean Sigler Gewurztraminer ($21)- From Alsace, this gewürztraminer is a full-bodied wine with a complex flavor profile showing tropical fruits and spices like anise. Very aromatic with hints of flowers and melon, this gewurztraminer pairs beautifully with spicy dishes and strong cheeses. It is particularly good with Vietnamese, Thai and Indian cuisines.
2012 La Bastitde Cotes du Rhone Blanc ($17)– Comprised of mostly viognier and marsanne, this southern Rhone white is medium to full bodied. Citrus and apricot flavors are buttressed by good acidity and make this wine a great match to Bouillabaisse or other hearty fish stews.
2012 Steele Cuvee Chardonnay – ($22) This medium-bodied chardonnay has everything – fruit, oak and acidity - in balance. From three different vineyards in three distinct appellations (Sonoma, Mendocino and Santa Maria Valley), you should pair this baby with Chilean Sea Bass basted with a beurre blanc sauce and roasted in the oven.
2011 Easton Monarch Mine Cabernet Franc ($19) – Cabernet franc has not been a very successful wine in California with a few exceptions and this is one of them. Grown in the Sierra Foothills at about 2500 feet, this wine has peppery, ripe plum flavors, a slight hint of vanilla from the oak and good balancing acidity. I would serve it with roast pork tenderloin in a mustard crème sauce.
2010 Mercer Estates Columbia Valley Merlot ($22) – Full-bodied, but very balanced, this Washington State merlot is more akin to the Right-Bank wines of Bordeaux than to anything in the new world. Ripe dark cherry and minty cola flavors combine to make this a good match to a spicy Chicken Cacciatore dish.
2012 Penfolds Hyland Shiraz ($16) –From the Barossa, McLaren Vale and Upper Adelaide regions of Australia, this shiraz is not at all like some of the high alcohol versions of the syrah grape produced Down Under. The wine is made in a fresh style with juicy berry flavors, soft tannins and just a touch of oak. Oven slow -cooked beef brisket slathered with a spicy red barbecue sauce is just what the gourmand ordered for this shiraz.
2011 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Vecchie Viti ($31), Produced from old vines in one of the best regions of Chianti, this silky red is rich, yet structured, with black cherry, tea and cola flavors. Just enough tannic background to justify additional aging, I would allow it to breathe in a carafe for a couple of hours and serve it as an accompaniment to roasted rack of lamb that has been brushed with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, coarsely ground black pepper, Kosher salt, Dijon mustard and lemon.
So this week, warm your body, lift your spirit and adjust your attitude with some hearty food and really good wine!
