Did you try Friday’s buffalo wing recipe? Well, I did, but without the benefit of the suggested wine. Simply put, InterWined’s recipe inspired me to experiment.
In this case, the gamble was with the widespread 2006 Jacob’s Creek ‘Three Vines’ white, £7 from Costcutter. The Three Vines offerings by Jacob’s Creek are nothing short of the […]

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Each Friday, InterWined.com pairs one great wine with one great meal and publishes the results along with the recipe in a little feature it likes to call ‘Blow the Bank’.

This week, ‘Blow the Bank’ brings you InterWined’s Own Black Cherry Chocolate Palmiers.

The great European palmier might be the most simple little snack imaginable — given what little effort and time they require. They might also be one of the most versatile. They can easily accommodate most sweet and savoury fillings from jams and preserves to cheeses and thinly-sliced cuts of meat.

Many traditionalists consider palmiers simple coffee candy, something meant to help you kick start the day on this long-run February. Yet, why limit it to pairing with a simple morning cup of java? Why not let it help end your day, or month, too? In this case, with a brilliant wine.

A truly delectable match for the cherry, chocolate flavours found within the folds of puff pastry that make up InterWined’s Own Black Cherry Chocolate Palmiers is the 2007 Torrontes Tardio from Familia Zuccardi in the Medoza Valley of Argentina.

This late harvest dessert wine (85% Torrontes/15% Viognier) available for £6.99 from Oddbins and in California via Mission Liquor & Wines (as Santa Julia Torrontes) is oft-proclaimed to be pure nectar. And, it’s an apt description. There’s a honeyed-fruit sweetness that starts on the nose and lingers on the palate that ably matches the cherry-fruit and chocolate palmier filling.

A winner: 9 pts. or something equally ridiculous.

Click on the post to view and download the recipe

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Despite British Invasion band The Zombies’ famous lyrics to the contrary, it’s never too late to say you’re sorry.
In fact, it’s about bloody time.
Take our first subject, Canada: We at InterWined.com have long suspected that it was the strange brew of jealousy and envy that drove the great majority of Canadians to settle within a […]

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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 […]

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A standard California table wine, The Boulders Viognier 2004, goes for £5. Viognier is an ancient lady, common in the Rhone. Needs sun as it is prone to rot.

The Boulders isn’t very floral, as one would expect when the grape is grown in America or Australia. A probably a bit too heavy for such a heavy dish. But Interwined has a big belly, so here we go: Greasy and tart, some hints of orange zing, quick finish, but heavy in body. Perfect with fish and chips. By itself: 8.2.

German Riesling is the fall back guy for difficult food pairings. 2004 Mineralstein Riesling, from between the Mosel and Rhein rivers, around £7 from Marks and Spencer. The low alcohol, nice apricot aroma and peach-smartie type flavor really enhance the spice on Buffalo chicken wings (what spice is that, anyway?). The wine itself is a gem, dry and flinty, with a unbelievably long finish… If Cricket were a wine sport, Mineralstein would be it’s star.
Perfect wine Buffalo chicken wings: 8.6.

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Started with (and these are all 2004s) a Shiraz Merlot blend… I’m reluctant to name names here; but it’s a big producer (aren’t they all from down under?) Initially it tasted a bit rusty, unpleasant, but after an hour or so, it became decent enough to drink. The bottle was left unfinished.

Then it was a Shiraz-Viognier. Not a typical blend, but still remarkable similar to the previous evening. Again, not finished. It also burned my throat.

I drank a Yalumba. You see, for me, a true wine should give the drinker an ironic feeling: a contradiction where the wine washes away the stress of the day and relaxes, whilst still enabling the drinker to feel invigorated and alive. No, this wine… this wine… just made me feel WEIRD. The next day, my head hurt.

I capped the Australian tour with a Rosemount 100 percent Shiraz.

The label was shouting ‘I’ve been designed to grab your attention, and hold it, so you don’t care if I’m any good on the inside.’ Luckily, by mid-week, I was decanting the wines and letting them sit for an hour before trying. This burned off the alcohol and brought out the tell-tale spiciness of the Shiraz. Spiciness?

I just grabbed a cold bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc from Concha y Toro screw cap (superior to cork when it comes to a ‘drink now’ status). It was lovely, crisp, almost the colour of water.

I went into the store and grabbed another bottle, same shelf, same place… same COLOUR. Only when I got it home did I notice it was the Chardonnay. But the label looks exactly the same! And how can a Chardonnay not retain any of its straw-like hue? It was a decent wine, but c’mon guys.

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