I am loving the fact that wineries are collaborating with restaurants to offer recipes that we can make at home to pair with their wines. This is the second recipe that I’ve tried from a winery and both pairings have been spot-on.
The first recipe from CheckMate Artisanal Winery pairs Fool’s Mate Chardonnay with Flaky Buttermilk-Bacon Biscuits and Sweet Corn and Spring Leek Veloute; both recipes were created by Chef Chris Van Hooydonk from Backyard Farm in Oliver, BC.
The 2014 Fool’s Mate Chardonnay was made from estate-grown grapes from Osoyoos, as well as the Golden Mile and the Black Sage Bench. Fermentation was 67% wild and the wine was aged for 16 months in a combination of 85% French Oak (42% new) and 15% concrete egg.
After three hours in the decanter this Chardonnay offers aromas of buttered graham crackers, pineapple, buttery lemon curd and crushed gravel. This wine is a full bodied Chardonnay with medium+ acidity. The palate has flavours of butter, pineapple, fresh lemon and minerality, with coconut and lemon rind on the long finish.
This rich and buttery Chardonnay paired very well with the sweet and savoury soup accompanied by flaky, buttermilk biscuits.
The second recipe to be released by CheckMate is from their winemaker, Phil McGahan. Florence’s Tarragon Chicken is his Mother’s recipe and it pairs with Little Pawn Chardonnay. After reading the recipe though, I am not so sure that I will be able to sacrifice a whole, two-thirds cup of this beautiful wine to the chicken!
All of these recipes and more can be found in Jennifer Schell’s new cookbook entitled, The BC Wine Lover’s Cookbook. This fantastic new book will be released on June 23rd, but you can pre-order it now through www.penguinrandomhouse.ca.