Garlic Cream Mushrooms in Filo Pastry Basket
A super sounding dish that wants a white wine to accompany it. Mushrooms strip a red wine of its fruit, ditto garlic. Chardonnay is sometimes made by leaving the fermented wine on its lees (tiny particles of fruit flesh and dead yeast for a period of time). These lees are then regularly stirred, perhaps twice a day, and this adds a certain creaminess to the finished product. Bingo – the cream has a partner too!
I’ve gone for Enriqiue Mendoza’s Chardonnay, a wine that undergoes this process and, although it is fermented and kept on its lees in stainless steel rather than the traditional oak, it nevertheless has that creamy presence, perhaps more crème fraîche in this case.
Rosemary Rack of Lamb:
A dish that loves to be partnered with Tempranillo – often Rioja is the wine of choice but let’s step off the beaten path, heading north but not as far. There are some super VdlT (Vino de la Tierra) Castille Leon wines and Tresantos, from the Cuenca area, is one of them.
100% Tempranillo from old low-yielding vines is aged in oak, 90% French, for a full 18 months, bottled and then reposes in the cellar for a further year. When the cork is pulled vanilla leaps out, then as the wine is poured the red and dark red fruits join the party. There’s even a whiff of montain herbs, so the Rosemar feels at home too!
PS This red is one of the wines I’ll be presenting at a free wine tasting at Restaurante Asador Salamandra (Meeting Point Andrago, by Algas bar), Moraira, on Thursday 21st October, starting at 19:30 hrs. Why not come along and try them all? Please call 629 388 159.
Salud!