Saturday Night - Summer Time, baby!

This Saturday we were back to Mick and Amy’s house for dinner. Last time we were there, Mick did BBQ chicken wings. Everyone liked them but I was curious what they would be like if Mick substituted organic curry powder for the cayenne pepper in the recipe. So Mick decided to give that idea a go.

"These aren't your average chicken wings!"

He served the wings with lime wedges and sour cream. The wings on their own didn’t seem as flavourful as the first time but the addition of lime juice and sour cream really bumped them up a notch. The sour cream made them seem much more substantial then the original ones.

"Good, but unremarkable..."

Mick’s wine pairing to go with the wings was a 2004 ‘Vintner’s Blend’ Ravenswood Zinfandel. The wine was a good match not amazing but easy enough to drink with the wings.

LCBO Information - RAVENSWOOD VINTNERS BLEND ZINFANDEL

Vintages 359257
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 17.95
13.6% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, United States
By: Ravenswood Lynn Rogers
Release Date: Oct 13, 2007

Description - Ravenswood's Zin is ready for any occasion with aromas of spice, raspberry, and mocha. Soft and round with lots of fruit and cocoa flavour, enjoy it with pork chops or roasted duck.

For the main course, Mick did NY Strips with grilled vegetables. The NY Strips were served with Zippy Sauce. This combo is a usual Saturday night favourite in the summer. With the nice weather we had for the day and the steak, it made it feel like summer had arrived.

"Hello, old friend, hello... it's good to need you so!"

For the wine pairing with the NY strips, Mick chose to go with another old favourite – Beringer 2002 ‘Founder’s Estate’ Cabernet Sauvignon and a new challenger - a Geyser Peak 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon.

On their own the Geyser Peak was better of the two, nice fruit to start, good mid-palate and a clean finish. The Beringer’s had ok fruit to start and wasn’t bad on the mid-palate but had an odd finish. With the food, the wines were just plain weird; sometimes the Geyser Peak was good but at other times it picked up a really mean sharpness to it. The Beringer was moving between OK and just plain bad with the food.

"Life is like a box of chocolates!"

The Beringer’s 2002 ‘Founder’s Estate’ Cabernet Sauvignon was the biggest surprise; this wine with NY strips is usually a great pairing. The dish was much more peppery than usual; Mick was a little overzealous with the steak spice on either the strips or veggies so maybe that was the cause. The bottle didn’t have a musty smell or any other noticeable faults. Maybe the 2002 wasn’t the usual blend or wasn’t a great year for the wine.

The upside was the steaks were beautifully cooked and Mick also did a great job with the grilled vegetables.

LCBO Information - BERINGER FOUNDERS CAB SAUV

LCBO# 534263
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.30
Limited Time Offer
Was: $ 19.80
Now: $ 18.30
Save: $ 1.50 (Until May 25, 2008)
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 1
Made in: California, United States
By: Beringer Vineyards

Tasting Note - Ruby red colour; forward cassis and spice in the nose that follows through to the palate; dry and medium-bodied with ripe fruit mid-palate and fruity, oaky vanillin notes in finish.

Serving Suggestion - Grilled or roasted red meats, spicy chicken dishes and medium cheese.

*Note - wine above is probably 2005 or 2006 and not the 2002 in the blog

The LCBO doesn’t carry the Geyser Peak reviewed here. Mick picked this up in the US. Here is the information from the Wine Spectator on it –

Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County Reserve 1999
Rating – 86
Price - $40 US (roughly $65 after duty/exchange/tax)

Intensely fragrant, with loads of Asian five-spice, cedar, lavender and blueberry tones. Tannins clamp down quickly, with earth, tart fresh herbs and toasted oak flavors. Drink now through 2008. 5,200 cases made.

I had no idea what the price of the Geyser Peak was until I looked it up, at $40 US a bottle this one is a definite pass – there are much better wines out there for less money.

The dessert for the evening was a Truffle Royale cake. The Geyser Peak was the clear winner here as well but the Beringer’s improved from the previous course.

It goes to show how fickle wine and food pairing can sometimes be – you have a great pairing and then you do it again at another time and the dish changes slightly or the year of the wine changes and it’s a whole new ball game.

Cheers!

Mark.