AZWINE Lifestyle MJ 2015 - Comfort Food Pairings

Arizona Wine Country Tour Maps | Urban | Willcox | Sonoita-Elgin | Verde Valley & Beyond

LIFESTYLE

4TH ANNUAL VERDE VALLEY WINE SYMPOSIUM

Arizona Viticulture

Geography And Strong Wines fundraiser for Fooda & Wine Pairings

For Your Favorite Comfort Foods

• Industry Speakers • Raffle March• - Arizona June Wineries 2015 Grand Tasting • Local Food Vendors DISPLAY UNTIL JULY 2015 $3.95 Early bird tickets go on sale March 15th For more information and to purchase tickets Please visit www.verdevalleywine.org Or email us at info@verdevalleywine.org

AZWINElifestyle.com AZWINE lIfEstylE lifestyle . com

How The Bottles Are Being Sealed

The Wine Buzz

New AWGA President Rod Keeling march

–

june

/ 2015

lifestyle lIfestyle

Yavapai College, Verde Valley Campus 601 Black Hills Dr, Clarkdale, AZ 86324

Corks vs Screw Caps

AZWINE aZWIne

SATURDAY, MAY 30TH 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM

29 1

The Right Wine to Pair with Your Favorite Comfort Foods AZWINE AZWINE lIfEstylE lifestyle

Story by Kate Morin and Fix.com

30 28

march – june / 2015 mArch – juNE / 2015

AZWINE lifestyle lIfEstylE . com

W

hether simply looking for a glass to complement a takeout pizza or a bottle to impress guests

alongside homemade beef bourguignon, choosing the right wine can be a daunting task. Good news – it doesn’t have to be that stressful. Picking the right bottle is more intuitive than you may think.

The key to matching food with the right wine is to achieve balance. The wine and the meal should be equal in terms of weight or richness, without either one overwhelming the other.

For example, a heavy dish such as pot roast needs a heavier red wine, while a light salad would be overwhelmed by the same red wine; it instead matches better with a lighter-body white wine.

But it’s not always black and white. All 16 comfort foods we address below are on the rich, heavy side (they are all comfort foods, after all) but not all of them pair with the same types of wine. Instead, we have to consider the other elements of each dish. Sure, they may all be rich, but some are earthy – think beef and mushrooms – while others are creamy like mac and cheese or a creambased casserole. Each necessitates a different wine.

1. Chili

Chili

• Recipe: Texas Beef Chili • How to make the best: Instead of ground beef, choose boneless beef chuck cut into ½-inch cubes. If possible, make this a day ahead and let it sit for a few hours in the refrigerator to help the flavors develop.

2. Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken

Simple and classic, this salty, juicy, crispy chicken calls for a wine that’s equally as simple, with a good balance of acidity and sweetness. The acidity and effervescence of champagne cuts through the richness of the fried coating. If you’re not in the mood for bubbles, a nice chenin blanc, dry riesling, or full-bodied viognier works well, too.

• Recipe: The Ultimate Southern Fried Chicken • How to make the best: The trick to perfect fried chicken is to keep it simple. There’s no extra sauce or brining, just a three-step dredge – seasoned flour, egg, seasoned flour, then fry.

AZWINE lIfEstylE AZWINE lifestyle

Meaty, spicy dishes such as chili need a bold and fruity wine to stand up to a strong flavor profile. A red wine with flavors of dark fruit such as cherries and plums, a bit of spice,

and hints of chocolate pairs perfectly. Try to avoid anything high in alcohol or tannins, both of which can clash with the peppers in the chili. Malbec is always a safe bet, as is a rioja or tempranillo. A lower alcohol GSM blend (grenache, syrah, and mourvedre) or pinot noir will work too. The fruity notes in these wines match well with chilis, while the subtle tannins help to break up the meatiness and fat in the recipe.

AZWINE lifestyle AZWINE lIfEstylE . com. com

march mArch

– june juNE / 2015

31 29

The Right Wine to Pair with Your Favorite Comfort Foods 3. Beef Stew

the work. Don’t skimp on the glaze – that’s the key to achieving a dark, tasty crust.

Beef Stew

5. Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese

With bacon, beef, mushrooms, and potatoes, beef stews need an equally earthy and powerful wine. Pick a deep red – something heavy, peppery, and punchy such as a syrah, cabernet sauvignon, French bordeaux, or Côtes du Rhône. The astringent character of tannins in red wine pair especially well with rich meaty dishes because they help balance strong flavors.

• Recipe: Beouf Bourguignon with Roasted Potatoes • How to make the best: For the best beef stew, wine goes in the dish as well as with it.

While cooking wines are easy to spot on grocery store shelves, it’s best not to cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. Pick a bottle you like and buy two.

This rich and creamy classic needs a more acidic, slightly sweet wine to complement it as well as to cut through the richness to cleanse the palate between bites. A chenin blanc from the Loire region of France or from South Africa works well thanks to its acidity and honey notes, as does a pinot gris. Chardonnay, with its slight acidity and creaminess from aging in oak barrels, also matches well with the cheesy dish. If red is on the brain, try a cru Beaujolais, which is made from gamay grapes that have a bit of acidity and a light to medium body.

• Recipe: Mac and Cheese • How to make the best: For an updated, adult take on this classic favorite start it on the stovetop with a creamy homemade cheese sauce before topping with fresh, juicy tomatoes and crunchy breadcrumbs.

4. Meatloaf

Meatloaf

6. Grilled Cheese

Grilled Cheese

AZWINE AZWINE lifestyle lIfEstylE

With a healthy dose of ketchup in this classic blue plate special, turn to a robust red wine with subtle tannins. A bold and fruity wine complements the salty-sweet notes of classic meatloaf without fading behind the strong flavors. We suggest a robust zinfandel.

30 32

• Recipe: Good Eats Meatloaf • How to make the best: Make the process a whole lot easier by eliminating all of the chopping. Instead, let the food processor do

mArch – juNE march – june/

/2015 2015

Such a simple sandwich deserves a special drink. Sparkling wines are perfect with salty, crispy, and buttery foods such as grilled cheese thanks to their faint sweetness. Go for a cava or Champagne, or a rosé (still or sparkling). A note

AZWINElifestyle lIfEstylE . com AZWINE . com

on rosé: Regardless of the type of cheese used in the sandwich, rosé will work well thanks to its mix of red- and white- wine characteristics – fruitiness and acidity, respectively.

• Recipe: The Perfect Grilled Cheese • How to make the best: Using a high-quality butter makes all the difference. To avoid the burnt bread and not-yet-melted cheese dilemma, use shredded cheese and once you have the perfect color on both sides of the sandwich, finish melting it in the oven.

A meaty tomato-based sauce like this classic Italian six-hour-simmer Bolognese needs a strong Italian wine. Choose a bottle with juicy fruit flavors and slight acidity with soft tannins. It can be hard to find a suitable mate for tomatoes, but the sweetness in this slow-simmered sauce makes it a bit easier. Nero d’Avola complements the tomatoes well while also cutting through the fat and meatiness. (Plus, it’s affordable.) Barbera d’Asti also works well, thanks to its juicy acidity, supple tannins, and notes of blackberry and sage.

7. Roasted Chicken

Roasted Chicken

• Recipe: Marcella Hazan’s Ragú Bolognese • How to make the best: The secret to this recipe is time. Don’t rush it. Take the whole six hours to allow the flavors to concentrate and achieve the right flavor.

9. Tuna Casserole

• Recipe: Simple Roast Chicken; Herb Roasted Whole Chicken • How to make the best: Simplicity is key.

Don’t overthink the seasoning, and don’t fuss with it while it’s in the oven.

8. Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese

AZWINE AZWINE lIfEstylE lifestyle . com. com

Tuna Casserole

Dishes containing canned ingredients can be tricky to pair with wine. If the wine is too tannic, the whole meal will begin to taste metallic. The creaminess of a tuna casserole calls for a wine with slight acidity and light, fruity notes, such as a rosé from the Côtes du Rhône region of France. If pink isn’t a favorite, the subtle acid notes of an unoaked chardonnay would work perfectly, too.

• Recipe: Tuna Noodle Casserole • How to make the best: Creamy is key. Instead of opting for the classic canned condensed mushroom soup, whip up a homemade cream sauce to bind everything together, and add fresh mushrooms for an earthy note.

mArch march

– juNE june / 2015

AZWINE lIfEstylE AZWINE lifestyle

Few meals are more satisfying than a simple roast chicken. Select a wine that is equally as simple to avoid overwhelming the food. Chicken always works well with white wine, while the rustic roasted flavors pair well with a light red wine.

When in the mood for red, try a pinot noir or fruity cru Beaujolais. For white, opt for a Rhônestyle. If the roasted chicken recipe is heavy on the fresh herbs, try a grunter veltliner; the citrus and clove flavors pair well with herbaceous notes.

31 33

The Right Wine to Pair with Your Favorite Comfort Foods 10. Lasagna

12. Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

Lasagna

An Italian classic such as lasagna deserves a classic Italian wine to go with it. Pick something medium bodied, such as a Chianti or other Sangiovese-based Italian red. Both are heavy enough to match up to the meat and tomatobased sauce without overpowering the dish.

• Recipe: The Best Traditional Lasagna • How to make the best: Don’t cut corners and substitute only beef when making the filling. The ¾ pound of pork sausage in the recipe makes a noticeable difference in the flavor of the sauce.

With rich, tender crust and thick, creamy filling, chicken pot pie begs for a refreshing white wine. Try a full-bodied, floral viognier, which tends to have a sweet nose but tastes quite dry. This recipe is lightened up with the addition of fennel bulb and cubed ham, which also go well with slightly acidic and dry white wines.

• Recipe: Chicken Potpies with Ham • How to make the best: If time doesn’t permit making all ingredients from scratch, use store-bought rotisserie chicken and pie dough to get full flavor without spending hours in the kitchen.

11. Shepherd’s Pie 13. Pot Roast

Shepherd’s Pie

Pot Roast

lIfEstylE AZWINE lifestyle

A bold wine with a good dose of tannins and peppery flavor can stand up to hearty dishes while helping to cut through some of the richness of the dish. Cabernet sauvignon – with flavor notes of dark fruit, black pepper, and a bit of earthiness – is the perfect pair for a hearty, buttery, meaty dish such as Shepherd’s Pie.

32 34

• Recipe: Cheddar-Topped Shepherd’s Pie • How to make the best: Don’t overcomplicate this dish. It’s just as delightfully simple as it seems, and doesn’t need anything else to make it better.

mArch – juNE march – june/

/2015 2015

A humble dish like pot roast needs a humble, country wine. Try a Côtes du Rhône, made from a blend of red grapes from southern France, or a cabernet sauvignon, which has some body (and tannins) but works well with juicy meats.

• Recipe: Beef Pot Roast • How to make the best: Searing the beef before slow cooking with the rest of the ingredients is key to developing flavor when making pot roast. Don’t skip that step.

AZWINElifestyle lIfEstylE . com AZWINE . com

14. Pizza

Pizza

• How to make the best: Creaming the butter and sugar together is extremely important to achieve the correct cookie texture. Without that step, very little air gets added into the dough, making the cookies tough.

16. Apple Pie

Apple Pie Whether working with a tomato- or pesto-based pizza, a light-bodied red wine with plenty of depth accompanies just about any pie perfectly. Pinot Noir is the perfect pick when it comes to earthy flavors such as tomatoes, herbs, roasted chicken, and mushrooms. Of course, an Italian classic such as Chianti would also work well.

• Recipe: Roasted Chicken and Mushroom Pesto Pizza • How to make the best: Don’t forget to pre-bake the crust. This step is essential to achieve a crispy base without burning the toppings.

15. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

The secret to pairing wine with dessert is to choose a wine that is a touch lighter in body and at least as sweet as the food.

For classic apple pie, there are many good options: Moscato d’Asti – with its light fizz and apricot notes – will emphasize the fruit flavors in the pie. Late-harvest wines such as Gewürztraminer or Riesling (which are made from grapes left on the vine for longer than normal, allowing their sweetness and flavor to concentrate as they get riper) also work well with baked fruit desserts like this classic pie. Craving bubbles? A fruity, sweet, and slightly creamy extra dry, sec, demisec, or doux sparkling wine would work well.

• Recipe: Classic Double-Crust Apple Pie • How to make the best: Pre-cook the apples to eliminate a gap between the top crust and the filling, to make a denser, more structurally sound pie.

For the classic chocolate chip cookie, plain old wine just won’t do. Instead, opt for a tawny Port. Inexpensive bottles are easy to find, and the rich, high-alcohol drink brings out the caramel and chocolate flavors in the cookies.

AZWINE lifestyle AZWINE lIfEstylE . com. com

AZWINE lIfEstylE AZWINE lifestyle

• Recipe: Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies ; Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

march mArch

– june juNE / 2015

35 33