While Icemageddon has us in its tight grasp, and doesn’t seem to want to let go…. we had a bit of fun at work with the ultimate comfort food! Soup! We have had about 5 weeks of flash freezes and snow storms, so we did a soup cook-off at work. And they were all delicious, but let’s pair some wines with these soups, as they were all very different.
There were 5 fabulous selections, and each one very different. The winner was a Tequila Taco Soup. Yum! Even though I made soup to compete, this was the hands down winner for me as well. And here’s a picture of our lovely winner.
Sue was the winner. And regular readers of the blog will remember Sue from a wine blog this past Summer when she discovered Riesling. Riesling Sue we’ll call her. She made the Tequila Taco Soup with all the fixings includes a lime wedge, sour cream and the corn chips.
Many people will tell you that a beer is the ultimate match for this soup, a red or a white wine would pair well also. Here’s a rule of thumb to remember. The spicier the soup, the sweeter and colder the wine. So for a very spicy version, I would try a Riesling, like this Wakefield from Australia.
Crisp, fresh and delicious. This wine goes well with many Mexican food dishes. However, Sue didn’t overload the spice. So there could be many wine options for this soup. A Beaujolais, chilled, would be another fun wine to have with this soup.
Like this George DuBoeuf Brouilly Beaujolais from France. For those of you not familiar with Beaujolais, it is made from the Gamay grape and comes from the southern part of Burgundy France. The Beaujolais region is the largest region in Burgundy, and produces about 12 million bottles a year. This is a light bodied wine with candied aromas and very light fruity palates. Wine critics have been known to say ‘it’s the only white wine that’s red’. You serve a Beaujolais chilled and would be a great wine for this soup.
2nd place went to the winner of the chili cook-off, Tom Bedell. This delicious soup was a Jalapeno Corn Chowder and I had to have two bowls. The above wines would work for this soup too, but another wine to consider would be Mersault, which is a Chardonnay from the Burgundy region of France. Here’s one of my all time favorites.
If you are not familiar with Mersault, or it’s a little pricy for the budget, any Chardonnay would go great. Or try a Chardonnay blend, like the Conundrum white.
This delightful wine is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and has gorgeous tropical flavors with a hint of vanilla. If you haven’t tried this wine yet, you should.
My soup came in 3rd place and was a Baked Potato Soup with cheese and real bacon on top. This is a thick and hearty soup with lots of cream. So, a great soup to pair with red wine. My personal choice would be a Pinot Noir. But there are so many options available. Typically, your favorite wine would probably match this soup. Here’s a couple of my favorites.
The Saint Clair Family estate with their Pioneer Block Pinot Noir and the Whitehaven Pinot Noir are both from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. And the region is producing some lovely Pinot Noir wines. Food friendly, easy to drink, and flavorful.
Kate made a delicious pasta soup with lots of veggies. Another great soup that would go with red or white. A white like a crisp Sauvignon Blanc or a Viognier would go well. I have the Stags Leap Viognier next to it. A great red would be a Tempranillo, and here’s my latest favorite Tempranillo.
And last but certainly not least, Rich made a delicious Thai chicken with sweet potato soup. Dear Lord this was good.
For me… I was enjoying this soup yesterday wishing I had a glass of Riesling. Match made in heaven, like this Riesling from Gaspereau Vineyards. But if you don’t like a sweeter wine, again Sauvignon Blanc, the versatile white that goes with any appetizer. And of course Fume Blanc, which is Sauvignon Blanc made by Robert Mondavi, would be perfect as well.
Here is a picture of the other cooks, minus the winner, who had to run to a meeting. We had a lot of fun, and are having another cook-off the end of March.
Before I go, my new wine of the week is… Conundrum Red Blend.
Conundrum white has been out for a while and winemaker Charlie Wagner has released a red blend. And here’s the thing, he’s not telling anyone what varietals are in it. He said as a kid, he used to watch his father blend wines at the kitchen table all the time. But he’s staying mum on the varietals, encouraging people to try it on their own. I definitely detected Zinfandel, with it’s jammy berry flavors and a bit of smoke on the palate. I also detected chocolate and even a bit of smoky bacon. It was very tasty, however, with the second glass it got jammier. A little thick on the palate, and personally, I have to question the $26 price point. Don’t take this as a negative, it’s just my opinion. Anyone who loves the big bold California blends like I do, will really like this wine.
Till next week, Cheers
Darlene
Wine-It’s Just My Opinion 