Imagine if pepper and salt were the only spices you used. Granted, you wouldn’t want to do without them, but it’s pretty black and white. Meals are so much more interesting, satisfying, and colorful when you add in cumin, thyme, basil, and saffron.
Interestingly, I meet so many culinarily adventurous people who limit themselves to just two “spices” when it comes to wine. For white it might always be chardonnay and for red, pinot noir. Or perhaps it’s always pinot grigio and cabernet sauvignon. Whatever the combination, this red and white duo is just as black and white as sticking to salt and pepper.
So, for 2010 it’s time to make a resolution to work on spicing up your wine selections. Trying new and unusual grape varieties doesn’t need to be shocking to your palate.
It can be as easy as substituting sprigs of rosemary for thyme while roasting chicken: similar and equally delicious, just a bit of a change from the normal routine. The equivalent might be trying a citrusy, herbal vermentino from the island of Sardinia instead of your tried and true New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Just like experimenting with garam masala or cilantro, a new wine is an inexpensive way to travel and get a taste of a new culture.
So here is your homework: make your wine rack as interesting as your spice rack.
For beginners: On the white side, look for an erbaluce, verdicchio, or gewürztraminer. For reds, experiment with nero d’avola, cabernet franc, or carmenere. Don’t stress out if you can’t find the exact grape recommended–the idea is to experiment! Your local wine shop should be able to launch you on your adventure with some interesting suggestions.
Take it up a notch: Spaghetti and meatballs with Chianti is a classic, but a smoky aglianico grown in volcanic ash from Mt. Vesuvius will transport you to Naples (where pasta is said to have been invented). An Argentine malbec with steak tips instead of a California cabernet will have your taste buds tango-ing instead of ho-hum-ing.
For additional inspiration, here are some food and wine pairing suggestions featuring popular recipes on Plummelo. Let us know how it goes! And let us know if there are recipes on Plummelo for which you’d like wine pairings.
- Lighter Chicken Pot Pie: Try a cortese. This is the native grape to the Piedmont region of Italy and the star of the wine called Gavi. Its fresh apple fruit and silky texture pair perfectly with the refined richness of this dish.
- Chicken Tortilla Soup: My brother recently made this dish and it was fantastic with an Austrian zweigelt. The wine has a bright, fruity juiciness to go with the heat, but enough spice that it doesn’t get lost with the bold flavors.
Kerri Platt is the owner of The Wine Bottega, located in Boston’s North End. The Wine Bottega provides recipe and wine pairing suggestions on Plummelo.com.
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Great post! I love The Wine Bottega. Over the past year and a half we have attended many wine tastings throughout MA and in CA, and it is a lot of fun adding new and different wines to our collection and to jazz up our meals!