With Easter week ahead today on Movies & Booze we’re going to look at some good wines to match with the various dishes we will be serving when entertaining next weekend. First of all we’ll start with bubbles, a sparkling wine is a great start to any party! Spanish Cava is a very under-rated sparkling wine style. It offer great value and usually has a lot of character.
La Rosca Cava Brut €14.99
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The Spanish sparkling wine industry came into its own in 1970 when they created a regional DO called Cava (meaning cellar in Spanish). Within 10 years Cav had become the 2nd most popular bottle fermented sparkling wine in the world. Most Cava is produced in Catalonia.
So how is Cava made?
Quite simply the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. This process is known as the traditional method or method champenoise.
The base wine is fermented and then bottled and some extra yeast and sugar (called dosage) is added to the bottle which is then sealed. This starts as second fermentation in the bottle which gives the wine is sparkle in the form of lovely light bubbles.
When the yeast has finished its job it dies and the dead yeast cells (sediment) have to be removed. This involves a slow complex process. Once that is finished the wine is clear and sparkling and full of bubbles (carbon dioxide) and it is sealed with a special three layered cork and a wine called a muselet.
Brut is the driest style of sparkling wine.
About 31 million gallons of cava are produced every year. The difference is that it is made from Spanish grapes. These are Macabeo, Xarello and Parellado.
The La Rosca Cava Brut is a fine example of a well made Cava. Lovely yeasty, brioche flavours and ripe tropical fruit flavours. It is a wine with a good structure and lots of character.
2013 Aresti Reserva Special Release Chardonnay DO Casablanca Valley €13.00
(On offer from 10th – 30th April, for €10.00)
Stockists: SuperValu, Nationwide
Two wines from a family run estate in Chile are on offer today. These will match well with any food you are planning to serve this Easter. Both wines are exclusive to SuperValu who have been working with the Aresti family for over 10 years now.
The Aresti family have been making wine in Chile for over 60 years. They are based in the Curico valley on the Bellavista Estate. In 1999 they built a state of the art winery in the region. Their Limited Release features grapes from prime vineyard sites.
The Chardonnay for this wine comes from CasablancaValley, situated in the North of Chile near the great port of Valparaiso. It is a unique white wine region, one of the world’s greatest.
This is a white wine with great structure. Oaked Chardonnay goes very well with fish, chicken or any white meat served with a cream based sauce. You can also serve this with vegetarian pasta or a risotto dish.
The secret of the match is the oak age which adds a buttery vanilla flavour to accompany the full bodied tropical and melon fruit flavours found in this wine.
If you were serving, say, a delicate fish like plaice with a simple butter sauce then the oaked chardonnay would be too heavy for that dish. A crisp zesty New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc would work much better.
However, if you had a more weighty fish like Turbot with a cream sauce with coriander or another strong flavoured herb then the Sauvignon would not work as the flavours would be too strong for it to deal with. Which is where the weighty Chilean Chardonnay comes in. Put this wine with your Turbot and cream sauce and it’s a match made in heaven!
It is the texture and weight of the fish that is important as much as the flavours involved. The more garlic and herb or marinade you use the more you need a more robust grape, like this Chardonnay to enhance the flavours and stand up to them.
2011 Aresti Trisquel Assemblage, DO Colchagua Valley €17.99
(on offer 1st – 21st May at €13.00)
Stockists: SuperValu, Nationwide
Our Aresti red wine is a blended wine made from three grape varieties. It is made from 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Syrah, and 14% Petit Verdot.
The grapes are grown in Colchagua one of Chile’s best known regions for red wine. It is a horse shoe shaped valley facing towards the Pacific Ocean with a very specific climate very suited to growing red grapes.
The Trisquel was used in ancient civilizations to symbolise the circle of life. It represents earth, water and fire. The Aresti family use it to represent the three generations who have worked the land.
As Spring Lamb comes into its own at this time of year it is going to need a young blended wine. Lamb cooked with lots of garlic and rosemary needs Cabernet Sauvignon with its flavours of blackcurrant and spice.
The tannin in the wine interacts well with the protein in the meat.
For details of wine events go to www.jeansmullen.com
