Don't Let the Grape Fool You: Bordeaux from Tuscany

The Bordeaux was aged in French oak because it is from...Tuscany!  Don't let the grape fool you, this delicious wine is made by Jess and Jules and is delicious paired with food or after resting, all by itself. 

This month the #winepairingweekend group is looking at heritage varietals grown in unexpected places and this wine fits the bill. The aromas of black licorice, ripe cherry, and bits of mint are apparent while on the palate the wine gives off flavors of fig, sweet tobacco, and some orange peel. This wine is best opened and allowed to breathe for an hour or so for the best overall experience.

We paired this delicious wine with butternut squash ravioli topped with Italian sausage. I don't think that there are any misses when it comes to this wine, but the Bordeaux and the ravioli would have been enough to bring out the deep dark fruits. The sausage added a bit of heat and fat to enrich the dish which played well with the ravioli. 

We didn't use a recipe to create this dish. These were ingredients we had on hand. The ravioli was purchased from Aldi and comes fresh. The sausage came from our local Italian market and we always let the staff tell us what they would use with the wine we chose.  They've never been wrong!  While we are there, we always get a few slices of pistachio mortadella and eat them on the way home. Delish.

If you are from or near the Saint Louis area, the store we visit is Viviano and Sons. They are hands down our favorite Italian market. Meats are sliced while you wait, a good wine selection, rows and rows of pasta and the canned tomatoes aisle is extensive. We highly suggest that you make a trip there if you haven't discovered it already.

Heritage Grapes

• Culinary Cam shares: A Geography Lesson + a Taste of Bulgaria: Bob Chorba and a Blend of Mavrud and Rubin from Thrace
• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is contributing: Ancestor: Heritage Halter Ranch with Heritage Hamburgers
• Terri from Our Good Life is talking about: Don't Let the Grape Fool You: Bordeaux from Toscana
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares: Getting to know Cinnabari from Dracaena
• David from Cooking Chat gives us Pairings with Halter Ranch Wines
• Andrea from The Quirky Cork presents: An Exploration of Heritage Grapes in Turkey