Cold nights, red wine, warm hearts – can’t lose
Cold nights, red wine, warm hearts.
When the weather is cold dining is inside. It’s the time of year when you can really enjoy good steaks, ribs, chops, pasta, or other dishes that have big flavors. Wine is liquid food. When you match up the proper wine with the right entrée the result can be better than the sum of the parts. Nuances in both the food and the wine can be revealed and flavors can be enhanced. Protein diminishes tannin.
You’ll want to pair meat dishes with good, full bodied red wines. Although none of the wines that we recommend below have harsh tannins, they’ll all taste better when enjoyed with a good steak. The right wine can also introduce flavors to a meal that it otherwise lacks. Although the weather has been pretty mild this year so far, we can still expect a few cold nights. Make the most of these cooler evenings.
Warm yourself, and whomever you dine with, with a full bodied red wine.
Wine Recommendations
Below are three wines with good structure and full body. You can enjoy them any time of the year but they’ll taste even better with full flavored meats or pasta. Better yet, sip them with dinner in front of a fire and enjoy the warmth with someone you love:
▪ Les Dauphins – Cotes du Rhone – Reserve Rouge – Southern Rhone Valley, France – 2015 – about $13. The wine is 70 percent Grenache with 25 percent Syrah and 5 percent Mouvedre from hillside vines on a chalky-clay soil. This produces a generous, chewy, ruby red wine with subtle notes of ripe fruits and spice on the nose, and flavors of black current, dark fruit, and elegant spices. It has good structure, smooth tannins and a harmonious finish.
▪ Roots Run Deep Winery – Educated Guess – Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley – 2014 - about $20. This is a really big wine for a small price. It’s black ruby with purple hues in color. It’s well crafted and complex with aromas of spices and dark fruit. It has juicy, full bodied flavors of blackberry, blueberry, figs, black currents, plum, licorice, vanilla, and peppercorns. You’ll enjoy the supple tannins and low acidity and the very long finish.
▪ Marina Cvetic – Montepulciano D’Abruzzo - DOC – San Martino Russo - Abruzzi, Italy – 2011 – about $30. This is somewhat of an atypical Italian wine. It’s dense and full bodied with supple fruit and rich tannins. It has spicy aromas with flavors of crushed blackberry, olives, coco beans, herbs, anise and smoky minerals with a very long finish. It’s well constructed, can be enjoyed now, or be laid down until 2024.
The Oskins live in the Fort Mill area. If you have questions about wine or food and wines pairings, email them at winetime@comporium.net
Spinach Salad with hot Bacon Dressing
Bacon, bacon, bacon! This recipe of Marie’s is Jim’s favorite salad and a great prelude for a good steak, stew or other hearty fare. It’ll warm you up all by itself but it’s even better when shared
4 ozs fresh baby spinach 6 pieces thick sliced bacon, chopped
3 Tbs red wine vinegar 1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 lb mushrooms thinly sliced 1 small red onion thinly sliced
Fry the bacon, until crisp, remove it to a paper towel. Reserve 3 Tbs of the bacon fat. Put the bacon fat into a small saucepan over low heat and whisk in the vinegar, sugar, mustard, and paprika. Put the Spinach, mushrooms, and red onions into a large bowl and toss. Add the chopped bacon, hot bacon dressing, toss and serve.
This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Cold nights, red wine, warm hearts – can’t lose."