Host: Christine
Served: BBQ ribs, pasta salad, some pita chip what-nots, strawberry brownies
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| Elena Walch Merlot; Barista Pinotage |
Barista Pinotage 2010 (South Africa), 13.5% alcohol, $15 on sale at Waterford Wine
Christine says (18): A coffee-inspired wine? Sign us up! We loved this wine when we tasted it at Waterford, and I built a meal to go around it. The Pinotage is aged in nearly blackened and burnt oak barrels to give it coffee-like characteristics. It had a ruby-violet color and amazing bouquet of peppercorns, chocolate, strawberries, and coffee (though not as much coffee as I'd remembered in store). The wine was delicious, complex, rich and fruity, spiced, and a bit brambly. It went well with both the spice-rubbed ribs and the brownies. I would love to try it with steak au poivre.
Kim says (17): I had never heard of Pinotage before and assumed this was a blend but that is incorrect. As Christine referenced, Pinotage is made from a grape that is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (known at the time as Hermitage)... what I might loosely call a hybrid grape but is not strictly accurate. This wine had a distinct bouquet of roasted peppers, rosemary and wet coffee grounds (but not in a bad way). I very much enjoyed this... it had the potential to be overbearing and brash but wasn't. Just right! And Christine did an amazing job creating a meal around this wine... an excellent combination!
Andrea says (17.5): I am not a coffee drinker but I did enjoy this wine. It was a violet-ruby color. I could smell vanilla, pepper, chocolate, coffee, and strawberry. It has a very smokey, oak-y flavor. almost burnt taste. Went very well with the ribs!
Elena Walch Merlot 2006 (Alto Adige, Italy), 13.5% alcohol, $6 on sale at Waterford Wine
Christine says (11): Claret, blood-red color, though pretty translucent. Bouquet of wet leaves, must, blueberries, raspberries and Brie. Though the wine would be good with a variety of food, I thought it was flabby (yes, flabby!) and one-dimensional. I wouldn't mind trying it with Brie.
Kim says (10): Well, I thought this Merlot had a distinct bouquet and unfortunately, it wound up tasting exactly what it smelled like- must, mold and brie rind; pleasant blueberries and strawberries but then twisted into something flat. Think old, abandoned Christmas decorations- stale orange slices and dried up pine needles.
Andrea says (14.5): I did not enjoy the smell of this wine, but there is no arguing that it had a distinct bouquet. I definitely agree with Kim and Christine, I smelled Brie, along with mold, must, and feet. But I also smelled berries. Taste was a little boring.
I mixed up strawberries, sugar and a little cinnamon to go over the homemade brownies and call out more flavors of the Barista Pinotage. Kim took a beautiful photo!
Toasted pita wedges with kalamata olives and goat cheese.
3# pork baby back ribs
1/4 c. minced onion
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. each onion powder, garlic powder and cinnamon
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 c. water
1 c. BBQ sauce
Cut ribs into serving-size pieces. Combine the minced onion and spices; rub over ribs on both sides. Stack in a slow cooker, layering with sliced onion. Add water to slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours if you can. (If cooked on low for 8, they will be more fall-off-the-bone as shown.)
Remove ribs; discard cooking liquid. Dip ribs in sauce; return to slow cooker and cook on low for 1 hour.
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