We were psyched to be included in the most recent issue of West 42nd St Magazine. Jeremy Kaplan, who is also the wonder of the local wine shop Veritas Studio Wines, wrote a piece for his column, Planet of the Grapes. The column was entitled Infuse Your Food and Dine Divine with Wine, and was about cooking with wine and how it adds intensity and depth to a dish. He talked with us about our beef short ribs which are marinated and braised in red wine, then topped with vibrant roasted watermelon radish and served with smashed potatoes and a piquant horseradish gremolata. We use full-bodied Tempranillo for cooking this dish, because it adds a great depth of flavor and important acidity to the richness of the short ribs. We recommend a Listán Negro as the perfect wine pairing for the dish. Listán Negro is a smokey sturdy red from the Canary Islands, which we will explore more in our next Biodynamic wine post.
We have some other favorite pours that we will pair well with our Valentine’s Day menu:
With the Hamachi crudo (with uni, Osetra caviar, blood orange, horseradish, apple, meyer lemon, and arbequina olive oil), the bright citrus notes and racy acidity of the Clos Alivu. Vermentino from Patrimonio, Corsica, 2013 will be perfect.
The Salvatore Bklyn ricotta ravioli (candy cane beets, fried shallots, balsamic), will shine with a hearty Syrah-Grenache-Mouvedre. Mas D’Alezon. Faugeres. 2012. This earthy red from Southwestern France has some lovely herbal notes from the garrigues, along with earthy tones, and a bright texture.
And for the grilled filet mignon (with black truffle potato gratin, grilled radicchio, and Pinot Noir sauce), we are looking towards Greece with a Xinomavro. Rapsani Old Vines. Dougos Winery. Larissa, Greece. 2011. These 50 year old Xinomavro vines from Northern Greece produce an incredibly balanced wine, with impressive tannic structure, and depth of dark fruits like cassis, dried figs, and a smoky finish.
Ending the meal on a sweet note, the Passionfruit Baked Alaska goes with the Moscato D’Asti, which has lots of lush fruits — apricots, nectarines and honey come through on the palate along with a really intense mouthfeel due to extra time spent on the lees during fermentation.
