I recently received the latest Food and Wine magazine and the beef rib roast on the front cover immediately caught my eye. I have to admit that a full bodied red wine paired with red meat is one of my favorite wine and food combinations. I also must admit that I often start planning a menu with the main course wine and then choose the food. Priorities, right? That night while lying in bed, I picked up the magazine and checked out the rib roast recipe where I found a complete menu, including the horseradish herb crusted rib roast, and immediately exclaimed to Gloria: “this is what I want to fix for Christmas dinner.” In no way could I ever pull off that complete menu, but the chined and frenched rib roast with a full bodied and complex cab would be wonderful for any special occassion.

As I looked over the menu I found that the main course wine pairing was a 2004 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Being a fan of Robert Mondavi cabs, and not ever having had the 2004, my interest was immediately piqued.

I have two bottles of the 1996 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Reserve left in my makeshift wine cellar (OK, go ahead and laugh, my cellar consists of wine boxes turned on edge with a number of bottles stored away on a shelf against a cool concrete wall in my basement laundry room). The 1996 is a wonderful wine and I thought at $100.00/bottle Gloria and I were stretching the budget to have those, not to mention the three bottles we had already enjoyed on special occassions. I have also had the 1999 which I also thought was a very good wine, although it didn’t reach the complexity and depth that characterizes the 1996.

So, I jumped on to the Robert Mondavi web site the following morning and found the 2004 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Napa Valley) at $125.00/bottle (I did not find a 2004 non-reserve cab). The Robert Mondavi Winery describes this wine with words like “polished but assertive”; and “ripe black fruit aromas merge with hints of cedar, black licorice and a pinch of nutmeg and clove” on the nose; “dense, fleshy flavors of balckberry, black plum and cassis” on the mid-palate; “elegantly powerful tannins.” The wine is 86% cabernet sauvignon, 12% cabernet franc, and 2% petit verdot.

I haven’t yet seen the 2004 in the liquor store I frequent but at $125.00/bottle all I would probably do is look at it anyway. But, I would very much like to add a bottle or two to my makeshift wine cellar and maybe one of these days I will.

In any event, if any of you have had the opportunity to try this wine, I would really appreciate your comments.

I found the 2004 Lapis Luna California Cabernet Sauvignon on the bottom shelf of my favorite liquor store a couple of weeks ago and was immediatley impressed, especially with its price. At $9.99/bottle this one is hard to beat. Taken from the tasting notes on the winery web site, this cab has plenty of “black cherry” on the nose, subtle hints of “pepper” and “ginger” on the mid-palate and a noticeable finish of “dark chocolate”. I would agree.

The wine paired well with a lamb shanks on pasta. Lamb shanks on pasta?

Well yes. Here’s what I did: I sauteed 3 lamb shanks in olive oil to add some caramelization to them prior to a long slow simmer. After browning, I removed the shanks from the pot, added a little more olive oil, 2 coarsley chopped onions, 2 handfuls of chopped carrots, 2 handfuls of chopped celery, 8 - 12 oz. portabella mushrooms cut into bite size pieces and 3-4 cloves of garlic. Once sauteed, 4-5 minutes, I added 2 cups marsala wine, a 15 oz. can of chicken broth, a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, a package of sun dried tomatoes and plenty of black olives. I used California pitted whole black olives but my personal preference would have been Greek black olives. I then put the lamb shanks back in the pot, added plenty of fresh ground black pepper, sea salt to taste, and fresh thyme and rosemary. I simmered the lamb shanks for several hours until very tender. I removed the lamb shanks to a warm oven and reduced the broth somewhat before serving over pasta. I intentionally left the broth thin however.

Now, I don’t get scientific about pairings, and I don’t really know much about the rules of pairing wine and food, but I do like to eat and I do like to drink wine and so the rest was easy! Cook. Pop a cork. Eat and drink. Enjoy the flavors. Enjoy the company.

By the way, I have found many 2004 and 2005 California “drink now” cabs at a reasonable price that have all been vey good. What would be some of your recommendations?

I wish you all the very best this holiday season.