Saturday, November 6, 2010

Viognier

Viognier (VEE-oh-nyay) is an aromatic white wine, and my wife’s favorite white. For those who crave a softness and want less or no oak, Viognier might just be to your liking too. The wine will show notes of peaches, mangoes, honeysuckle, and other tropical fruits. Envision over-ripe apricots mixed with orange blossoms. The wine is well known for its floral aromas, which are also found in Muscat and Riesling wines. The color and aroma of the wine could lead you to believe it is a sweet wine, but Viognier’s are predominantly dry. This wine is meant to be consumed while it is young, as it has a tendency to lose its aroma with age.

The Viognier grape is low in acidity, and sometimes used to add fragrance and to soften wines made with the Syrah grape. An example would be French Syrah Cote Rotie. The Viognier grape is the only grape used for the Northern Rhone Appellation Condrieu and Chateau-Grillet (look to spend $50.00+ for Chateau-Grillet). The origin of the grape is unknown. It is presumed to be an ancient grape, and brought to the Northern Rhone by the Romans.

Viognier likes the company of rich tasting seafood such as crab, lobster and scallops. Add some cream sauce to heighten the pairing. If you typically serve Chardonnay at Thanksgiving, try opening a bottle of Viognier to compare. Serve Viognier with your butternut squash, sweet potatoes and turkey. Also, give Viognier a go with Thai food or Sushi.

Chardonnay and Viognier share tropical fruit flavors and a creamy mouth feel similar to crème brulee. Viognier can be as full-bodied as a Chardonnay, but offers much more distinctive fruit characteristics. If you’re a Charonnay lover, you might want to give this wine a try! I recommend trying the following, which are under $25.00: Yalumba Eden Valley from Australia, Zaca Mesa from California, Miner Viognier from California, Fess Parker from California, or Robert Hall from California.

Until next time, cheers!

Zinfandel

Most of you probably think of the blush semi sweet wine when someone mentions Zinfandel.
Zinfandel is actually a red wine variety that is very popular in California. It can produce a robust red wine to the blush, semi sweet Zinfandel.

The grape came to the United States in the mid 19th century and has flourished here ever since. The varieties origin was a mystery until recently. DNA testing of the Zinfandel roots were traced to an indigenous Croatian grape named Crljenak. It’s found to be genetically identical to Italy’s Primitivo.

Outside of the Zinfandel grown in California and Italy’s Primitivo (grown in Italy’s Puglia region), there are only isolated plantings in South Africa and Australia.

Red Zinfandel has robust red fruits and a spicy, sometime peppery aroma with plenty of tannins and alcohol, with blueberry, raspberry and plum flavors. Think of plum and currant jelly.

The red Zinfandel grape is also used to make white Zinfandel wine. During the wine making process, the dark skins of the grape are not in contact with the juice as long, giving the final Zinfandel wine the blush appearance. Without the long skin contact, the wine ends up being lighter and semi sweet.

Occasionally, Zinfandel is fortified, and can be marketed as a California port style. I have had several of these, and would recommend seeking them out. As your local wine merchant!

Think of Zinfandel as the Golden Retriever of red wines as it loves everything at the table, and can handle a variety of tastes.

Pairing suggestions:

White Zinfandel-fruit and fruit salsa, mild cheese, lighter pasta dishes and roasted turkey.

Red Zinfandel-barbecued chicken, pork, ribs, strong cheeses (Blue), lamb, spicy and grilled sausage. Go for grilled beef with a full bodied Zinfandel.


Until next time, cheers!

Cooking with Wine

Cooking with wine is a great way to enhance and intensify the flavor of food. Wine can make an amazing difference in a wide variety of foods. An important rule to follow is use only wines in your cooking that you would drink. Never use any wine that you wouldn’t drink. If you do not like the taste of a wine, you will not like the food you just prepared with that wine. Next, do not use cooking wines. These wines are salty and often contain other additives that will change the taste of the final food dish. If you reduce the wine that you are cooking with, it will bring out the worst in an inferior wine. You can use too much wine with cooking and overpower a food dish. It does not take a great quantity of wine to add value to your food.

What kind of wine should you use when you cook?
You don’t have to spend a fortune when purchasing a decent wine for cooking. A bottle in the 10-12 dollars range would work. Save your premium wine (of like variety) to sever with your food. A white wine like Sauvignon Blanc would make a good choice for sautéing, marinating, and for sauces you would make for chicken and seafood. Red wines like Cabernet and Merlot are great for marinating red meats and for meat-based sauces. Be mindful of red wines with a lot of oak characteristics as they can tend to give off a bitter taste during cooking. Choose a Cabernet and Merlot that don’t have a lot of oak qualities.

Final Thoughts
The alcohol in the wine evaporates while the food is cooking, and only the flavor remains. The amount of alcohol that remains in your dish is dependent on the manner and length of preparation. Boiling down wine concentrates the flavor, including acidity and sweetness. The wine should simmer with the food, or sauce, to enhance the flavor of the dish. If you add wine late in the preparation, it could impart a harsh flavor.
Until next time, cheers!