SEM IGUAL VINHO VERDE WITH PEIXE CALDINE

In August, when most of the N. hemisphere is in the peak of summer, the #WinePW crew are appropriately exploring Vinho Verde DOC, a virtually unlimited buffet of refreshing summer sips. If you'd like an invitation, check out co-host Cindy's invitation post and then join us on Twitter on 8 August 2020 at 8 AM PST to be enlightened about all things Vinho Verde and food pairings at hashtag #WinePW! Thanks Cindy and Liz, for hosting this event!

A sneak peek short-list of what everyone's pairing with their Vinho Verde is here:

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Cam shares Foods from Around the World Paired with Pink Wines from Portugal
• Event co-host Cindy at Grape Experiences, I’ve been reminiscing upon last fall’s work trip where I spent A Beautiful Morning at Quinta da Aveleda in Vinho Verde 
• Event co-host Liz Barret of What’s In That Bottle? is thrilled with Va Va Va Vinho Verde: the Portuguese White That Wows
• Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles answers What is Vinho Verde? 5 things I didn’t know about this perfect summer wine
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm savors Tomato Poached Cod with Vinho Verde Wine.
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass realizes that Distinctively ‘laurel” Vinho Verde Delivers with Seafood and Salad
• Nicole at SommsTable is loving Vinho Verde and Simple Seafood Feast
• Payal at Keep the Peas is pairing Sem Igual Vinho Verde with Peixe Caldine
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator says Vinho Verde: A Green Wine That’s White from Portugal Paired with Tuna, Tomato, Basil, Orzo #WinePW
• Martin at Enofylz is Pairing Maria Papoila Vinho Verde with Summer Pizza
• Susannah at Avvinare explains how Vinho Verde Meets Homemade Sushi
• Terri at Our Good Life savors Scallops, Smashed Peas and a Great Vinho Verde
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairing achieves A Successful Hunt Down of a Red Vinhao Escolha from Vinho Verde DOC #WinePW 

VINHO VERDE (VEEN-yo VAIR-duh)

https://vineyards.com/wine-map/portugal/norte

The largest of Portugal's DOCs and perhaps the least known globally, Vinho Verde is in cool, wet, verdant NW Portugal bordering Spain. A DOC since 1984, the region has approximately 52,000 acres of vines, 19,000 producers, 93 million liters produced per year, 100 export markets, and 45 indigenous grape varieties.

Although Vinho Verde translates to "green wine" in English, the wines of Vinho Verde DOC and its 9 sub-regions regions are in fact not green. It's a debate, but the name is a hark back to either the astringent nature of the wine that is produced from high-acid grapes with limited ripening, or the lush green region that is Vinho Verde. The arrival of maize in the 16th century shifted all attention to farming it and grape vines were relegated to side spaces... trees, walls, hedges, or pergolas, thus requiring ladders to harvest. Some small producers still train vines up heights, although most wine houses have switched to the typical low-trained vine method.

Most wines are still, but fully sparkling wines have been permitted since 1999 and both are now made in Vinho Verde. A majority - 86% - of the Vinho Verde wines are made from white grape varieties, with reds and rosés in the remaining 14%. The most popular indigenous varieties found in Vinho Verde are white grapes Alvarinho, Arinto, Avesso, Azal, Loureiro and Trajudura. Red varieties include Espadeiro, Padeiro and Vinhão. Blends are quite common, almost the norm, since sun exposure is limited and grapes don't ripen as they would in drier, sunnier regions. But Vinho Verde winemakers take advantage of the weather and different levels of aromatics, acidity, fresh fruit notes, and body that each varietal offers to create puckeringly refreshing wines with a prickly natural fizz when made the traditional way. Some winemakers do add carbonation to mimic the traditional-but-increasingly-rare in-bottle malolactic fermentation.

PORTUGUESE STATE OF INDIA (ESTADO PORTUGUÊS DA ÍNDIA)

The Portuguese sailed to India in the late 1400s primarily to buy spices and take back to Europe for trade. Inevitably over time they set up headquarters in Goa on the SW coast of India, laid claim to a few other territories, effectively established a small colony in India, and remained until 1961. They left a cultural and culinary mark on areas they colonised, and in fact Portuguese is still spoken in some of those areas. This is especially true in Goa, their first Indian HQ. Since Vasco de Gama and the others who came to India were Catholics, they had most influence on the Catholic Goan population.

With regards to culinary tradition, perhaps the most well-known dish is the fiery vindaloo which is derived from the Portuguese Carne de Vinha d'Alhos, a dish made of pork cooked with garlic and wine (replaced by vinegar in India). In Goa it was enhanced with spices and that is the version that has prevailed around the world. SW India is a rice eating culture since that is what grows there easily. But the Portuguese brought leavened bread to the region and it traveled north to Mumbai and a bit beyond, where it is still called pão, the Portuguese word for bread. They also introduced to India chili peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes, which have left an indelible mark on Indian cuisine.

Fun Fact: Prior to chili peppers, black pepper was the primary source of heat in Indian food and it wasn't used so much for heat as it was to balance other spices and flavours. In Ayurveda, black pepper still reigns supreme, so traditional Indian food, which is  very seasonal and based on Ayurvedic principles, is mild, flavour-balanced, vegetarian, generally excludes tomatoes and chili peppers and focuses on the many benefits of spices including black pepper. Indians have been cooking this way for tens of thousands of years so we don't usually analyse the traditional food combinations but they're deeply ingrained in us since we eat that way daily.

For my Vinho Verde pairing, I settled on fish caldine, a beloved Goan Catholic dish that is derived from the Portuguese fish stew, caldeirada, but adapted to local Goan tastes and ingredients. Traditionally, caldine includes black pepper as the only spice, although some cooks add a chili pepper or two. Overall it is meant to be a mild dish, always prepared with freshly extracted coconut milk and seasonal seafood.

THE WINERY + THE WINE + THE FOOD PAIRING

Per the winery, Sem Igual means without "igual" (equal in English). The name was chosen to define a Vinho Verde that is different from the popular fizzy and sweet style, but still made with the local grapes. The vineyards are on 10 hectares located in the heart of Vinho Verde, 30 min. from Porto where the family has produced wine since the 18th century.

However, in the younger generation, owner João Camizão decided to depart from the usual. Previously in his career, when on a telecom assignment in India, he decided to continue the family heritage but with a new series of wines that would be unique. Thus Sem Igual was born; the first vintage of Sem Igual was in 2012. Given that a mere 1,000 bottles of the 2018 Sem Igual were produced, I feel quite fortunate to have snagged one.

2018 Sem Igual "Sem Mal" Vinho Verde DOC

70% Azal, 30% Arinto

11% ABV | SRP $25

Vinification:

After an initial 10 day ferment, the wine is bottled to allow malolactic fermentation in bottle which results in a natural delicate fizz, no added sulfites, no filtration. According to the cut sheet, "Before pouring Sem Mal, you need to gently shake the bottle to homogenize the wine."

Soil:

Granite and gravel, vines ranging from 6 to 70 years. The grapes for this wine came from a 4 year old vineyard

Colour:

Cloudy, pale yellow, very fine bubbles

Nose:

Lemons, a hint of wet stone, wet earth

Palate:

A bracing acidity thanks to the two high-acid grape varietals used in this wine. Decidedly dry but balanced, took a little time to open up. Mainly ripe lemons, wet stone minerality, and a hint of tart green apple with skin. Overall a balanced wine with a welcome lingering finish. The bubbles are not intrusive at all, and make each sip delightful. This wine is made for fresh seafood on a warm summer's day! If I can get my hands on another bottle of this vintage, I'd pair it with oysters on-the-half-shell and a saffron mayonnaise.

Pairing:

We enjoyed it with Peixe Caldine, an Goan-Portuguese seafood stew that I made with shrimp. The mild sweet shrimpy flavour with the mix of warm spices and vinegar softened by the coconut milk beautifully complemented the earthy, citrusy, medium-full-bodied, spritzy Vinho Verde. This would also be good with rice, as many Goans eat it, but we loved it with bread. Pão would be the ideal bread but I'd forgotten to make it so we had it with the last of a baguette and a homemade Pullman loaf that I had made in a style similar to Indian bread aka pão. If you are a seafood lover, you can't go wrong with this one!

THE RECIPE

PEIXE CALDINE (PEIXE CALDINHO)

makes: 3-4 servings

Sauce

- 1 tin/~400 ml coconut milk

- 1 in. piece ginger, peeled

- 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled

- 1 tbsp coriander seeds

- 1 tbsp cumin seeds

- 2 tsp turmeric powder

- 1-2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

- (optional) 1 in. piece chili pepper (Indian, chile de arbol, Thai, or serrano chili)

The Rest

- 1 lb wild shrimp, cleaned and deveined

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 1 large/2 medium ripe tomato, chopped

- 3 cups shredded green cabbage (OR 2 cups shrimp-sized chunks of not-too-watery vegetables like carrots, pumpkin, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.)

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

- 1 tbsp salt (+to taste)

- 1 tbsp cane sugar

- 1-1/2 cups water

- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar (+to taste)

1. Open the tin of coconut milk and skim the creamy part off the top into a small blender (or smoothie) jar. Add the rest of the Sauce ingredients to the jar and blend into a smooth paste.
2. Heat the coconut oil in a medium pan and when it's hot add the chopped onion and salt. Stir and cook until the onions are softened.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook until they're very soft and the juices are nearly evaporated.
4. Add the cabbage, 1/4 cup water, and mix well. Let it all cook on medium heat until the cabbage softens. Stir every 2-3 min. so nothing sticks to the pan.
• IF USING OTHER VEGETABLES: add to the pan and cook for 3-4 min. then add 1/2 cup water, cover, cook until vegetables are just tender. Don't overcook or they'll become an unsightly mash.
5. Turn the heat up to med-high and add the shrimp, the remaining coconut milk (the watery part left after skimming the cream off the top), sugar, and the rest of the water. Bring to a boil and let it cook for 5-7 min. or until the shrimp are nearly cooked.
6. Add the blended Sauce and boil for 3-4 min. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and add the white wine vinegar, stir well, cook for 3-4 min.
7. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt, sugar, vinegar, and black pepper to taste. The sauce should be neither too spicy nor too tart.
8. Take off the heat and serve with Goan/Indian pão or other bread.

ISRAELI WINE WITH THE DIVERSE CUISINE OF THE DIASPORA

  

https://winesisrael.com 

Israeli wine has come a long way from being absent from the global wine map to making  a strong presence around the globe. Viticulture has existed in the area now called Israel since biblical times, and wine was even exported to Rome at one point. However, the entire industry eventually died off with increased Islamic dominance in the area due to their religious rules about wine. Fast forward to much later, the modern Israeli wine industry was established in the late 1800s with the help of Baron Edmond James de Rothschild of the Rothschild banking and wine family but it really only took off after Israel was formed ~1948. Locally made wine was being sold within Israel earlier but it has continued to make a presence in other countries around the globe, although the US remains the primary export destination for Israeli wine.

For further reading, Wines Israel is an excellent resource to dive deeper into Israeli wine, past, present, and future.

JEWS AND THEIR CUISINE IN INDIA

The cuisine of the Jewish diaspora has always fascinated me because of its diversity and the nimbleness with which Jewish people have adapted foods to meet their religious and dietary requirements everywhere they have ended up. This includes India, which philosophically has nothing to do with Judaism but is a famously tolerant place that has offered protections and respect for cultural and religious proclivities to foreign communities who decided to stay in India after initially coming for trade and commerce.

Jewish people came to India initially as traders in the time of King Solomon’s reign (~970 to 931 BC) and stayed, and then after the Alhambra and King Manuel's Decrees which expelled Jews from Spain and Portugal if they did not convert to Christianity. The Hindu monarchs of the time offered numerous privileges to these waves of Jewish immigrants including land grants, tax exemptions, the freedom to speak their language, and freely practice their religion. These Jewish groups established themselves in India, built synagogues, and truly mixed  with the Indian population adopting elements of local  cultural habits and food. All of this was mostly in the coastal Indian states of Kerala and Maharashtra.

Indian Jews made their own wine, challah, and matzo because there were no Jewish bakeries, and like the Muslims do, they had their own butchers who slaughtered meat per Kosher requirements. As the Indian Jewry left or passed away, so did the butchers, and eventually the communities ate mostly vegetables and seafood along with the abundant varieties of rice, spices, and produce adapted from local recipes.

After Israel was established in ~1948 many Indian Jews emigrated to Israel. Although their centuries old synagogues and houses lay largely vacant in India, they continue to carry forward their synthesised cultural and culinary habits in their newly adapted land. I thought it would be interesting to connect the dots and discover how Indian Jewish food pairs with Israeli wine and ponder over whether the Indian Jews who are cooking their ancient hybrid Indian recipes in Israel ever pair them with local wine as they had done in India!

THE WINE + FOOD PAIRING

2014 Binyamina Winery Yogev, 12.5% ABV

SRP $20
WINE: According to the winery, "Our winegrowers instill their crops with their own individual character, Israeli roots and genuine love of the land, inspiring us to name this Series in their honor. Wines in the Yogev Series have been blended using the finest grapes from the best vines cultivated by our most outstanding winegrowers. Simply put, this is the very essence of our wines." The wine is an 80-20 cepage of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from the oldest vineyards in the Upper and Lower Galilee, and strives to be a "harmonious fusion between two noble varieties".

Regarding the wine-making process, the winery says, "The Sauvignon Blanc grapes are harvested two weeks after the Chardonnay grapes. Both varieties are brought to the winery and immediately pressed to extract the best quality free run juice and maintain freshness and aroma. After a natural clarification of the must, the wine is transferred for a slow alcoholic fermentation at low temperatures. The wine is then transferred for brief storage in stainless steel tanks until selection of the final varietal blend. Contact with oak is deliberately avoided in order to maintain maximum freshness. The wine is bottled after filtration and is released after briefly aging in the bottle."
NOTES: We thought that the wine is a beautiful medium lemon colour, clean with a medium intensity and predominantly citrus + white flower on the nose. On the palate it is crisp, medium-bodied with a juicy medium acidity and intensity, and grapefruit/lemon and pear notes with green apple and orange blossoms in the back palate ending with a medium finish. Overall this is a simple wine and considering that this has no oak aging, I can't see how it would age well beyond 2020.

FOOD: We enjoyed the 2014 Yogev with a lovely Keralan lunch of ponganam (rice+lentil crepes) and mutta kari (egg curry) from the book Spice & Kosher. The wine paired exceptionally well with the warm herbaceous of the curry leaves, the smoke of the toasted black pepper, and sweetness of caramelised onions in the curry along with the slight tang of the crepes made from a fermented batter.

FUN FACTS
The egg curry recipe is from Matilda Davidson, from Petah Tikva, Israel, a city that started small but became a permanent settlement in the late 1880s thanks to financial help from Baron. As I've mentioned above, he also helped establish the modern wine industry in Israel.

The word "curry" is anglicised from kari, a Tamil word for dishes seasoned with leaves from curry plant and meant to be eaten with rice or crepes. Kari isn't always saucy, and can be sweet or savoury. There are also 1000s of different kinds of crepes in India, and since rice grows exceptionally well in the wet humid climate, it dominates southern Indian cuisine so the crepes in South India are all rice and/or lentil-based. Seafood also aplenty, and each region has it's favourite fish. Also, in India oysters are considered poor fishermen's food so they never make it to the markets!

Pop over to the websites of everyone below to see what they've done with their Israeli wine and food pairings! And then come talk about it at #WinePW on Twitter on Saturday, 23 May @8 AM PST.

• Terri at Our Good Life shares “Grilled Mahi Mahi and Gilgal Sauvignon Blanc. Our Good Life”
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “The Eternal Light Shines in Galilee: Yarden Merlot, Pinot Gris”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Lamb Stuffed Eggplant and a perfect Wine from Galilee”
• Deanna at Asian Test Kitchen shares “Yarden Wines Paired with Japanese Surf ‘n Turf”
• Rupal at Syrah Queen shares “Off The Beaten Path – Two Wines From Isreal’s Galilee Appellation”
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “Of Israeli wines, long-ago memories, and Harvey’s takeout”
• David at Cooking Chat shares “Pairings for Gilgal Sauvignon Blanc from Israel”
• Payal at Keep the Peas shares “Israeli Wine with the Diverse Cuisine of the Diaspora”
• Nicole at Somms Table shares “Memories of Yarden Wines with a side of Meatball Shakshuka”
• Jennifer at Vino Travels shares “Pairings with Wines from Israel”
• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Peppered Brisket, Honeyed Onions, and the 2106 Galil Mountain ‘Ela’”
• Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings shares “Enjoying Gilgal Cab Sauvignon – Merlot and Yarden Pinot Gris with Grilled Wagyu Steak, Alaska Sockeye Salmon and Poke Ahi Tuna Bowl”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Two Fisted Wine Pairing with Yarden Wines”

LIVING OFF THE LAND: KING ESTATE PINOT NOIR + MUSHROOM PÂTÉ

This month (May) the Wine Pairing Weekend group is focusing on biodynamic wines from Oregon, and more specifically, from the Willamette Valley, OR. OR has the most number of certified biodynamic wineries in the US: a hefty 30%+!

So chances of finding a biodynamic wine from there are large. Or not, depending on how closely you look. Demeter, the largest certifying organization for biodynamic products, maintains a list on their website here. But if you're expecting a comprehensive list of wineries sorted by country, region, etc. prepare to be disappointed. You can certainly take the long-hand approach and narrow it down by crop, etc. but it's as I said, long-hand. So I took the other approach: went to the store, picked up bottles, looked up the wineries to see if they're biodynamic, narrowed down options, picked one because that's all I had time for to taste, pair, and write about hours before leaving town!

Demeter was established in Europe in 1932, and Demeter USA in 1985. According to their website, "Demeter USA is the only certifier for Biodynamic farms and products in America. While all of the organic requirements for certification under the National Organic Program are required for Biodynamic certification, the Demeter standard is much more extensive, with stricter requirements around imported fertility, greater emphasis on on-farm solutions for disease, pest, and weed control, and in depth specifications around water conservation and biodiversity." It is really the only biodynamic certification I have ever heard of in the US, probably also because Demeter own the Biodynamic trademark.

I chose a 2016 King Estate Pinot Noir because of the region, the winery, the grape (they are the self-proclaimed Kings of Pinot), the size, and the fact that before they were Biodynamic, they were Organic. No cutting corners here! At 1,033 acres, King Estate is the largest Demeter-certified biodynamic winery in the US. But they make sublime wines, even the ones that are not Pinot Noir.

THE WINE: Short story because no time to decant and see how it develops!

A gorgeous deep ruby with a pretty pink rim, notes of ripe red fruit - strawberries, raspberries, red currants, cherries - plus sweet vanilla, black tea and a faint hint of wet forest leaves on the nose and palate. The acid and tannins work in unison on the palate with just enough of both to keep you coming back for a sip. The finish is medium+ but really you're not waiting too long between sips with this wine anyway!

Overall this wine is an utter delight, especially at 13.5% abv and $26.

THE FOOD: We paired the wine with one of my favourite Pinot pairings: pâté. But I wanted a vegetarian mushroom pâté and our local Whole Foods - my go-to spot for all kinds of pâtés - was out of their mushroom version. Since it was a last minute decision to participate this month, I was at a construction site the whole day, and had to battle traffic both ways, I was really looking for a quick pairing with no cooking. But no mushroom pâté to be bought and I wasn't in the mood for meat so I had to make it myself. It was actually not that hard or time consuming and except the mushrooms I had everything in the pantry already so I ultimately ran out of excuses for me and just made it. I also added to the mix a truffle Gouda and a Talleggio. We loved all of it with the wine!

The Wine Pairing Weekend group has a whole slew of terrific pairings to inspire us all! Check them out here:

• David of Cooking Chat has prepared Salmon, Farro and Mushrooms with Winderlea Pinot Noir
• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is celebrating with Simple Pleasures, A Birthday Cheeseboard, & Keeler Estate Vineyards' 2017 Terracotta Amphorae Riesling
• Jill of L’Occasion writes about Peace, Bread, Land and Wine: A Meal With Brooks Winery
• Jennifer of Vino Travels will share Biodynamic Wines of the Willamette Valley with King Estate
• Lori of Dracaena Wines will present Continuing the Biodynamic Legacy
• Jane from Always Ravenous pairs Wild Alaskan Salmon with Herbed Ricotta and Oregon Pinot Noir
• Pinny of Chinese Food and Wine Pairings combines Biodynamic Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Noir from Johan Vineyards Plus Surf ‘n’ Turf Dinner
• Linda of My Full Wine Glass shares Ode to Oregon: Johan’s Biodynamic Expression of Place
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator will present Our land is our life and our life is our wine— Cooper Mountain Pinot Paired with Duck
• Deana from Asian Test Kitchen has whipped up Oregon Orange Wine Sparkles with Indian Curry
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm discovers Dammit!! These are some great wines from Willamette
• Lauren of The Swirling Dervish will tempt us with Pork Loin, Mushrooms, and Fiddlehead Ferns Meet Biodynamic Pinot Noir from Bergström Wines
• Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog brings us A Taste of Cooper Mountain Vineyards at the Table
• Jeff of FoodWineClick! is pairing Biodynamic Willamette Valley with Brick House and Harissa Chicken
• Payal of Keep the Peas is presenting Living off the Land: King Estate Pinot Noir + Mushroom Pâté
• Rupal of Syrah Queen is sharing Maysara Winery - Iranian Immigrants Achieving The American Dream
• Jade of Tasting Pour will share Thai Green Curry Rockfish and Montinore Estate Gewurztraminer