How thick is this glaze that we’re pairing wines with residual sugar? I’ve had many honey hams but none so sweet that I didn’t think any number of wines could pair. I would think that Cru Beaujolais, Beaujolais Village, Pinot Noir and some Grenaches would do just fine. I’d be more sensitive to the fact that you don’t want to overpower the food.
But Uncle Bob said…
…that raw, delicate fish needs to be overpowered by a maggie.
I always took that to mean, “it goes with everything!”
“Cannot really think of anything (other than Bordeaux varieties) that sounds like it would clash more than CNdP. I love Chateauneuf, just not with this food.”
Maybe a kosher Israeli cabernet?
I don’t like Riesling at all, so maybe it would be a good match if you guys like that stuff. Smells like Hi-Test to me.
I don’t eat much spiral sliced ham either, but depending on the glaze, I don’t see anything wrong with the proper CdP - more grenache based rather than something like Beaucastel. And younger, not one that is too mature. A nice Burgundy would work too. I’ll admit that I don’t eat a lot of meat, but when I do I tend to go with French reds.
I wish I knew of some high acid Washington State Riesling and some light pink Oregon Pinot Noir to recommend.
It seems like a crying shame to be sitting there in Portland and not drink local juice.
For instance, I have never had one of the old Eyrie wines:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/eyrie/1/
But the dudes at Cellar Tracker are crazy about them:
Also, there are two shops up in Washington which claim to still have the 2012 Donnhoff Estate at $19.99:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/donnhoff/2012/usa-wa
I wish I knew the Washington State equivalent to Donnhoff, but I don’t.
I always go rose. Drier is better. I tried a Lopez de Heredia once and it worked, actually. If you’re into that sort of thing.
But I don’t do that sugar maple glaze thing. As a rule, the more sweet the meat, the more acid you need in the wine. As a general practice, however, if sugary stuff is on hand, e.g. glazed yams, better just hit the scotch early and put yourself out of misery.
Others’ recommendations for whites, e.g., Chenin blanc, are not unreasonable.
The first thing I thought of. Two very different hams.
Chablis and Champagne are very safe and very satisfying wines. I haven’t read the other responses so sorry if this is an echo.
Seriously, yes.
I love German and Alsace and Austrian Riesling, they can be so kick ass. But I find them for me a terrible match for holiday food, or Asian food of any kind. I only like Riesling as a cocktail wine (yum!), with appetizers, or with really strange weird tasting food. Seriously. For me, definitely not with ham or turkey.
Ham: again, high acid whites. Chablis or Champagne. Maybe Verdelho or Assyrtiko.
Once again, though, I will mention that the ultimate family-holiday-meal wine is, Jim Cowan’s 2010 Isa. Varietally incorrect, burnished, rich, goes with everything. Yams with marshmallows, salty and sweet ham, anything. There is no substitute.
1 Like
That’s because there isn’t one.
2005 Joh. Jos. Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel
Has great acidity to cut through the sweetness of the ham, but enough white fruits to also complement the sweetness.
1 Like
That’s such a waste of good soil. If nothing else, they could just cheat and acidulate the damned wines.
Beyond WA, there’s the Upper Lower Peninsula of MI and the Finger Lakes of NY - I wish I knew something [anything at all] about those regions.
Down South here, Shelton has made some nice vintages of their Yadkin Valley Riesling, but how they are able to control the Pierce’s Disease is beyond me.
Make sure the riesling has a crew top and not a cork!!!
Langlois has a great sparkling Cab Franc (Loire Valley). Always works for me.
And I see it the exact opposite. Soft, low acid wines would work best for me. Even with Riesling I would go with something with a bit of sugar, ala Halbtrocken. High acid wines with all that saltyness just doesn’t sound good to me.
It’s possible I’m thinking of the stuff that usually gets served with ham more than the ham itself. I do know a big young red is a bad match for me.
That makes zero sense to me. Can you explain?
edit: Now I remember that you’re the guy who said high-acid wine doesn’t go with acidic foods like pizza. I think it’s safe to say that whatever happens in your mouth when you experience these wines with food is different than what happens to almost every other person. Or maybe you just don’t like acidic wines and assume for that reason that they aren’t good with food. It all seems crazy to me.
Fino
Bam