Pair with Syrah and Helix SoRho ~ Knock Your Socks Off Rustic Cassoulet
It’s no accident that Old World wines from Europe and their regional food and cuisine counterparts pair beautifully together. Over centuries, the two developed a symbiotic relationship. And even though we’re making wine in Washington State, we can take some pairing cues from classic French and Italian cuisine. Such is the case with our Helix SoRo and Cassoulet. A traditional peasant dish, Cassoulet is especially well known in the South of France. Grenache, Cinsault, Mouvedre and Syrah are typically blended together in the Southern Rhone to make red wine. Our Cassoulet is an adaption, but on a cold Fall or Winter night, with the fireplace glowing and a glass of red wine, it is one of my favorite foods.
This recipe is one of many available to our wine club members.
Pork Cassoulet
Goes great with Reininger Syrah, Helix Syrah and especially Helix SoRho. I absolutely love it with 2006 Reininger Syrah Ash Hollow Vineyard.
Serves 4-6
2 pounds country-style spareribs (or pork shoulder) cut into 1-inch-thick slices
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced, plus 1 whole clove
2 whole sprigs fresh thyme, plus 2 tablespoons thyme leaves
1/2 pound bacon cut into 2-inch pieces (low sodium is best)
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1/2 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry red wine
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their juice
2 bay leaves
2 (14-ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup coarse bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the spareribs in a heavy pot with half the onion, half the minced garlic, and the thyme sprigs. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove the ribs; set aside. In the same pot, over medium heat, brown the bacon. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat and add the celery, carrot, salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and the remaining onion and garlic (minced and whole) and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth, wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, and beans. Bring to a simmer, then add the cooked ribs.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the olive oil, bread crumbs, and parsley. Sprinkle the bread-crumb mixture over the cassoulet and bake for 1 hour, uncovered, occasionally pressing the bread crumbs into the cassoulet to thicken it.
Let cool and serve.
TIP: To get a jump start, complete all the steps up to adding breadcrumbs. Store, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then simply add the bread-crumb mixture and bake for 1 hour.
Paul Zitarelli of Full Pull Wines Talks 2005 Helix Sangiovese
Excerpts from Paul’s Post…
What we have here is five-year-old, single-vineyard Sangiovese…entirely from Stillwater Creek Vineyard, an outstanding site on the Royal Slope…
…the wine did (and does) have a long life ahead…a dark, masculine, rustic Sangiovese, with grippy tannins that are still quite prominent all these years later and acids that seem to have calmed considerably.
The fruit profile has become darker and less tart, and that fruit is laced with earthy streaks of tar and chard…
…rare opportunity to examine the aging curve for Washington Sangiovese at a price point that is awfully accessible. See Paul’s entire post here
And Chuck’s note to Paul…
Hello Paul –
Thank you very much for your recognition and support of our ’05 Helix by Reininger Sangiovese. Your comments in your review are spot on in my humble opinion. Our winery has been stoked about this wine’s fruit, structure and perceived endurance since putting it to barrel.
The wine has been a bit of a rebel though. It was bright and handsom, before and immediately after bottling, with expectations of medium bottle time prior to release. Then it diverged on a rugged adventure of self discovery delaying its planned, relatively early, release for a couple of years. It then emerged from this rough sojourn displaying a character of self confidence, weathered beauty, and arduously earned wisdom with tools for survival (sorry, I often think in terms of visual images and character.)
The 2005 Helix Sagiovese wasn’t a forgotten wine but it just needed time to find its own way. I look forward to enjoying the nascent tobacco and leather, along with the softening tannins, after an additional four to five years of maturation.
Take care,
Chuck Reininger,
Owner/Winemaker
