Category: Other Wines, etc.

I know some of you will be enjoying a nice wine with your Easter dinner this weekend, and if you are serving ham you may have already guessed that this is a somewhat difficult pairing. The meat is generally salty, and it is often coated with a sweet or spicy glaze. This combination of flavors, while quite delicious, is tricky to pair with a decent wine. The curing salts run the risk of clashing horribly with reds, making a most unpleasant, tinny flavor in the mouth.

What’s a wine lover to do?

My suggestions are:

Rosé
There are some very interesting rosés out there these days, and your friendly local wine merchant should be able to choose one for you. Select something of at least medium sweetness if your ham will have any sweet glaze on it.

Riesling
Rieslings have the acidity to hold up against the ham’s sweet-saltiness, and they also have a lovely way of playing off exotic spices like cinnamon and cloves. If you select a German Riesling, try at least a Spätlase or Auslese (this will be listed on the label) to get enough sweetness. Those in the States will be able to find the always-dependable Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, which will give you the right floral sweetness at a very reasonable price ($9.99 - $12.99). I would make sure not to get the dry Riesling if my ham had any sweetness in it. (The dry Riesling features a green bar on the lower part of the label.)

Dessert Wine ~ Orange Muscat
How about trying something different this year, like an Orange Muscat? I can think of two absolutely delightful ones from California’s Quady Winery that are full of gorgeous orange blossoms and stone fruit on the nose, and follow with the most beautiful peach-apricot lightness on the palate.

The Quady Essensia ($21.99 - $24.99) is slightly fortified, and features an intense stone fruit flavor and heavier sweetness and mouthfeel that is most appropriate for dessert pairing.

The Quady Electra ($12.99 - $14.99) is lighter and has lower alcohol content, and its light fruitiness would allow an interesting pairing with dinner or dessert. If you don’t want to serve them with dessert, why not try the Electra with your glazed ham? Neither one of these is at all cloying in its sweetness, and the perfume is just gorgeous and springlike. Make sure you serve in large glasses so you can really enjoy their beautiful aroma. You might have to do some digging to find Quady wines, but it is well worth the trouble.

Well, I am off to buy my own wines for Easter weekend. What is my choice? Well, as dinner is fleeting and the evening is long I will purchase a sumptuous red beauty and wait until after dinner to crack it. ;)

Ever see the Verizon commercial with the guy going about his business followed by a huge supporting crowd of network folk making it all possible? Every time I see that commercial I smile and think of my own network of family, friends, and other mysteriously-wonderful associates and strangers who somehow manage to get me through each day intact. Time and time again I stumble around this dirty little planet making all the wrong moves—only to be gently picked up, dusted off, and sent on my way with just what I needed from a kind-eyed boddhisatva in human disguise.

Today my Network is in full force. This icy January morning I had counted on a day behind a cursed desk, fretting about the welfare of my cold little chickens in the 14 F wind chill. What I got was a desk full of Christmas cards and gifts on my first day back from the holidays—the culmination of which was a bottle of 2004 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet-Shiraz. (Thank you, G!) This is a truly lovely, generous gift, and I am fully appreciative of this gorgeous Aussie darling. It will soon sleep next to my Bordeaux, hopefully to wake up sometime around 2014 . . . although I can’t guarantee I won’t lovingly massage it every now and again in the meantime.

I stopped by Miss Pat’s on the way home, only to be handed a sackful of cold-weather comfort-food goodies. The hens gobbled down their warm oatmeal and veggies while the icy wind blew outside, and we humans dined on BD Soupski’s roast beef lovingly cooked down in beer until it nearly fell apart in tender morsels, and the savory juice sent up the most divine perfume in solemn offering to the culinary gods. A few tender slices of meat gently laid on soft onion rolls, with the top roll dipped in jus; some home-made fried potatoes with cracked pepper a la Grandma Stella; and slices of apple pie. *sigh* Very soon two tired but happy people sat on an old couch patting warm, round tummies in satisfaction.

I have heard it said that the way your year begins is a good indication of how the rest of it will proceed. If this is the case, 2008 in Jenotopia will start out rather boring and end up deliciously fabulous. The fabulousness will be a direct result of my Network, and for that—for them—my gratitude exceeds words.