The weather is trending colder.. It was time for some heartier food that I've been missing since early spring. In the winter I have these cravings for fresh fruit and vegetables; tomatoes, corn, berries, etc. In the summer I miss winter foods of slowly braised meat and root vegetables.
Yesterday there was a long simmered pan of short ribs, done in red wine and stock with lots of onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. We added tomato paste and powder and some anchovies for a deeper flavor. Wonderful, earthy smells. With garlic mashed potatoes it was just the thing for a cool evening.
The wine of the day for both the braising and the dinner was a 2007 Ogier Cotes du Rhone Heritages. The wine was a blend of 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre and a little oak aging. Dark red in the glass it looked and smelled more like a Crozes Hermitage or St Joseph than it did a jolly Cotes' du Rhone. Dark fruits, the ripest strawberries imaginable, raw meat, and good damp earth all were going on here in both the aroma and the taste of the wine. Very full bodied but with good acid and tannin. Nice long finish. Since it was part of the stock with the short ribs it was obviously a wonderful match.
$13 and 14% alcohol.
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