Introducing the Dinner Party Holiday Pack: Four Wines, each with its own Paired Recipe!

By Suphada Rom

Over the years, many of you have given one of our holiday packs as gifts to your friends or family. Thank you! This year, we have a new addition to our collection of five special holiday gift packages: what we're calling our "Dinner Party Pack", which comes with four different wines and four original recipes, each designed to pair with one of the wines. Whether you indulge in an over-the-top four course meal and have them all at once, or showcase the wines and dishes one at a time, we're confident that the pairings will be outstanding.  We had a blast designing and testing these recipes- I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Here's a teaser:

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2015 Cotes de Tablas Blanc with Crab & Avocado Salad & Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Our 2015 Cotes de Tablas Blanc (26% Viognier, 25% Grenache Blanc, 25% Marsanne, and 24% Roussanne) has outstanding intensity from the incredibly low yields we saw in 2015. Lots of citrus: key lime along with some tart nectarine. Notes of white flowers. On the palate, this wine is both concentrated and peppy, with vibrant notes of fresh peaches, spice, and nice minerality on the finish. 

A wine this rich requires a dish with a certain amount of weight, but also some refreshment so that the experience doesn't feel fat or weighty. I chose to put together a really simple crab and avocado salad and finish it with a citrus vinaigrette. The meyer lemon vinaigrette provided a sort of sweeter acidity on the finish, versus the sharper acid of that you'd get from a regular lemon. Have this dish as an appetizer or add butter lettuce to make it into a more substantial salad. 

2014 Counoise with Pomegranate Glazed Pork Belly

The 2014 Counoise is a brilliant shade of garnet, bright and warm. The nose is earthy and spicy, with notes of currant and pomegranate seeping through. The spices are high toned- think those you'd use for mulling warm apple cider, like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. To me, this is Fall in a glass- all you're missing is the crunch of Autumn leaves and you'd be all set! On the palate, this wine is bright, light, and juicy. Nice tart cranberry and raspberry notes, balanced with those mulling spices. (Can you tell I love this wine? I am a gamay girl, after all). Great acidity, refreshing, juicy... I wouldn't change a thing about this wine.

With lighter red wines, I love pork. I'm a huge fan of pork belly and I decided to throw in a pomegranate glaze to play up the high fruit tones of Counoise. We were pleasantly surprised with the depth of flavor and earthiness that shone through, specifically in the wine. Not that Counoise doesn't have depth or earthiness, it just doesn't flaunt it on its own. It was as if the perfect bite of pork and mushroom brought out deeper umami-type flavors that can be hidden by the wine's charm.

2011 Esprit de Tablas with Garlic & Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

Deep, concentrated, and brooding, the 2011 Esprit de Tablas (40% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Counoise) is, in my opinion, one of our more serious vintages of Esprit. The nose (think meat drippings, currants and black tea) is lush and inviting, pulling you into its savory depths. On the palate, it's sleek and serious, with a gorgeous creamy texture and notes of dark fruit, leather, and earth.

Lamb and Mourvedre blends are pretty much a shoo-in. When it comes to lamb, the preparations for it are endless- you can sear it, braise it, tartare (is that even a verb?!) it. I was blown away by the complexity of the Esprit, so I wanted to keep the lamb preparation relatively simple, with a four ingredient herb mixture for the exterior. This makes it even more versatile when it comes to pairing sides. I love a rustic ratatouille, but feel free to pair this with any of your favorite fall sides.

2014 Sacrerouge with Chocolate Truffles

Our 2014 Sacrerouge (100% Mourvedre) is a dessert wine that converts the "non-dessert wine" people. It's remarkable in its youth, and incredibly vibrant, with an assertive nose of rich milk chocolate, macerated cherries and a touch of mint. On the palate, this wine is absolutely stunning with a texture that reminded me of how chocolate shavings melt in your mouth: soft, yet chalky. Waves of golden raisins and sea salt caramel come barreling through. It's sweet, but complex too, particularly with chocolate.

To pair with the Sacrerouge, I had a similar mindset to my Esprit pairing: don't overcomplicate it; just showcase the wine. Chocolate truffles are about as simple, yet luxurious, as it gets. They bring out the deep chocolate notes of the wine, without overwhelming it in terms of both texture and flavor profile. The truffles are not overly sweet and are creamy, standing up to the Sacrerouge without being overwhelmed. 

We hope that your holiday gatherings bring smiles to the faces of your loved ones and create warm, wonderful and lasting memories for all. 

As usual, with our food and wine pairings, we love to hear any feedback on the success of your pairings! If you try out the pairings, be sure to let us know on any of our social media handles - Facebook or Twitter or Instagram - or just leave us a comment here! When you do, tag @tablascreek and use #EatDrinkTablas

 A few more resources:

• The Dinner Party Pack is one of five special holiday gift packages (on which we include no-charge shipping to any of the 39 states to which we ship). Check out the different offerings here

• These special holiday packs will only be available for pickup or shipment until the end of December. For gift orders, we are happy to enclose a holiday message. Order here

• Interested in a larger number of gift packs, customized with your personal or company information? Contact us.