Now who would have thought pairing wines with food
would require so much thought and creativeness. I used to be the type that
would reach for the wine rack and grab a wine to have to tea, but all that has
now changed once I was given a task by Dan Murphy’s.
I was sent three different types of wine that can be
found at your local Dan Murphy’s and was put on a mission to pair them with my
favourite dishes. This did take a few different meals, and many glasses of wine
later but I did find some amazing couples.
The first drop I was sent was:
The Killer Vintage 2012 Pinot Grigio
$9.99 per bottle
The
Killer is a light white wine with crisp citrus flavour that lingers on the palate.
Some
foods that pair with this Pinot Grigio are fish and chips, pizza, chicken and Greek
salad. It is a very easy going drop that can be paired with a wide range of
meals and dishes.
The
dish I found to be a perfect pair with was our dinner that consisted of: Lemon,
mint and dill seasoned lamb cutlets with a side of garlic butter prawns, steamed
broccoli/cauliflower mix and also some vinegar cabbage salad. This was a match
made in heaven and sat beautifully with each other, and I have come to the
conclusion that The Killer Vintage 2012 Pinot Grigio is very much a Summer
sipper.
The
next wine to figure out and get my senses around was:
Château
Tanunda Barossa 2011 Grenache Shiraz Mataro
$15 per
bottle
This
wine and just the Grenache Shiraz Mataro tend to be less fruity and more of a
savoury sort of wine. Their trademark aromas are leathery, earthy and meaty.
Wines from South Australia are noted for their rich berry and chocolate flavours.
I
thought to bring back some of the sweetness to this drink I would pair this
with a red cut that had a sweet glaze or seasoning to it. I decided I would
slow cook a honey and soy marinade beef steak in the oven for a good 45 minutes
on low. And then add to my plate a cauliflower and garlic mash, cabbage and
cucumber salad dressed with a vinaigrette. I would usually say this would be
more of a Winter Warmer drink and would paired amazingly with a red meat stew
but we are coming into the warmer months and it was a lot harder to pair with
anything. If it was Winter I would have put this drop with rosemary roasted
lamb with red currant jelly; braised lamb shoulder with roasted parsnips.
The
last wine I had to try and pair was:
Hardy’s Siegerdorf
2013 Riesling
$11.99 per
bottle
Riesling is one of the great white grapes. It
produces wines that vary dramatically by region, but they share a great many
admirable traits. Riesling is often highly fragrant, very delicious and totally
food-friendly.
Siegerdorf
Riesling is delicately perfumed with tinges of citrus and apple. Palate has
slight spritz and a great intensity and length.
This
for me is another Summer drop and great to pair with BBQ grill offs or
something as simple as a Crumbed Chicken schnitzel with a side of salad and
chips.
The
meal that made this pair divine I found was meat pulled off a roast chicken,
that was seasoned and oven cooked with garden salad, beetroot and croutons.
At
first I thought how on Earth was I to pair these three amazing wines with
anything but as I progressed and learnt a little more about each bottler I
realised it could be a lot of fun and the mixtures are endless. As long as it
works on your palate then that is all that matters, for me these were matches
made in heaven. I did know though if I had done this in winter then the dishes
would have been totally different, but I had to cook meals that would go with
this Melbourne weather!
You
can find these three wines at a Dan Murphy’s near you, and if you have not seen
their amazing wine collection I know that you will be impressed!! Every year we
make a stop at our local Dan’s and pick up our Xmas and New Years drinks as
well as a few bottles of wines as Xmas gifts.
