February 2024 Food Pairing

February 2024 Wine Club Release and Food Pairing

February’s Wine Club release was a Choose Your Own, meaning Club Members could choose whichever two wines they wanted! This also gave our team in the kitchen free reign when it came to the food pairing. We ended up choosing two of our most popular varietals, the Barbera and the Côtes du Ombré. Barbera being a classic Italian varietal, we picked a classic Italian appetizer, bruschetta, with the addition of pearls of mozzarella to balance Barbera’s natural acidity. The Côtes du Ombré is our blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, more commonly referred to as a GSM blend or Côtes du Rhone. For this delicious rhone blend we chose a hearty French dish, the coq au vin. Made with a healthy splash of the Côtes du Ombré, this dish was rich, flavorful, and perfect for a chilly February day.

Below you’ll find the recipes for both dishes so that you can try your own pairings at home! Enjoy!

Caprese Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 12 large tomatoes
• 12 oz pearl mozzarella
• 20 basil leaves
• 5 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 5 Tbs balsamic vinegar
• 2 baguettes sliced and toasted

Instructions:

Chop up the tomatoes, garlic and basil finely. Mix with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. Add in the cheese and mix. Serve with sliced and toasted baguette. 

 

Coq Au Vin

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs. carrots diced
• 2.5 lbs. cremini mushrooms sliced
• 2 Tbs butter
• 5 yellow onions diced
• 1.5 lbs. pearl onions (frozen)
• 5 cloves garlic finely minced
• 12 lbs. chicken wings
• 4 Tbs baking powder
• ¼ Tbs salt
• 20 oz bacon diced
• 1.25 cups cognac
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 12 sprigs thyme
• 2.5 bottles Côtes du Ombré
• 5 Tbs parsley

 

Instructions:

1. Cook the bacon in batches. Drain off the fat and put bacon aside.

2. Cook the onions and carrots until soft. Add the garlic and cook one minute.

3. Add the Cognac, chicken stock, wine, and thyme. Simmer for 30 minutes. Take out the sprigs of thyme.

4. Meanwhile cook the chicken. Wash and dry the chicken then lightly dredge in 2 Tbs baking powder and ¼ tbs salt. Bake wings at 400 F for 60 minutes, Turning over every 20 minutes.

5. Cook the mushrooms in 1 Tbs butter in a separate pan.

6. Finally put all the ingredients together in your big stock pot, simmer 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.