La Sommelierre

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - January 2012

January 2012 – Winter Fresh

After the indulgence of the holidays, it is nice to have a meal that is both appetizing and good for you. Take advantage of the abundance of tempting produce available in Northern California to create a meal that will shake off those mid-winter blues.

Start with a salad of fennel, arugula and aged jack cheese. This lightly dressed salad is unique and pairs nicely with sparkling water jazzed up with fresh cut cucumber slices. While citrus, berries, and mint are all also delicious, I find the green flavor of cucumber particularly refreshing. Water is essential to good health and changes dramatically with these additions. Whether you prefer sparking or still, lightly flavored water is the perfect partner for your salad.

For the main course, open up a winter white wine like Chenin Blanc. It is a welcome reprieve from the red wines often served in cooler winter months. Chenin Blanc’s herbal notes will pick up on the ranch spices found in Original Ranch Roasted Potatoes . Add some grilled boneless breasts of chicken that have been marinating in your favorite citrus juices, olive oil, rosemary and salt. Cook it over an indoor grill pan and you can stay inside where it is nice and warm. Complete the meal by coating some asparagus with olive oil and salt and throwing it into the oven with the potatoes. Let them roast together for the last 7-10 minutes.

Chocolate Walnut Meringues are a heavenly way to end this meal. Plan to make them well in advance because, while they start in a pre-heated oven, they need to cook with the oven off for at least two hours to obtain their crisp crunch. Since these cookies are too sweet for wine, pair them with some slightly nutty chai tea to complement the chocolate and echo the toasty flavor of the walnuts.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - December 2011

All Port Dinner

The holiday season is the time to splurge. We buy expensive gifts, eat decadent food and drink special wines. This dinner features port-style wines paired with rich foods like roast duck and Chocolate Lava Pudding Cups. It will make any occasion special.

Port-style wines are named for their birthplace, Portugal. The style was created when Portuguese producers needed to prevent the spoilage of their wine on the long journey by ship from Portugal to England. The solution was to add alcohol to the wine before just before the sugar had all fermented out. Now, port-style wines are made all over the world and California creates some of the most delicious.

St. Barthelemy Cellars, located in the Vaca Mountains, produce only port-style wines, and they make it out of almost every red grape grown in California. I had never tasted pinot noir or barbera grapes made into port wine until I had St. Barthelemy wines. It is truly a winery to seek out and visit.

The best port wine to pair with a starter salad is barbera port because barbera is a high acid grape. As a port, it is the perfect balance of sweet and sour. But if you can’t find a barbera port, try a traditional Portuguese ruby port. Use arugula as the base of your salad and add morello cherries, a tangy blue cheese and dress the salad with the Sweet Walnut Dressing. The wine’s acid will stand up to the vinegar in the dressing, and the bitterness of the walnuts and arugula will be balanced by the sugar in the wine.

The tannins and alcohol in port are tamed by the fat and salt found in Roast Duck with Port-Cherry Sauce. Port-style wines made with syrah, cabernet or merlot are all good pairing partners. The cherry-port reduction will complement the sweetness and echo the fruit found in a port-style wine.

Rarely do I recommend chocolate desserts and wine, but port-style wines are the exception and zinfandel port is exceptional with dark chocolate. Try these Chocolate Lava Pudding Cups for just the right texture and flavor.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - November 2011

Holiday Tapas

Spanish tapas are perfect for holiday entertaining because they are small plates of foods that can often be consumed without the use of forks. Here are a few of my favorite recipes and wine pairings that will make them sing.

Look to Spain for wines to pair with tapas. An intense white grape known as garnacha blanca in Spain and grenache blanc in the south of France is truly worth seeking out. To me it tastes like a cross between chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. It has rich notes of apple and pear like chardonnay although it is usually made without oak barrel influence. On the palate it carries a hint of citrus and the same fresh acidity found in sauvignon blanc. Enjoy Red Potatoes with Smoked Salmon, with a garnacha blanca or even a sauvignon blanc. Delicate smoked salmon with a creamy garlic mayonnaise, known as aioli in France and alioli in Spain, and will bring out the fruity flavors in the wine.

For the red wine pairing, chose a Rioja, the quintessential Spanish wine. Rioja is made from the tempranillo grape and has three levels of quality, crianza, reserva and gran reserva. The reserva and gran reserva levels are aged for at least three to five years respectively. I recommend the crianza level for crispy Jamon & Manchego Pinwheels. Rioja crianza is fruitier and less oaky than its older siblings so it tends to be a less serious wine.

For something sweet, try a Pedro Jimenez, a sherry-style wine that comes from the southern portion of Spain. Its dried fig, coffee and nut flavors will be delicious with the fig-based dessert found on my website. The rich mascarpone cheese gives the dish a creaminess that will balance the alcohol in the wine. And the cinnamon, cardamom and allspice give the honey drizzle an exotic kick that will echo the spice notes that come from the barrel aging.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - October 2011

Soup Time!

October in northern California is often warm during the day and chilly at night. This menu addresses that dichotomy by starting with a cool white wine and finishing with a warm soup. This year, I am featuring a soup from the Dominican Republic, a country that shares the same island as Haiti in the waters between Florida and South America.

Start with an easy to find, aromatic white wine like torrontes, a hybrid of muscat of Alexandria and the mission grape. Argentina produces torrontes at great prices. Lush aromas and flavors such as peach, apricot and lychee are typical, and the moderate alcohol levels which will allow it to work with the Aleppo pepper in the Sautéed Shrimp and Mozzarella appetizer.

Sancocho de Frijoles is a bold soup that incorporates savory pork and slightly sweet, sweet potatoes and requires a wine with plenty of big flavors. A hearty Livermore Valley merlot, like the estate wine from the Wood Family Vineyards, will have just the right complementary peppery notes as well as a zippy acidity to stand up to the lime, vinegar and fresh herbs.

As usual, I make the trek through the Caldecott Tunnel to Kermit Lynch in Berkeley or DuVin Wines in Alameda to buy Vin du Bugey-Cerdon. It’s sweet, pink, bubbly nature makes it the only wine I pair with the super sweet chocolates of Halloween. This year try it with a Butterfinger. The salty, crunchy center creates a perfect harmony with the wine in both texture and flavor.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - September 2011

Beginnings and Endings

September represents the start of a new school year and is almost the end of the calendar year. Both are something to celebrate.

Madeira is the delicious wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira. Like most European wines, it is a regional style that is made from different local grapes, individually or as a blend. And, it is the composition of the blend that influences exactly how the final wine will look and taste. From lighter to darker, drier to sweeter, the four grapes are sercial, verdelho, bual and malmsey. All Madeiras have a bright acidity and flavors of fig, citrus, and nuts. It is these unusual flavors, slight sweetness and higher acidity that make it perfect for the beginning or end of a meal.

Start this fall menu with one of my favorite late summer/fall fruits - figs. Serve a lovely starter plate composed of sweet, earthy figs and salty serrano ham topped with fresh basil and drizzled with Leslie Styles’ balsamic glaze (Pair Up, Feb 2010 www.LaSommelierre.com). The figs and balsamic reduction go well with fig flavors in the wine, and the salty ham is a perfect counterpoint to the wines sweetness.

Next, take a break from the sweet quality of the Madeira and pick up one of its mainland cousins, a dry red from either the Douro or the Dão. Both regions make wonderful, earthy red wines that will pair well with the Osso Bucco and Mascarpone Polenta. If you can’t find anything from Portugal, a classic California syrah will give the depth and body needed for this big, bold dish.

Return to Madeira at the end of the meal and try pistachio ice cream with Anna’s Orange Flavored Thins (a sweet citrus biscuit that can often be found locally at Safeway). Pistachio nuts bring out the richness of the wine, and the subtle spark of citrus in the cookie brings out its brightness. And don’t worry if you don’t finish the bottle tonight; Madeira will keep for months in your fridge.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - August 2011

Summer Celebration

Sparkling wine makes any event a celebration. In fact, I start almost all my parties with something bubbly. This menu takes it one step further and makes the sparkling wine the star of the evening. Choose sparkling wines from cooler regions where the grapes maintain a fresh quality. And remember, even if it is grown in France, it isn’t Champagne unless it comes from the Champagne region of France.

Sparkling wine is great with the salad course because it is naturally high in acid and will pair well with salad dressing. Choose a dry Brut style sparkling wine for this course because it will have very little residual sugar. A sparkling wine vinaigrette will echo the flavors found in the wine and can be used to dress a salad of mixed greens, green onion, dried cherry, and edamame topped with crumbled blue cheese. It will be the perfect blend of sweet, bitter, savory and salty.

Blanc de Blancs sparkling wines are made exclusively from chardonnay grapes and would be an excellent choice for an entrée of barbequed Dungeness crab. The sweet, buttery flavor of the crab along with melted butter for dipping will complement the butter, apple and pear flavors commonly found in chardonnay grapes. To barbeque Dungeness crab, break each cooked, cleaned crab down the middle, leaving ½ the body and five “legs” attached. Coat each half in olive oil and sprinkle with chopped garlic and lots of kosher salt. Wrap each half individually in foil, place on a hot grill for 10 minutes and serve with crusty bread.

End the evening with some good quality pound cake from your favorite bakery and make it your own with the delicious tropical fruit compote you can find on my website. Because the dessert is a little sweet, choose a sparkling wine that has sugar added back in at bottling. Look for the words “Extra-Dry, Demi-Sec or Doux” on the label.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - July 2011

Summer Picnic

Picnicking is an inexpensive warm-weather getaway. Fill your basket with fresh produce and a couple of crisp wines to pair with the food and you will experience the height of summer fun.

Caprese salad made with ripe tomatoes is a vibrant way to start this mobile feast. Choose a wine with med-high acid to counter balance the natural acidity found in tomatoes. A rosé will provide acidity and a pretty pink color to complement the red tomato. Look for rosés from colder regions of the world as they will be naturally higher in acid. Northern Italy, southern France and US wine regions that are close to the ocean are all good sources.

Next, chicken is a picnic-friendly protein that can be served hot, cold or at room temperature. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts to be health conscious and reduce waste. A citrus-based marinade will echo similar flavors in the rosé wine opened with the salad. Or, if you have enough people to warrant opening another wine, how about a chenin blanc? This crisp white wine offers a fresh floral note that will pick-up on the herbs in the marinade. As a bonus, the Lemon Dressed Cole Slaw recipe is one of my favorite pairings with chenin blanc.

Cherry-Apricot Crumble is a brilliant ending to your meal. Stash a small bottle of German trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) riesling deep at the bottom of the ice chest. The designation, TBA, can be better understood by breaking down the word into its three components: trocken = dry, beeren = berry, auslese = select harvest. Made from the selected harvest of dried berries, it is one of the most intensely flavored wines I have ever tasted. Look for flavors like apricot, papaya, and honey. Additionally, TBA is one of the few dessert wines with enough acidity to stand up to fruit desserts.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - June 2011

Pacific Northwest

Californians are lucky to live so close to the waters of the Pacific Northwest. The bounty of the ocean provides the perfect starting place to create a wine-friendly meal. The Northwest also offers fresh blueberries as a sweet ending to your delicious evening.

Shrimp ceviche is a cool way to start. I like this recipe because the shrimp are partially cooked in boiling water first and then finish ‘cooking’ in the citrus juices as they marinate. Serve this recipe in a large bowl in which to dip tortilla chips or portion individually in cocktail glasses with a few chips perched on the side for crunch. A great wine partner for a spicy ceviche is a slightly sweet, slightly tart Washington Riesling. The wine’s bright citrus flavors are complemented by pear, kiwi and white peach.

You can keep the seafood theme going with Pacific Northwest sockeye salmon as your main entree. Salmon is wonderful grilled and is one fish that defies the white wine with fish rule. Try out an Oregon pinot noir to pair with the salmon. The slight smoke from the grill will blend nicely with the oak flavors the wine takes on as it spends time in the barrel. Furthermore, the high fat content found sockeye salmon will be complemented by the fuller body found in a red wine.

The finale to this great summer meal is a dessert bursting with flavor. Blueberry Glacé Pie is made in the style of a fresh strawberry pie since the blueberries are not cooked inside the crust. It is amazingly simple to make and always gets great reviews at my house. Personally, I don’t find that sweet desserts, especially those with whipping cream, pair well with wine. My best suggestion is dark, rich coffee. We will need to depart from the Northwest for this and perhaps choose coffee beans grown in Kenya or Ethiopia.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - May 2011

Greek Isles

Greece is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The sea is bright blue and the buildings are sparkling white. The wines are some of my favorites and the cuisine of the area is fresh and perfect for a spring meal.

Santorini is an island that was created about 3600 years ago by a volcanic eruption. The best Santorini white wine is made from the assyrtiko grape. The wine has intense citrus flavors similar to sauvignon blanc but has a wonderful smoky, mineral quality that is likely influenced by the volcanic ash soil. Greek wines, like Italian wines, are truly made to go with regional cuisine. Choose a veggie plate filled with dolmas, tabouli and falafel with a drizzle of tahini sauce to start. The fresh lemon and mint in the food is matched beautifully by the medium-high acid in the wine. The nutty sesame in the tahini will pick-up the smoky notes.

Xinomavro is one of my favorite Greek reds. Deep red flavors of pomegranate are accented by floral violets and a hint of smoky tar. It is similar to the elusive Italian Barolo but comes at a fraction of the cost. Grab a Greek gyro (pronounced “year-oh”) to eat with this earthy wine and you’ll see how well it harmonizes with the roasted lamb, while the Greek yogurt, that gives the sandwich a refreshing bite, balances the medium-high acid found in all Greek wines. If you can’t find a xinomavro and can’t afford a Barolo, pick up a pinot noir as a readily available substitute.

Tonight is a good night to splurge on dessert wine. Vin Santo is classically made in Italy, but Greece has a version made from sun-dried assyrtiko grapes. The grapes are dried for 8-10 days and then the wine is aged for about two years in oak. It has a rich amber color and enticing caramel and nut aromas. On the palate, it is sweet with flavors of vanilla, caramel and spice. The Feta Cheesecake listed below will be less sweet than the wine (always what you look for when pairing for dessert) and the caramelized pine nuts will offer a nuttiness that will complement the wine nicely.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com

Pair Up with La Sommelierre - April 2011

Spring Greens

In springtime, a sommelier’s thoughts turn to lighter foods paired with vibrant white wines. The albariño grape makes an adaptable wine that can start the meal and continue through the main course. Then, end your evening with an icewine from Canada that is fresh and fruity.

Albariño is a grape that is classically found in Rias Baixas (pronounced: rhee-us buy-shus) in the northwest region of Spain. You can find many well-priced imported albariños or seek out California producers. Albariño is similar to sauvignon blanc but has less grassy flavors. Instead, you will notice floral and peach flavors. It is a delicious salad wine and will pair nicely with spring greens tossed with an herbal fennel dressing. Up the ante by adding some bright red beets, a few crumbles of goat cheese and toasted almonds.

The main dish pasta is also highlighted by fresh herbs. Toasted nuts add depth and shallots provide a subtle garlic-onion flavor. With lemon juice and zest providing a little zip, you have a great entrée that will continue to work well with your bottle of Albariño.

A pear tart would be lovely for dessert. Choose one with an almond filling and apricot glaze to echo the common flavors found in a many dessert wines. One of my favorite dessert wines is icewine. Icewine is made in many of the colder wine regions of the world where the grapes can freeze on the vine. In Ontario, it is commonly made from the vidal grape. A tough outer skin makes vidal resistant to botrytis and prevents the grapes from bursting when frozen. When Vidal is aged in oak it takes on rich overtones of vanilla, almonds and oven baked bread. The high sugar and high acid found in icewines preserve the wine and add to their ability to age. However, many suggest that icewine is most enjoyable young when its apricot and pineapple flavors are at their peak.

So, go on. Pair Up!

Find recipes online at www.lasommelierre.com