February Wine (and pairings)
A peek into my wine club!
Hello! If you are just picking up the Grape to Table newsletter, thanks so much for joining to learn more about wine, food, and life. There’s lots to read – from my origin story (click here to read) to fun content focused on meaningful time at the table with delicious wine and food. For now, my newsletter is free and you can find all the content by clicking here – basically a little Grape to Table website created by the great folks at Substack. I did realize recently that you only see the various categories of past newsletters if you open this link in a browser (rather than the Substack app). It’s a shame because the categories make it easy to find content you might be interested in…so here are some more embedded links! Click here for Wine Tips. Click here for Recipes. Click here for Q & As. As always I really appreciate when you hit the like button as it helps get the content in front of more people :) and spread the joy of wine and food!
This is my bonus edition of the newsletter where I fill you in on my current wine club offerings, which I think you will enjoy even if you have no interest in signing up for the club and/or don’t live in Charleston. It’s a nice little look into wines that I think pair well with this time of the year and the stories behind them AND pairing ideas. Perhaps you can even find these wines at your own local wine shop! I will include the brass tacks about my wine club below in case you are interested in signing up (I do appreciate the support). But feel free to scroll down to my February wine picks if you are just here for the reading!
Wine Club Brass Tacks:
I am honored to host my wine club out of Wine & Company (a bottle shop and wine bar) at 441 Meeting Street, corner of Meeting and Spring, in downtown Charleston, SC. That’s where you will pick up your wine if you sign up. Also keep in mind that wine club makes a great gift for friends/family :) It’s easy for me to set it up for you to just be billed for 2 or 3 or however many months if you want to gift it. And I have a cute certificate for you to give the recipient. Just email me if interested – sarah@grapetotable.com :)
About the wine… this is a wine club that celebrates the magic of wine and food through an exploration of small, family-run wineries and detailed pairing suggestions! I definitely draw heavily from the old world (Europe!) with an occasional new world gem thrown into the mix. All of the wines are sustainably farmed with some producers going the extra mile with organic and biodynamic practices.
The GTT wine club is $70/month for 3 bottles that are available for pick-up on the first of each month. You can choose between my seasonal mix, all white, or all red. But the seasonal mix is the MOST popular option for good reason!!
Most importantly – wine club is a great way to learn about new grape varieties and styles that you might not reach for yourself! If you want to join: sign up is easy and secure by clicking here!
Cheers!
Now about February’s seasonal mix offerings…while the wine picks are inspired by winter they could be enjoyed at warmer temps for sure, but I am coming atcha with some very cozy food pairings. You will see a definite curry theme throughout as I recently pulled 2 cookbooks off my shelf that I have not spent a lot of time with – 1000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra and On the Curry Trail by Raghavan Iyer. I also just recently ate at Spice Palate in Mount Pleasant for the first time, and it was so delicious – highly recommend if you live here in Charleston!
Empreintes Bordeaux Blanc
Grapes: 60% Semillon, 40% Muscadelle
Region: Bordeaux, France
Story: Empreintes is the side project/project of the younger generation at Chateau Beausejour (located in the subregion of Saint Emilion). Victor, Manu and Camille are the fourth generation and following in the very conscientious steps of their grandfather and father who both came to the conclusion early on that chemical fertilizers and pesticides were not worth the inherent risks to workers, consumers, and their land. Their father went for organic certification long before the trend, and they have taken it one step further with biodynamic certification. The youngest generation has also helped expand their holdings into some other Bordeaux subregions, and that’s where this fruit comes from. Some of you might think of Sauvignon Blanc as being THE white grape of Bordeaux, but you can also find Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon and Muscadelle OR simply those latter 2 grapes on their own like here. Regulars might know I am not the biggest fan of Sauv. Blanc, but I really love these other white grapes of Bordeaux that can have tropical elements and definite floral notes.
Pairing: Keeping with my above promise, my pairing idea for this lovely Bordeaux Blanc comes from On the Curry Trail by Raghavan Iyer. But really it’s a classic Indian dish that can be found in many cookbooks: Butter Chicken! I have never made it, but it’s really quite a straightforward (but decadent) recipe. I think that this textured French white will be a perfect and unique pairing with the dish.
Domaine Eric Louis Pinot Noir
Grape: Pinot Noir
Region: Loire Valley, France
Story: Here we have another fourth generation winemaker in Eric Louis (who’s great grandmother Pauline founded the estate). It was Eric’s parents who moved away from multi crop farming and focused on winemaking in the 1980s. Today they use organic and biodynamic practices. Oh, and yes, their labels are inspired by The Little Prince :)
Pairing: This is such a great little bistro-esque Pinot Noir. Very pretty but very easy going. So I am thinking of a similar pairing. I recently came across a Mushroom Tart on one of my fave Substack newsletters: Dinner A Love Story! I know I’ve mentioned other mushroom tarts before, but it’s definitely worth mentioning again as we have some really great locally cultivated mushrooms here in CHS (that you can find at the Sea Island Farmers Market or at the Veggie Bin). Also this recipe is super simple – another reason to include it! You simply saute your mushrooms (about 1.4 pounds), drain off any liquid, and then combine with ricotta or creme fraiche, 1 egg, and some herbs of your choice. Spread mixture onto rolled out puff pastry. She says to draw a rectangle on the puff pastry sheet leaving a one inch border that will encourage the border to puff up and form a nice crust! Bake for 20-25 minutes and grate some nice Parmesan over the top – voila!
La Rivolta Aglianico
Grape: Aglianico
Region: Campania, Italy
Story: The Cotroneo family has been living in the Campania region for several generations. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the grandparents Giovanni and Teresa maintained and cultivated one of the largest agricultural farms in Benevento, which was later divided amongst their eight grandchildren. Paolo Cotroneo joined lands with his brother and launched Fattoria La Rivolta in 1997. They immediately began to organically cultivate the vines, earning certification in 2001. It is now a total family affair that includes two sisters and a cousin!
Pairing: Yes, I did include a slightly lighter red from La Rivolta this fall for all red members, but here we have their bigger red made from the more well known grape of the region – Aglianico. Honestly, Aglianico can sometimes be TOO big. That’s not the case here! This is dark fruited and earthy but with a freshness to it! Still I would go with a bigger dish. Perhaps just grill a steak , but if you have the time why not braise something. I propose lamb shanks with you a touch of curry. I have my standard recipe for this that I have yet to finalize and post to my Substack, but maybe one day soon this will happen. In the meantime, you could honestly just use my braised short ribs recipe and add some curry to your seasoning on the shanks. In my latest newsletter I wrote about how I have recently fallen for the Goan Curry Powder from Barkha Cardoz (who’s husband Chef Floyd Cardoz passed away too young (in the very early days of the COVID pandemic). Barkha has kept their shared passion for cooking alive via a very thoughtful spice line that’s a collaboration with Burlap & Barrel (a very conscientious spice purveyor that I have probably mentioned before).