Comforting Weekend Wine and Food Pairings

So, it's the weekend again. Nearly. Almost. If you are biting your nails waiting for 5 pm today, you aren't alone. This time of year it's easy to feel a bit frazzled and in need of some major comfort.

I have three wine suggestions--sparkling, white, and red--and three recipe ideas for you. One menu is vegetarian, one is easy to prep and bakes in the oven (filling your house with yummy aromas and giving you some time to put your feet up), and one is a fun twist on a family favorite.

Brie, Apple, and Arugula Quesadillas with NV Presto! Prosecco Brut
(10.99, Whole Foods; available elsewhere for around $11)
You may have seen this recipe in the latest Cooking Light. It's delicious, fast, and as good for brunch or lunch as it is for dinner. Brimming with gooey cheese, crisp apple, and peppery arugula, what's not to like? Pair it with a softly citrus sparkling wine like this one, and it tastes even better. The wine is a shade past brut in my opinion, with a nice yeastiness to accompany the citrus elements. The fruit aromas and flavors are a lively counterpoint to the apples and the bubbles cut the richness of the Brie a bit. Very good QPR.

Meatloaf and 2008 Meridian Vineyards Merlot
(suggested retail, $9; available for $8)
Meatloaf has to be one of the all-time most comforting foods. I always use the same recipe from the revised Joy of Cooking that includes ketchup, lots of onions, three eggs, and a cup of quick oats instead of the usual breadcrumbs. You can make meatloaf as light or as rich as you want by using lower-fat proteins like turkey or chicken, but we always go for good old ground beef. With it? Merlot. It's the perfect match. I was impressed by the very good QPR of this bottle of wine, with its rich blackberry and plum aromas. Expect flavors of cocoa, plum, and dark chocolate, with a rich, mocha aftertaste. This wine stands up to the meatloaf, with a nicely plush texture that complements the food.

Hot Dogs with Cheddar and Apples and 2009 Schloss Castell Silvaner Trocken
(available for around $12)
Hot Dogs are a guilty pleasure, one that I indulge in rarely. When I do, I want to enjoy them without any excuses. Finally, I found a recipe that elevates the simple hot dog to an even greater treat: hot dogs in pretzel rolls with sauteed apples and cheddar cheese. Kids will adore them, but grownups will gobble them up, too. The recipe provided an interesting pairing challenge, given the slight sweetness of the hot dogs which was accentuated by the apples. The answer was a dry Silvaner from Germany, with its pure apple aromas and flavors. This is a dry wine, but there is a slightly honeyed note in the finish which made it ideal for hot dogs and apples. Expect a fresh, stony, even slightly saline element in the wine, too--like smelling a beach after a rainstorm. Delicious, and excellent QPR.

Full Disclosure: I received samples of the Silvaner and Merlot for review.

Witches, Vampires, and Wine

Because today marks the official beginning of the 13 Days of Halloween (don’t worry if you’ve never heard it before because I came up with this holiday concept myself), I’m here to come clean and explain why posting on GWU$20 has been sporadic and what it all has to do with witches, vampires, and wine.

In the fall of 2008, my life took an unexpected turn. Regular readers of the blog noticed a steep decline in posts. In January and May 2010, there were no posts at all. “What’s up?” many asked in the comments and by email. At the time, I didn’t want to say. That’s because the answer was unbelievable: I wrote a novel—and Viking Press is publishing it.

My first non-fiction book was about 16th-century chemistry, alchemy, and magic. Unless you are completely cut off from all popular culture, you know that there has been a lot of recent interest in witches, vampires, and other things that go bump in the night. Our modern fascination with these premodern topics intrigued me.

So I started spinning a tale that imagined our world was populated by all kinds of strange and wonderful creatures that human beings refuse to recognize thanks to our awesome powers of denial. These creatures include daemons (creative, destructive types), witches (who can tap into supernatural knowledge), and vampires (who are not immortal, though they live for a long time). What do they do for a living, I wondered? One question led to another (where do they hang out? who do they hang out with? what problems do they have?).

The result is A Discovery of Witches which will be released on February 8, 2011. At the center of the story is Diana Bishop, a modern, fictional descendant of the first woman executed for witchcraft in Salem way back in 1692. Diana is a historian of alchemy, who finds a lost alchemical manuscript at Oxford’s Bodleian Library and meets a mysterious geneticist named Matthew Clairmont. Matthew is a very old, French vampire and now puts his considerable energy into an occupation that rewards long-term thinking. And, along with the rest of his kind, he has a decided taste for wine.

Vampires may need blood to survive, just as humans need water, but it’s not all they drink. Wine is always changing, never the same, and drinking it helps vampires endure years and years of same-old, same-old. Imagine what they’ve been able to lay down in their cellars over the centuries, not to mention how much fun it is to befriend such a creature. When I was writing the book, I researched the world’s most collectible and historically important wine—something that expanded my wine knowledge dramatically. If you want a peek at some of the treasures in Matthew’s cellar, click here. And no, I haven’t tasted any of those bottles. If you have some you want to share, do let me know.

It is not surprising, perhaps, that a historian and oenophile like me couldn’t resist the idea of a long-lived French vampire with an excellent palate who knew both the biologist Charles Darwin AND the alchemist Nicholas Flamel. If you are so inclined, you can friend the fiction-writer me on Facebook (no wine, just writing), follow me on Twitter (fiction, wine, food, music, and rambling nonsense most days), and of course keep reading here (just wine!). And if you want to find out more about the book, read an excerpt, sign up for updates, or generally procrastinate, head to my website: http://deborahharkness.com.

Thanks to all of you who keep tuning in here and for your continued patience when I'm not blogging. Now you know that those silences indicate that I'm not only thinking about wine, but about witches and vampires, too.

Zinfandel: One for Now, One for Later

It's raining in Los Angeles, which means it's officially Zinfandel season. Every autumn, when the heat finally breaks, I look forward to making some soups, stews, and roasts and cracking open some excellent wine. Of course, Zinfandel season extends through the winter and even into the months of BBQ to come, so I've got one recommendation for now and one for you to put aside and drink in 6-24 months when the urge strikes you.

2008 Gnarly Head Zinfandel Old Vine is a very good QPR wine for the price (suggested retail $10.99; available for $6-$14) Autumnal blackberry and licorice aromas lead to a smooth, mouth-filling wine with blackberry, black cherry, and pepper notes in the flavors. The aftertaste rounded out the wine nicely, with more licorice and berry. Not as peppery and complex as some Zins, but it doesn't have the big, jammy quality that many have at this price point. Perfect for enjoying now, perhaps with a warm pot of minestrone if you are stuck at home giving out candy on Halloween.

The 2007 Guglielmo Family Winery Zinfandel Private Reserve is a good QPR bottling that I think will deliver very good QPR in time. (suggested retail $19; this new release is only available at this time through the winery) There are reticent berry aromas that can be coaxed forward with air, and lots of pepper and spicy clove on the palate. All are hints of great things to come for this wine, with its solid berry core. It is well-structured, has great acidity, and will start to shine in 6 months or so.

Full Disclosure: I received samples of these wines for review.

Classic, Classy California Chardonnay

California Chardonnay has a bad reputation. Years of overproduced, overly-oaked wines left a sour taste in the mouths of many wine drinkers. But a few (or a thousand) bad winemaking choices shouldn't make you abandon a grape entirely. Recently, I've seen many winemakers going back to classy Chardonnays that are more restrained in style and more focused on the characteristics of the grape.

The 2008 Fess Parker Chardonnay is one of those wines--and I think it may be the finest under $20 California Chardonnay I've ever tasted. (suggested retail $18; available for $14-$20) This is a beautiful example of what Chardonnay grapes can achieve in Santa Barbara. The wine introduces itself with buttered apple aromas. Creamy apple and melon flavors are followed by a toasted coconut note in the aftertaste. Rich and smooth, this wine represents excellent QPR and may restore your faith in California Chardonnay.

Try this wine with a seasonally appropriate soup of apples and parsnips, some Tandoori chicken legs cooked on the grill or roasted in the oven, or crab cakes accented with an apple-and-cilantro salad. The apple notes are a terrific companion to the warm spices and fresh flavors of all these foods, and as each recipe uses curry powder the coconut and melon accents in this wine are really brought forward.

Full Disclosure: I received a sample of this wine for review.

Bargains In Pinot Noir

(No, you are not hallucinating.)

Recently I sat down to taste samples of Pinot Noir. This normally fills me with dread. As you all know, I focus on wines under $20. There's not much good Pinot Noir to be had in that price bracket. Still, Pinot Noir is one of my favorite grapes so I often taste my way through the bottles I receive and get thoroughly disheartened with each new bottle.

This time, I was astonished to discover not one, not two, but three bottles under $20 that I felt delivered in terms of taste and quality. One of them has a suggested retail under $10, and all three can be found in the market for $7-$12. Interested? Read on.

2008 Cupcake Vineyards Pinot Noir comes from the Central Coast AVA and is typical of Pinot Noir from that region. (suggested retail $14; available for $7-$12) It has abundant warm cherry aromas, and flavors of cherry, allspice, and a touch of earth lending depth to the aftertaste. Very good QPR.

2008 McWilliam's Pinot Noir Hanwood Estate contains grapes from Australia's South Eastern region. (suggested retail $11; available for $7-$10) The aromas were an interesting mix of cherry and talc, with allspice, nutmeg, red berry, and cherry flavors. More complex than some at this price point, with a spicy aftertaste. Excellent QPR.

2009 Turning Leaf Vineyards Pinot Noir California represents very good QPR with a suggested retail of $8 and wide distribution throughout the US (no listings yet on the wine search engines as this is a new vintage, but you should be able to find it soon). This is a simple, drinkable Pinot Noir dominated by raspberry fruit and a slightly chalky note in the aftertaste. As the wine opens, higher toned notes of cranberry and pomegranate emerge.

If you're looking for a drinkable, enjoyable Pinot Noir, it's worth giving one or more of these bottles a taste and seeing if they suit your palate.

Full Disclosure: I received these wines as samples.