Pairing Wine with the main Ingredient of the Dish? Think Again 【葡萄酒搭餐是搭主食材還是搭醬汁】
Duck Breast with Fig & Red Wine Sauce｜Summer Squash｜Fig｜Sorrel Salad/ 鴨胸佐無花果紅酒醬汁｜ 夏南瓜｜ 無花果｜酢漿草沙拉
Food:
Duck Breast with Fig & Red Wine Sauce｜Summer Squash｜Fig｜Sorrel Salad
Wine of my choice:
Domini del Leone Valpolicella Ripasso Classico DOC Veneto Italy 🇮🇹 2014
Every Saturday, there is a small farmers market close to where we live in Downtown Brooklyn. I love to go and see what is available and in season. Going to farmers market on Saturday has become something I look forward to since the Pandemic.
We got two beautiful duck breasts and assorted vegetables from farmers market. I asked Chef what he would do for the duck breast, after a long second of silence, he said: “How about I make a fig and red wine sauce to go with the duck and a quick salad on the side?” I smiled back to him and said, “oh yeah, that sounds perfect.” So there you have it, our dinner menu for the night was Duck Breast with Fig & Red Wine Sauce with Roasted Summer Squash, Fresh Fig and Sorrel Salad.
Before I set my mind on what bottle I should open for the pairing, I quickly sneaked into the kitchen and tasted the fig and red wine sauce. After I tasted the sauce, I knew I had to change the wine I had in mind early on. The fig and red wine sauce is rich, robust, and so flavorful, a Burgundian Pinot Noir will definitely be overpowered by the sauce. I had a bottle of Valpolicella Ripasso Classico that I wanted to try for a long time. I think tonight is the night to pop it open.
The Producer: Domini del Leone
This Valpolicella Ripasso Classico is produced by Domini del Leone. The winery is located in Valpolicella which is a 30-minute drive to the north west of Verona. The family estate has committed to organic viticulture since 1974, and is considered one of the oldest example of organic-cultivated environment in Italy and the oldest in the Veneto region.
Winemaking Technique: Ripasso
This wine is made by using “Ripasso” method, a traditional winemaking technique that has been used in Veneto for a long time. Ripasso means “re-pass” or “go over again”. How does “Ripasso Wine” being made? It is by adding the freshly vinified Valpolicella to the vinacce (leftover of stems, seeds, skins and flesh) of Amarone and/or Riceito for one to two weeks to initiate the second-fermentation of the wine. Wines go through the Ripasso method will gain more structure, body, weight, and complexity with higher alcohol and tannins. The term “Classico” refers to a historic wine production area for centuries. Often times, the wine is considered the best within the area.
The Domini del Leone Valpolicella Ripasso Classico displays dark ruby red in the center with brick rim. First, aromas of Dried straw, mushroom with wet soil are shown in the glass; layers of fig, prune, black cherry, raisin, licorice, nutmeg, clove, tobacco and leather slowly reveal themselves. The wine is full bodied with high acidity. It is dry in the mouth with grainy tannins. Even though this is a 6 year old wine, this Valpolicella Ripasso Classico has not yet reach it’s time to bloom. I would recommend decanting for at least 30 minutes to an hour before enjoying this wine,
Pairing this Valpolicella Ripasso Classico with the duck breast was the right choice. I’m so glad that I changed my mind and opened this bottle instead of Burgundian Pinot Noir. The wine and the sauce match perfectly. They not only complement each other but also shine individually. The bright acidity serves as a wonderful agent to rinse out the fattiness of the duck fat and the richness of the sauce. I couldn’t find a better wine to pair with this specific dish. Chef rarely make comment on my wine pairing but not this one. After he had a bite of the duck breast and sipped the wine, he nodded and said, “This is really a good food and wine pairing, my dear!”
Duck Breast with Fig & Red Wine Sauce｜Summer Squash｜Fig｜Sorrel Salad/ 鴨胸佐無花果紅酒醬汁｜ 夏南瓜｜ 無花果｜酢漿草沙拉
葡萄酒搭餐是搭主食材還是搭醬汁？
餐點：
鴨胸佐無花果紅酒醬汁｜ 夏南瓜｜ 無花果｜酢漿草沙拉
餐酒：
Domini del Leone Valpolicella Ripasso Classico DOC Veneto Italy 🇮🇹 2014
每個星期六，住家附近會有一個小規模的農夫市場。自從三月底疫情加重後，幾乎都關在家不出門的情況下，每個星六一早，逛農夫市場就成了最大的消遣。七個月過去了，逛農夫市場也逐漸地成為我每周的例行公事。
在農夫市場裡買了兩塊鴨胸肉，給大廚出出考題，看他會利用鴨胸做出什麼料理。哈！果不其然，詭計奏效，大廚說：「今晚就來吃香煎鴨胸吧！」我拉著他追著問說：「那你有要做醬汁跟鴨胸搭配嗎？如果有的話，你想做成什麼口味的？我可以先想想要搭配什麼酒。」他打開冰箱，看了看說：「那不然來做無花果紅酒醬汁，配上烤夏南瓜，再做個我們從農夫市場買的酢漿草做成沙拉如何？」哇！這菜單光是用聽的就覺得好吃，我的回應不用說你們也猜得到。超級期待今天的晚餐，我得趕緊選一瓶葡萄酒來適合的葡萄酒來和大廚做的鴨胸肉大餐做搭配呢！
在大廚做好醬汁的時候，我假裝若無其事地來到廚房，看看有什麼需要幫忙的，順勢的問了大廚：「醬汁做好囉？可以嚐嚐看嗎？」哇塞！不嚐還好，一嚐驚為天人！心裡的OS不停地冒出來：「天啊！這是什麼醬汁？怎麼可以這麼好吃？這搭鴨胸肯定超級無敵搭的。這比我吃過的任何的櫻桃紅酒醬汁還要配鴨胸。老天，大廚怎麼會煮出這樣的醬汁，真的是天才！」讚嘆完後，我心裡有底了，原本預選好的葡萄酒派不上用場了，因為這個無花果紅酒醬汁香氣與醬香濃郁，我得重新挑選可以與這個醬汁平起平坐，而且不會被這醬汁搶了風采的葡萄酒才行。為此，我特地挑了一瓶酒體渾厚、風味濃郁的義大利酒來與這道香煎鴨胸肉做搭配。
酒莊：Domini del Leone
這瓶Domini del Leone Valpolicella Ripasso Classico DOC 是由Domini Del Leone酒莊採用有機耕種的科維納（Corvina），科維諾內（Corvinone）, 莫莉納拉（Molinara） 三種葡萄釀製而成。 Domini Del Leone 酒莊座落於維內托（Veneto）內的瓦波利契拉（Valpolicella）。這個釀酒家族早在1974時，便致力將耕種方式轉為有幾栽培。
特別的釀酒方式：Ripasso
這瓶酒的製造方式相當特別，也是維內托常見的一種傳統釀酒方式。這種釀酒方式叫 Ripasso，顧名思義就是重新通過（ re-pass） 的意思。 製作方式就是將第一次發酵完成的葡萄酒 （瓦波利契拉）再與釀造亞曼羅涅（Amarone）或 維內托甜酒（Riceito）完成後所剩的酒渣再浸泡一、兩週，進行二次發酵。經過二次發酵的瓦波利契拉不僅酒精濃度增高，酒體、單寧、及口感上也會變得更加渾圓而飽滿，風味上也更加有層次。而Classico 則是指在維內托境內具有歷史的釀造區域，也是被視為當地最好的產區。
這瓶Valpolicella Ripasso Classico DOC 帶著深沉的紅寶石色澤，經過了時間的洗禮，已顯出老酒才會有的磚紅色透亮感。貼近酒杯一聞，風乾的稻草香撲鼻而來，香菇帶著腐植土及沙塵氣味尾隨在後 ，而無花果、黑棗、黑櫻桃、葡萄乾、甘草、肉豆蔻、丁香、菸草、皮革的芳香則是層層疊疊，不疾不徐地展現其風采。這酒飲來是酒體豐腴、酸度強勁，口腔中滿是黑色果乾的風味卻一點都不甜。雖然經過了6年的陳放，單寧結構仍相當扎實。再陳放個 5-10 年，再開瓶飲用也是沒有問題的。搭配著香煎鴨胸肉佐無花果紅酒醬汁一起飲用，真的是天作之合，和合至極。醬汁與酒碰撞在一起是完完全全的融合在一起，爽脆的酸度搭上香脆油滋滋的鴨皮，剛好是去油解膩，讓人忍不住再吃上一口。拌酢漿草沙拉的義大利黑醋醬汁更是與酒不謀而和。這個餐酒搭配的成功度非常高，就連平常不大表示的大廚也在一旁點著頭，稱讚道：「這酒跟這道菜還真搭啊！」
