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Jan

Weekly Whine & Cheese #1: Too and Too

Sean Sellers  in White Wines, Viognier, News, Roussanne , , , , ,

Welcome to InterWined.com’s first Weekly Roundup, or Whine & Cheese if you will, an opportunity for the writers at InterWined to whinge and whine and ramble on and on in an effort to set the world to rights like to two old drunks sat at the dinner table.

This week: Too Late for New Year’s and Too Weak to Drink

Too Late for New Year’s

For many, New Year’s Eve often demands something special to help draw a line between the outgoing year that invariably failed to meet expectations and the incoming one full of high-hopes and boundless possibility. And for InterWined, it is no different.

So what better way to dust off the cobwebs of the mind that with a healthy dose of vitamin C and brain food? Well, how about Clotilde’s Scallop Mango Tarlets from her excellent food blog Chocolate & Zucchini.

The mix of mango and scallop might sound unconventional, but it is a peerless pairing, high in vitamins A, B, and B12, Omega 3, and Magnesium. Just by reading this you’re getting healthier.

And what wine would pair well with such a delectable combination? Why not write your own recommendation in the comments?

Truth be told: I finally made this dish as a starter on Christmas day, after failing to do so the Christmas before because I couldn’t find any fresh scallops. Fortunately, Borough Market came to the rescue this year. And what did I pair it with: the 2005 Côtes du Rhône Blanc ‘Les Figuières’ Jean-Luc Colombo, 13% alcohol, 50% Viognier/50% Roussanne, and £10.49 from Oddbins. With its lemony flavour, mild complexity, and Sancerre-like grassiness. It is a wine that I very much enjoy and, on this occasion, made a very worthy companion to the mango, but slightly overwhelmed the scallops. Good match; not a great one: 7.8 or something like that.

The next time I prepare it, I will probably consider one of the following: Riesling, Sancerre, or Albariño.

For an alternative and equally superior scallop dish, be sure to visit Lenndevours and the Plaza Café’s Seared Peconic Bay Scallops with Local Cauliflower-White Truffle Puree and Clementine Picatta. He pairs it with a Long island Chardonnay. Looks good; bet it tastes good too.

Too Weak to Drink

For most non-Americans and, thankfully, an increasing number of Americans too, American beers rank near the bottom of things that they would willing ingest.

Too pale to pass as a true pilsner and too light in flavour and alcohol content, largely thanks to varyingly restrictive US state laws, to offer the discerning drinker much satisfaction, they make up for their shortcomings the way that all great Americans products do — with great advertising.

Remember, Miller Lite’s ‘Great Taste, Less Filling’ campaign? Only the most savvy of corporate advertisers would have you believe that a less filling drink that wouldn’t satiate your thirst or desire for alcohol was a good thing. If it’s less filling, you’ll buy and drink more of it.

Miller Brewing Company: 1, Punter: 0.

So, while InterWined could in no way endorse any of its products, it must tip its hat to the Anheuser-Busch company’s most popular online advertisement: the Swear Jar. (If only it were true…)

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John
John said: January 9th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

I have come to realise that American beer is basically soda for adults. The can feels like a Coke can, fizzles like a Coke can, pops like a Coke can, and taste…well you get the idea.

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