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The Wine Cellar: A Dash of Flavor – Spicing Up Your Wine Selection
By Gordon Gilbert
The Dutch are known for many things: beautiful tulip fields, windmills, fine art. But it’s their nearly three century long presence in southeast Asia and the famed Dutch East India Company that earned them credit for creating a new age of culinary delights. The exotic spices the Dutch brought home expanded the menus and palates of Europe and the new world. Fortunately, we don’t have to create our own shipping company to secure the treasures found in our spice racks.
From cloves and cinnamon to nutmeg and tellicherry, a vast array of flavors and sensations now grace our kitchens. Some spices provide huge blasts of intensity while others have long, lingering bouts of enjoyment, all of them offering a range of great enhancements to our daily menus. With such an extraordinary spectrum of tastes and sensations, it would impossible to limit ourselves to a single wine pairing. Rather, the more difficult task lies in finding a wine that enhances our chosen spice rather than detracts from it, resulting in a true complementary tasting experience.
Cinnamon
On the whole, cinnamon can be difficult to pair with, but Gewürztraminer is the best option here as well as with other heat driven spices such as cayenne or green curry powder. The name Gewürztraminer literally translates as “spiced” Traminer (a family of white grapes), so Albrecht Gewürztraminer Reserve (Alsace, France; $20) is a great place to start. The wine has an intense tropical feel with lychee dominating. Light floral notes give way to a wonderful coating texture and a sweetness that helps offset the more striking qualities of the cinnamon.
Nutmeg
Riesling is a great wine to pair with focused and more heat driven spices such as nutmeg, and you’ll find a good choice in the Geil Rheinhessen Spätlese (Rheinhessen, Germany; $18). Spätlese refers to late picked grapes, which increase the sugar levels of the wine. The sweetness acts as a natural foil to the heat generated by a wide assortment of spices, including nutmeg. The laser focused acidity of Riesling replicates the ability of nutmeg to concentrate on a certain portion of the palate. Flavors of this wine consist of pear, key lime zest and just a hint of slate.
Cloves
Cloves have a rich, fragrant persistence. Even with the most aromatic of wines, the intense power of this spice tends to win out, so a heavier selection is the better choice. A stout, tannic, yet medium bodied Zinfandel makes for a great combination with Indian curry or Jamaican jerk chicken, both of which make use of cloves. Calcareous Twisted Sisters Zinfandel (Paso Robles, California; $20) offers wonderful stewed plums with blackcurrant and pepper notes. The spiciness is concentrated in the mid-palate and has a medium finish with a hint of sweetness.
Tellicherry Black Pepper
The powerful heat of the Indian tellicherry black pepper makes a great addition to many grilled meats and a range of stews. With that in mind, the Catena Malbec 2009 (Mendoza, Argentina; $16) creates a harmonious combination with peppercorn and has the tannins to break through anything we put on the grill. Rich black fruit, touches of violet, hints of clove and a whisper of pepper help to create an enduring finish to match the long, drawn out heat of the peppercorn.
Fresh Herbs
While spices are important, we cannot overlook the significance of fresh herbs used in conjunction with them. Sauvignon Blanc, with its undeniable grassiness, certainly fits the bill here. Whether we are working with lemongrass, verbena, basil or lemon thyme, the Groth Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley, California; $14) helps add to their fresh qualities with citric fruits and a crisp, aromatic zippiness. While clean and racy, there’s still a hint of creaminess.
The right herbs and spices can help add lots of zest and punch to any culinary offering, but by pairing these accoutrements with the right wine, we can create delectable delights bursting with amazing flavors. Just the sort of pairing you need to spice up your kitchen and your wine rack!
