Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food Strange Bedfellows
by David Scott Allen
Winery: Château Margüi
Cuvée: Château
Appellation: Côteaux Varois en Provence
Type: Rosé
Vintage: 2020
Grape Varieties: 45% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, 15% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 5% Syrah
Alcohol content: 13%
Average Retail Price: $26
Today’s pairing is one I approached with some trepidation. I was confident that the wine was going to be good (okay, excellent), and I knew the recipe well enough to be happy with it. But together? I just wasn’t sure. I certainly didn’t expect a full-on tug-of-war, but I had no idea it was going to turn out be one of my favorite pairings in recent years. Go figure.
The recipe of the week is filled with Provençal flavors — and is a very good vegetarian entrée or side dish. It’s also a dish that just tastes of summer. It’s worth making; please visit Cocoa & Lavender for my Cauliflower, Tomato, and Chèvre Gratin recipe.
Pairing wines with cabbage-y things was probably the starting point for my reluctance. I think one aspect is how cruciferous vegetables smell when cooking, and how those “aromas” alone can affect how we taste a wine. But I thought about how sweet cauliflower gets when roasted, and how the addition of a cheesy custard would probably work well. And, as hinted, it went beyond my expectations.
The color of the Château Margüi rosé is a stunning, pale ruddy pink. The photo required a white background (IMHO) in order to be seen — on other backgrounds it merely looked like a richly colored white. Just look back up at the photo and take in its beauty. The wine has a very bright and present nose, even when cold from the fridge. Ripe strawberry on the nose with a hint of citrus, and a little flint.
The first taste was really lovely — rich in strawberry and red fruits, some candied orange zest, and vanilla. It was soft and round in the mouth with a creamy texture. It’s really well-balanced and has a nice, long finish with a minimal note of fennel. I loved the wine all by itself and could have happily sipped that bottle away with no worries.
Then came the pairing and everything I said above was magnified — it became so much more creamy and velvety and the wine and food just fell together into one. I loved this pairing. The wine us available in the United States, and can be shipped from Skywalker Vineyards (Château Margüi is one of Skywalkers three estates) to many states. (Sadly, Arizona is not one of them.) consider yourself lucky if you have a bottle in your cellar!
The dish looks wonderful and a good excuse to buy one of my favorite rosés from Ch. Marguï! Cauliflower is a tough pairing but I wonder if the tomato is what made the magic happen. I can’t wait to give this a try! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Brenda! I don’t know what created the magic but it was just perfect. Maybe the tomato and goat cheese together tamed the beast? Or perhaps it was the roasting that sweetened it. Whatever the case, I know you will love it. Susan and Towny sure did!
You are a culinary magician in my eyes. Your enthusiasm for this pairing is contagious. I cannot wait to this. And the color of that rosé, oh yes, that is a color for my Zen palette❣️Thank you David. You and the Manfulls tend to take dining out off the table with your tremendous recommendations that always turn out, the lesser complicated become my go-tos!
Oh, OPatti – you do my heart good! 🙂 I really can’t recommend this enough. Susan and Towny made it last evening and they just loved it and the pairing. I hope you do, as well. You know, I really don’t enjoy dining out as much anymore – so noisy and too much of a production. At home, with good food, wine, and company, is where I like to be!
And the Tipton’s of Acquiesce fame! Oh my gosh so many of their recipes are also incorporated into my rep to impress!
They have so many good recipes and their wines are stellar!