Wine & Food - Red Wine

Red wines do develop layers of flavors with skin contact during fermentation, but most important, without their skins there would be little or no color. All the wine grape's color pigmenting is found in its skin. There is another important element of wine that comes from this skin contact, tannin.

Tannin is basically flavorless and therefore is felt in the mouth as a texture of the wine. It is the slight bitterness in the wine's flavors that you notice in the back of your mouth. This tannin works wonders with foods such as lamb and duck, where it cuts through the fat of the meat.

Red wines show their marvelous complexity when it comes to food. It is possible to find reds that will pair well with most any food from cheeses to seafood to poultry to game to fresh fruits. Full-bodied reds (Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot) are great with steaks, chops, lamb, BBQ - even grilled salmon and tuna will easily fit into their profile. Medium-bodied styles (Barbera, Sangiovese, Tempranillo) work fine with many poultry dishes, such as squab, turkey and roast chicken. There aren't too many light style reds, most are made as blends or dry rosé wines. These are perfect for warm weather sipping and make great matches for dishes that include fruit, such as grilled pork with apples, or grilled shrimp kabobs with bell peppers and pineapple.

Bon appetit!

This Month's Wines....

Syrah
by Sharon Rosenbaum, Senior Wine Buyer

The Syrah (sear-ah) grape now accounts for about 194,000 acres worldwide. Of that total, 57% is in France and another third in Australia where they call it “Shiraz”. In California, where there are now almost 11,000 acres, Syrah has been an incredible success story. In the early ‘90s there were less than 500 acres of this premium varietal, so you can see what great strides Syrah has recently made in the Golden State!

What makes California such a great home for Syrah is the state’s Mediterranean climate – a perfect environment for this French Rhône variety. California’s winemakers have substantially shortened the learning curve with this grape. Many of the wines they are producing can stand up to the best that France has to offer. Grape vine age is the big factor here: obviously most of the Syrah vineyards are about 10 years old now and we are beginning to see great advances in quality for the wines.

Syrah shows many facets: look for black pepper and cassis aromas and sometimes a very rustic flavor overtone the French call “animale”. California Syrahs go very well with fuller flavored dishes: stews, roasts, game dishes and rich, full-flavored cheeses.

2000 Azure Bay Cellars San Luis Obispo

Although Syrah has been planted in California for more than 100 years, it wasn't until the 1970's, when Joseph Phelps Winery introduced their Syrah, that it was recognized as a noble grape in California. Today, the Rhone Rangers, a group of wineries that produce the wines that trace their roots to the Rhone region in France, boast a membership of more than 45 California wineries. The 2000 Azure Bay is produced from grapes grown in San Luis Obispo, a warm region located inland about 30 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles. This is home to many Rhone Rangers. The wine is elegant and polished displaying the classic characteristics of dark cherry and cassis, earth and smoke in a delicious, easy drinking style. A supple texture and gentle tannins support the ripe fruit to make this selection a lovely accompaniment for roast veal or baked salmon.

Enjoy now or anytime over the next two years.

2000 Carter Riley Vineyards Central Coast

If you travel along California's Central Coast to Hearst Castle and then turn east, you'll travel through Paso Robles along Highway 46. You'll pass the 20 or so wineries that dot the sleepy hillsides before reaching the remote Shandon Valley. Surrounded by cattle ranches, this verdant valley is on of California's hidden gems and has been providing premium grapes for some of California's finest wineries for decades. The Carter Riley Shiraz is made from the Australian clone of Syrah, called Shiraz. The winemaker used an Australian technique where skins are removed before fermentation is complete. This avoids hard tannins to produce a soft wine ready to enjoy upon release. Flavors are big and ripe focusing on black currant and plum with anise, herb and blackberry. The wine is richly textured with a long finish and would complement full flavored foods such as braised or grilled meats.

Delicious now and will continue to reward over the next 1 to 2 years.

Camille Stagg is a food, wine and travel journalist and author. Her latest book is "The Eclectic Gourmet Guide to Chicago" (Menasha Ridge Press). She was food editor of both the Chicago Sun-Times and Cuisine magazine. 

Wine & Garlic Leg of Lamb

Ingredients

1 sirloin leg of lamb, about 4 lbs., trimmed of skin and excess fat
3 cloves garlic, each cut into 6 even slivers
3/4 cup Syrah, divided
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. olive oil
21/2 tbsp.chopped fresh or 2 tsp. crumbled dried rosemary
1 tbsp. chopped fresh or 3/4 tsp. crumbled dried thyme
Freshly ground black peppercorns
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. cranberry juice
Salt
11/2 tbsp. softened butter

Preparation

Using the tip of a paring knife, slash lamb in 18 places, spacing cuts evenly across surface, insert a garlic sliver into each. In large shallow glass dish, combine 2/3 cup of the wine, the crushed garlic, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, and peppercorns. Stir well. Add lamb, turning to coat all sides. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 11/2 hours, turn after 1/2 hour. Drain lamb, reserving marinade. Place lamb on rack of roasting pan. Combine Worcestershire sauce with cranberry juice; add the remaining marinade and baste lamb with some of the mixture. Roast in preheated 425°F oven 50 to 60 minutes, basting once or twice. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into meat, away from fat or bone, registers 145°F for medium-rare or 155°F for medium doneness. Temperature will continue to rise an aditional 5 degrees after lamb is removed from oven.

Transfer lamb to hot platter, sprinkle with a little salt, let stand 10 minutes before carving. Add remaining. wine (slightly more as needed), to the pan, scraping up bits; stir in butter. Serve with lamb. Makes 8 servings.

Preparation time: about 12 minutes
Marinating time: at least 1 hour
Cooking time: about 50 to 60 minutes

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