SawyerSomm Savory Suggestion: Grilled Prawns with Dry Pink Wines
Beyond the American flag, if you add red plus white, the outcome isn’t blue. Instead it’s usually a distinctive pink hue. But for many wine consumers the thought of pink wine immediately sparks childhood memories of grandma’s passion for the sweet Portuguese brands like Mateus and Lancers in the 1970s or the white zinfandels and other styles of domestic blush wines that were served in households across America in the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, when you add all these factors together, it is easy to see why pink wines are often pooh-poohed, ridiculed, and vastly misunderstood through the years.
But over the past decade a quiet rosé revolution has been taking place as a growing number of well-respected wineries have started producing sexy European-style pink wines featuring complex aromas, rich fruity mouthfeel, zippy acidity and a lingering bone-dry finishes.
I bring this subject up because the Fourth of July is an all-day affair highlighted by picnics, barbeques, tailgate parties, parades, and other culinary events leading up to the fireworks finale at night. For that reason, eating a lot but eating lite is a great option. So instead of relying solely on meats and poultry, another healthy and refreshing option is to serve grilled prawns with a nice dry style of pink wine.
One of my favorite starters is Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten’s Roasted Shrimp Cocktail. a dazzling appetizer with smoky flavors and a tangy dipping sauce made with ketchup, chili spice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and a squeeze of lemon. As an alternative to roasting on the Fourth, the prawns can easily be done on the barbeque by wiping the grill with an oiled paper towel to create a nonstick surface.
As a classy compliment to the dish, try the Etude 2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Estate Grown, Grace Benoit Ranch, Carneros ($26-$28). Served chilled, this perky young wine features a lovely salmon-colored hue and fragrant aromas of red berries, rose petals, nectarine fuzz and citrus peels. On the palate, the flavors explode with notes of Bing cherry, raspberry, tart cranberry, and hints of the small Watmaugh strawberries grown down the road from the Grace Benoit Ranch near Sonoma. With vibrant acidity and a crisp, dry and thirst quenching finish, it’s a lip smackin’ wine that stimulates the senses and works wonders with the tangy, zesty and charred flavors of Ina’s appetizer.
P.S. Don’t forget to check out the fun musical intervention of Taylor Swift cooking with Ina in the new July/August issue of Food Network Magazine and the upcoming Food Network in Concert at Ravinia in Highland Park near Chicago on September 20, 2014.
