Looking for suggestions for a wine pairing for a dinner I am cooking Sunday. The reduction sauce will be a bit on the sweet side due to a 750 each of Tawny Port and Red wine.
Ideally I mould like to use something I already have from my young cellar. There will be 5 of us so I’ll need a couple bottles. Any advice would be appreciated. TIA! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
cali syrah, grenache
Tough to match with a slightly sweet sauce. Probably a rich zin is your best choice and I’m pretty sure you have several of those. Perhaps a 2009 Carlisle from Monte Rosso or better yet Rossi Ranch.
Would not go syrah, but that’s me. Grenache is a good choice, but I don’t know what you might have.
I agree with Jordan on the syrah, but I’d go French along the lines of something with more acidity, say a Gonon. Had a wonderful WindGap syrah a few weeks ago with braised short ribs. Great pairing, but that was not a port sauce. Go easy on the Port sauce.
I’m not a fan of pairing big heavy wines (i.e. Cali Syrah or heavy-handed Grenache) with big heavy dishes. Something gets lost with the wine, I feel. A good Brunello or Barbaresco in a traditonal style (so there’s lots of acidity) should compliment well. The tannins work well for me with the sweetness too.
1500 ml 2007 CdP
I’d hit that with a medium dark colored but bright and lively flavored ROSÉ…
I don’t see why the sauce will be on the sweet side, but it will certainly be rich, as will the entire dish (I’ve made braised short ribs in wine sauces dozens of times over the years and they always are). That being said, I would recommend an old world, full bodied, tannic red, varietal of your choice. No O-T-T new world fruit bomb.
Budweiser.
You really need something to counterbalance the richness of he ribs and sauce. I would go with something like a young cab with good tannic structure or a old world syrah which should have nice acidity.
Verdelho Madeira.
The link to your cellar gets this:
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You obviously are not a Cellartracker user.
One of the Carlisle or Turley zins.
That’s how it works, eh?
So whatd you decide? I wouldve served it with one glass of ode to lulu and open some rm panek or hobel after dinner 
We dank an 03 Alesia Syrah amd an 09 Bedrock Pliene de Chene before dinner and served an 07 Agharta Exhibit C with the entree.
Recipe??
Chris
Port Braised Short Ribs - Served over a bed of wilted Chard and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Approx 4lbs Short Ribs - large cut
1/4C safflower or canola oil (high heat)
3lg onions chopped
6 carrots cut in 1/2" lengths
2C low salt chicken broth
1/2C red wine vinegar
1 bottle dry red wine
1 bottle tawny port
2 heads garlic sliced in half
1/2C honey
Heat the oil in a large pot on high heat. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Brown meat on all sides and remove. Add veggies and cook until browned stirring often. Add broth, wine, port, vinegar, garlic and honey and bring to a boil. Add meat and any drippings and bring to a boil. Remove from stove and put in 350º oven uncovered for about 2-1/2 hours.Remove meat from pot and cover with foil.
Sauce
Strain juices from pot into sauce pan and discard solids. Reduce liquid on high heat to about 1-1/2 cups. Spoon off fat. Make a roux of 1Tbsp butter and 1Tbsp flour and mix into sauce with a whisk until slightly thickened. Whisk in 2 Tsp Dijon mustard and remove from heat.
Chard
3 bunches of rainbow chard cut in thirds
6-8 crimini mushrooms chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2Tbsp butter
Melt butter in large pot. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute until cooked through. Add chard and a splash of water. Cover pot with a tight lid and reduce heat to low. Cook about 15 minutes or until chard has wilted down and is soft. Mix to stir in mushrooms and garlic before plating.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4 Russets peeled and cubed
4 cloves garlic minced
6tbsp butter
1/3 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche
Boil potatoes until soft. Combine butter and garlic and in a small bowl and nuke in the microwave until butter bubbles and garlic aroma comes out. Drain potatoes, add butter/garlic mixture and cream. Mash until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
Plating
I plate this all in a stack. I start with a bed of chard. Top that with a big scoop of potatoes. Short Ribs on top if potatoes. Take the sauce and spoon it over the top and drizzle some on the plate around the food. Your guests will ooh and ahh. Serve with warm crusty french bread.
Note: This feeds 6-8 depending on serving size. If you want to feed more figure 2 potatoes for every 3 people, a bunch of chard for every 2 people and 3/4lb meat per person (bone in). Have a helper in the kitchen when it comes time to plate.
Enjoy!
I’m a bit fan of Molly Stevens’ recipe in All About Braising for short ribs braised with porter. Delicious results and a fabulous book.
http://www.amazon.com/All-About-Braising-Uncomplicated-Cooking/dp/0393052303