A Little Dinner With My Black Chicken
Over at Wannabe Wino, Megan asked about whether people plan dinner around wine or wine around dinner. I think my response to her was something to the effect that I do both but usually have most success when picking the wine first.
The other night was no exception. The wine I picked was one I purchased back home, probably two years ago. The first time I had Robert Biale Zinfandel, I fell madly, deeply in love. So much so that I’ve been hesitant to drink my 2003 Black Chicken because I haven’t seen any out here. But you don’t want to hold on to a Zin full of huge fruit and high alcohol for too long. Opening the bottle was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a while.
My first reaction to the gorgeous nose of subtle pepper, bright raspberry and black cherry was, “Please, god. Have it ask me on a date.” And though it tasted a little hot at first sip (16% alc!) that melted into more raspberry and pepper, with some cinnamon and vanilla. YUM, though now I’m sad that it’s gone….
I chose lamb to go with the Zin, recipe courtesy of The Wine Lover’s Cookbook by Sid Goldstein–the always helpful. The marinade was made up of soy sauce, red wine, mint, onions, etc. Then I roasted the lamb in the oven along with a tray of olive oil drizzled sweet potatoes and a head of garlic, for the sauce.
A tad overcooked for my taste (people usually shrink back in fear when my filet arrives–the redder, the better, I say), but still very good. The pairing was lovely.
At this point, I’ll point out that I used leftover 2003 Viansa Prindelo (a Primitivo blend) for the marinade and the biodynamic 2003 Martella Syrah for the sauce. I point this out because I wanted to drink every drop of the Black Chicken. The Syrah went beautifully with the lamb as well.
Though I said I wasn’t going back to Napa for a while, I need to replenish my stock. Anyone for Biale?
Robert Biale Zinfandel, Black Chicken, Syrah pairing, Zin pairing
….Farley Walker
January 18th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Oh yummy… can I come to your house for dinner?
I guess when I think about wine with dinner, I usually think about dinner first. That is because my husband doesn’t drink alcohol so I tend to think about the food more than the drinks.
January 18th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Nice, I love a little lamb with my zinfandel. Though last time I made a lamb dish I paired it with a cabernet sauvignon and I wasn’t all that happy with the match. I should go back to the zinfandel!
At first I thought your post was going to be about pan blackened chicken!
January 18th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Thanks Farley! I hope I create some celebrity buzz for your blog.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Mrs.Crumley, you can always buy split bottles for yourself.
Megan, Shiraz/Syrah is also superb with lamb and more often my pairing choice.
Nick, I could never live up to your celebrity hype….
January 19th, 2007 at 10:37 am
I am a huge Biale fan, and am green with envy. That sounds amazing, do you ever send out invites to dinners like that? If so please put me on the list…
February 7th, 2007 at 8:04 am
[...] The other wine I reviewed was The Black Chook ($17 from Beltramo’s), a NV sparkling Shiraz from Southeastern Australia. From what I could find, it’s made by Woop Woop Wines, and much of the fruit comes from the McLaren Vale. No info on percentages, except that it was made from mainly 3-yr-old Shiraz, with a bit of newer ones to add big fruit. When trying to make sure this was mostly Shiraz, I discovered ‘chook’ means ‘chicken,’ which seems rather appropriate considering my obsession with the Biale Black Chicken Zin. [...]