Happy Wine Wednesday! Today I’m sharing a wine that has considerable sentimental value for me, although you wouldn’t think so because I only just tried it for the first time two days ago! I flew to Boston this past weekend, visiting my sister, Catherine, and her fiancée, Thanos. My parents also drove into town from Syracuse, NY, for a weekend of family time and wedding talk. Catherine and Thanos are in the midst of planning their July 7th wedding in Boston, and this past Monday my parents and I went with them to The Taj to enjoy a menu tasting at The Taj Boston.
Cat and Thanos have chosen Indian food for their wedding, as Thanos comes from an Indian family, and Catherine has grown to love the cuisine. They wanted to make sure none of the dishes they chose were too spicy for the majority of guests attending, so we all tried each dish to decide on what the overall wedding menu should consist of. My dad was the token guinea pig at the table; he is probably the most spice sensitive out of all of us, but his criticism was necessary because not everyone has such a high tolerance for spice like Cat and Thanos do!
Along with choosing down the menu, Cat and Thanos also had to decide on which wines would be poured at dinner. It was a difficult task to narrow down the wines to one white and one red, but my family and I were up for the challenge! Deciding the white wine was fairly easy, everyone immediately agreed on a choice right away. The red, however, proved a little more challenging, because we wanted a bold wine that would stand on its own, during cocktail hour and wedding toasts, but still compliment the food during dinner as well. Indian food is flavorful and sometimes very spicy, and Cat and Thanos are serving an array of dishes, from Chicken Masala (chicken simmered in a tomato cream sauce, shown below in photo) to Lamb Bhuna (lamb cooked with a blend of spices) to Paneer Saagwala (soft cheese cooked in spinach puree). Those are just the main dishes; I haven’t even gotten into the side dishes yet, such as Dal (lentils cooked with onion, tomatoes, and spices), Pulao (peas, cauliflower, garlic, and saffron), and Kachumber (shredded vegetables tossed with peanut dressing). Suffice it to say, finding a wine that pairs well with all those different flavors and spices seemed daunting!
We decided to try the wine on its own first, without food, then revisit them during the meal. The first red wine we were poured was actually the Esser Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, and the bouquet was intoxicating! Aromas of rich, dark fruit, but also some oakiness. I remember turning to my dad and saying, “I hope this wine tastes as good as it smells!” Once we tasted the wine, we were hooked. Smooth, velvety, but with dimension too… meaning it wasn’t one-note; this wine started off bold and lush, and finished delicately without being overly oaky and tannic. This wine didn’t have that “kick” or “pucker” sensation in your throat that occurs when a wine has a bitterness or astringency caused by high levels of tannins, which made me think it wouldn’t compete with the spiciness of the Indian food. Hoping we’d love this wine just as much with the food, we tried it with the Lamb Bhuna, which the chef informed us was the spiciest of the three main dishes. One word: delicious! It was almost as if they were created for each other, the wine brought out the flavors and seasonings in the lamb, while not knocking you over with its own spice. I suppose there was a reason the sommeliers at The Taj chose this wine as a compliment to this meal. The other red wine we tried was coincidentally a Merlot by Esser Vineyards, and it was delightful, but not as smooth and rich as the Cabernet. The general consensus at the table was that the Cabernet won, and honestly, this wine is dangerous! It’s so easy to drink on its own, and with food, forget it! There will be a lot of happy guests at Cat and Thanos’s wedding in July, I’m sure!
A little background on this wine…. Esser Vineyards is located in Napa Valley, and this Cabernet comes from the St. Helena region, which is known for its handpicked Cabernet grapes, which ensures that only the best grapes make it to the bottle. I later checked this wine out on Wine.com, and it was described as being ”brawny enough to be a delicious match for virtually all roasted or grilled red meats and game; it will also pair wonderfully with hearty pastas and stews. Try it with braised lamb shank!” I found this to be completely true, we actually tried this wine with the Lamb Bhuna, and it was excellent! It will be hard for me not to go online and order this wine before the wedding, but that will make it that much more of a treat once July 7th rolls around. If you haven’t loved Indian food before, maybe you’re not drinking the right wine! I highly recommend buying a bottle of the Esser Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and grabbing some Lamb Bhuna takeout from your favorite Indian restaurant, I promise you’ll have a new appreciation for Indian food after trying this wine!
