Tag: Wine Tasting on Bay Radio

Bay Radio’s Sunday Brunch On-Air Wine Tasting!

Presenters Noelle & Bob enjoy the recommended wines- but which will they choose to take home?
Caribbean Grilled Chicken.
 
Regular listeners and readers of the website will notice that I’m often banging on about the fruit content of the wines I recommend. It’s a crucial part of our enjoyment of wine anyway, but with certain dishes it’s essential.
 
We need bags of fruit in a wine to accompany this dish as a partner for the orange juice and as a foil for the ginger, soy, honey and pepper. However the parts as a whole also need wines with some body too. 
 
For our on-air tastings we usually have two wines and here we have a white and a red wine, both of which should do nicely and therefore keep the red wine and white camps happy!
 
I recently received some wines from a bodega near Málaga, Bodegas Descalzos Viejas, and it’s two of their wines that I’ve chosen for the Caribbean Chicken dish. Their white is a fruity Chardonnay which will blend well with the sweetness of the honey and the orange juice. It’s also had a short time in oak, giving it the body to accompany the chicken and savoury finish to the dish.
 
Their red 2007 is made from the fruity varieties Syrah and Merlot accompanied by the full-bodied Garnacha. It too has enjoyed a short time in oak and should therefore add value to the recipe.
 
Salud! 
PS They chose the red!

Bay Radio Sunday Brunch Wine Recommendation

There's always a glass of wine for Presenters, Bob and Noelle, on Bay Radio's Sunday Brunch Programme!
Stuffed Savoury Pancakes:
 
A very wine friendly dish that will suit both red and white wine drinkers as well as those who actually prefer rosado – everyone’s a winner!
 
Red wine lovers can try a Crianza Ribera del Duero whose fullness will match the mushroom and chicken sauce very well.
 
Rosado lovers could go for a full bodied and full coloured rosado – try one made from cabernet Sauvignon!
 
Finally, perhaps the best match, will suit white wine lovers. There isn’t very much Semillon made in Spain but this would be very good, if you can find some – there is one called Ximo which will be good. Or you could go for a Chardonnay/Sauvignon blend – there are several around now. Opt for one of the slightly less fruity ones with a touch more acidity. Try Vivanza DO Alicante for example – I tasted it recently for the first time and I think it would be a winner!
 
Salud!

BAY RADIO’S SUNDAY BRUNCH WINE!

SUMMER CHICKEN PILAFF
There are reds that will fare quite well with this dish, some fruit-driven, juicy Syrah/Shiraz with sweet tannins, or perhaps a Tempranillo in a similar style. However given the heat of the chilli, the chicken and the orange juice and zest, as well as the apricots or sultanas and finally the rice which will absorb all these multifarious flavours I’d opt for a white wine.
 

Presenters, Noelle and Bob, get to grips with the recommended wine - and each other!

A safe bet would be a Verdejo from DO Rueda. For me, Verdejo, the grape variety that shares some of the fruit characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc also has an extra vegetal dimension – a combination that would work here.

 
However you might like to go off piste a little and try one of the Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc blends that are now appearing. Try Bodegas Vicente Gandía Plá’s version, which for me has quite an apricot nose.
 
Salud! 

LIVER WITH ORANGE

Bay Radio Presenters Noelle & Bob taste the recommended wine!

LIVER WITH ORANGE

There are a number of red wines which go rather nicely with liver. The grape variety Shiraz, now becoming increasingly prevalent in Spain, would be just right but also young Rioja or Navarra – however can they match the orange fruitiness of this particular liver dish?
 
Well yes, I think they can! Don’t go for oaky wines, a Semi-Crianza or Roble (fewer than six months in oak) would be the maximum if you must have your oak fix – but better to stick with a joven, fruity red of no more than two years of age.
 
Salud!