Wine, Food and Good Cheer

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.