Only for the Best: Tarragon Lobster Cocktail on Mother’s Day [RECIPE]

FILED UNDER: Buying & Choosing Wine, Food and Wine Recipes, Holidays, White Wine, Wine Cocktail


[photo credit: © Marco Mayer - Fotolia.com]

Treat your Mom to a homemade Spring cocktail full of fresh ingredients. Instead of a boozy brunch, make a delicious in-season meal you both can enjoy with a glass of crisp Bordeaux. Wine buff Rob Moshein shares his Mother’s Day Tarragon Lobster Cocktail recipe and which white Bordeaux to pair with:

Tarragon Lobster Cocktail
[serves 4-6]

· ⅓ cup home made Tarragon mayonnaise (recipe below)
· 1 teaspoon lemon zest
· 1 lemon, juiced
· Salt and freshly ground black pepper
· 1 stalk finely chopped celery
· 1 finely chopped shallot
· Lobster, cooked (about 1 pound lobster meat), chilled and chopped
· 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives as garnish
· Caviar garnish (optional) – you can use any good caviar, sturgeon, paddlefish, tobiko, Salmon roe or whitefish roe

Combine all the ingredients gently together, until just combined. Serve in chilled Martini glasses or small glass bowls, garnish with chives and caviar.

Homemade Tarragon Mayonnaise:
· 1 large egg
· 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
· ½ cup olive oil
· ½ cup neutral flavored oil (grape seed, canola, vegetable, etc.)
· 1 tablespoon of fresh tarragon, chopped
· ½ teaspoon salt

1. Pinch freshly ground white pepper

2. In a food processor or blender, blend the egg and lemon juice for 10 seconds. With the processor running, slowly pour in the oil through the feed tube and process until emulsified. (Should the mixture become too thick, with the machine running, add water two teaspoons at a time.)

3. Add the tarragon, salt, and pepper and pulse to blend. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. (The mayonnaise will keep tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.)


align box

Château Bonnet, Entre-Deux-Mers, 2011

A classic Sauvignon with an intense aroma of fresh exotic fruit and box tree. Brilliant green and gold in appearance. Muscat notes on the palate. Fresh and lively finish with good length. 50% Sauvignon, 40% Sémillon, 10% Muscadelle

Enjoy!

Got wine questions for Rob? Tweet at the Austin Wine Guy or ask your question in the comments section below.

Summer Re:Mix: Wine O’Clock Spritzer [RECIPE]

FILED UNDER: Food and Wine Recipes, White Wine, Wine Cocktail

It’s technically still summer, right? Other than trying out new Cabernet-based wines for #CabernetDay, we’re getting crafty and relaxing this long holiday weekend with a tasty white wine cocktail from Martha Stewart. This tasty white wine spritzer is wonderfully refreshing and perfect for warm-weather entertaining. Need help on white wines to pick out? Check out the Bordeaux white wine article for suggestions.

Sadly, this recipe is the last of our Summer Re:Mix recipe series, so enjoy. We’ll be back with more exciting recipes for the fall season that will warm you up!

align box

Ingredients:
· ½ cup ice cubes
· 5 ounces white wine, chilled
· 3 ounces club soda, chilled
· 2 or 3 watermelon or cantaloupe balls, for garnish

Directions:
Place ice in a 10-ounce cocktail glass. Add wine and club soda. Garnish with melon balls; serve immediately.

[photo courtesy: Martha Stewart]

Summer Re:Mix: Southern Veggie Platter [RECIPE]

FILED UNDER: Food and Wine Recipes

As part of our Summer Re:Mix recipe series, we’ve searched for the best food and wine pairings, especially for white and rose wines. Perfect for a summer afternoon, pair this Southern Veggie Platter with Bordeaux white wine with a southern dish. Need inspiration for the last weekends of summer? Try the recipe below, and invite summer to your table!

Ingredients:

· 1 red pepper
· 1 green pepper
· 1 yellow pepper
· 1 zucchini
· 2 tomatoes
· 1 onion
· 1 garlic

· 10cl olive oil
· 100g flour (3 ½ ounces)
· 100g butter (3 ½ ounces)
· 100g (3 ½ ounces) ground hazelnuts
· 20g (.7 ounces) sugar
· salt & pepper

Directions:
Slice the zucchini and onion and sauté in olive oil. Cut the tomatoes into cubes and quietly stew in olive oil. Bake peppers at 480°F for 20 minutes. Remove skin and cut into strips. Season with salt and pepper. Add olive oil and chopped garlic. Mix all the vegetables and marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes. To create crumble: Put the flour, ground hazelnuts, sugar, a pinch of salt and butter in a bowl and mix with your fingertips. Place in a casserole with vegetables and sprinkle dough to crumble. Brown in the oven a few minutes and serve.

[photo courtesy: Food.com]

Summer Re:Mix: Sauvignon Blanc Cocktail [RECIPE]

FILED UNDER: Food and Wine Recipes, White Wine, Wine Cocktail

Punch up your white wine, Bordeaux style! Now’s the perfect time to open the last of the white wine you bought for the summer and mix up some delicious vino-based cocktails! In cocktails, sauv blanc mixes best with these same flavors-fresh citrus juice and tart fruit. Check out all of our Summer Re:Mix recipes here. Enjoy!

align box

Ingredients:
· 3 oz Bordeaux white wine
· ½ oz Aperol
· ½ oz Fresh grapefruit juice
· ½ oz Fresh lemon juice
· ¼ oz Simple syrup (one part sugar, one part water)
· club soda

Directions:
Add all the ingredients except the soda to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda.

Bordeaux 301: Meet the Family

FILED UNDER: Buying & Choosing Wine, Grapes, Know Your Bordeaux, Rosé Wine, White Wine, Wine 101

You + Bordeaux. It’s official.

Looking back it’s hard to believe how quickly you went from total strangers to a match made in heaven! You stumbled across the grape suitors’ profiles in May and made your selection. By June you’d been on a date or two and had gotten to know one another’s styles. Now, it’s time to meet the family!

The Bordeaux wine region can be broken down into a few key sub-regions often referred to as ‘families’ because they offer a distinct style of Bordeaux wine. Here is a list of where to find yours. Look for the below sub-regions or AOCs on the wine label.

align box


Wine Style 1:
Citrusy and crisp, light-bodied white

On the label: Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers, Cotes de Bordeaux

Examples: Mouton Cadet, Chateau Bonnet, Chateau Villa Bel Air, Dourthe

Price Range: $8-20

When to drink: 1-3 years old

align box


Wine Style 2:
Creamy and lemony, complex and full-bodied white

On the label: Graves, Pessac-Léognan, and Médoc area Chateau

Examples: Chateau Carbonnieux, Chateau Olivier, Smith-Haut-Lafitte

Price Range: $20-90+ (depends greatly on AOC and producer)

When to drink: 3-8 years old (more you spend, longer it should age)

align box


Wine Style 3:
Dry, berry-laden, sometimes herbal, rosé

On the label: Bordeaux Rosé

Examples: Rose de Clarke (Many famous Chateaux release an affordable rosé!)

Price Range: $7-20

When to drink: 1-2 years old

align box


Wine Style 4:
Sweet, onctuous, full-bodied golden dessert wines

On the label: Sauternes, Barsac, Cadillac, Cérons

Examples: Chateau Haut-Mayne, Chateau Sablettes, Chateau d’Yquem

Price Range: $15-100+

When to drink: 1-10 years old or more

YOUR BORDEAUX 301 HOMEWORK
Class dismissed! Check out this month’s Re:Mix recipe here for a little summer fun. See our creamy peach tart dessert. Enjoy!