On my maternal side I am a third generation Canadian. My great grand parents emigrated from Europe – my grandmother of Hungarian descent, and my grandfather of Prussian descent. In three generations I don’t speak a single damned word of Hungarian, or German – but I remember my grandfather making strudel, and my grandmother making Paprikash (and in spite of her simple recipe I still maintain it’s the greatest). For me, it’s important to hold on to those few precious bits of my European descent – it helps me feel close to my grandparents, and frankly the recipes are damned tasty. Now setting the nostalgia aside – let’s fast forward to my foray into wine writing. With my focus on Niagara wines it didn’t take very long to figure out that some of the best food pairings on the planet are wines like Riesling and Gewurztraminer with Cabbage Rolls, Paprikash, Potato Pancakes, and Perogies. I guess it makes sense that to me while most wine writers will dedicate their notes to enjoying these wines on a patio in the summer you’re more likely to find them in my home in the middle of winter next to these comfort dishes.
So that brings me to last weekend. My friend Yvonne, Freelance food and drink writer, former food blogger, and Canadian of Chinese descent (and her mom was born in Vietnam – which definitely influences the home cooking) is someone I enjoy drinking wine with. I met her at the iYellow wine cave many years ago, and I’ve always been a fan of tasting and discussing wines with her. It didn’t take long to notice that Yvonne’s taste in wine seemed to naturally gravitate towards wine that paired with her Mom’s cooking. You see, Yvonne’s mom is a fantastic cook – and it’s rare to get invited to her table. I had the opportunity to share a Vietnamese meal with Kitty a few years ago where she talked to me about the importance of great ingredients (and handed me a bottle of 3 Crabs Fish sauce – and trust her – it’s by far the best). But over the years Yvonne and I had an interesting revelation about wine and food – that it’s interesting the wines that she and I both love match equally well with our families cuisines. Yvonne’s wine collection is usually well stocked up with Chardonnay Musqué, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling. Thus was born the east meets west dumpling night.
We decided to put some of our favourite local wines on the table next to some good home cooking. Perogies, and Chinese dumplings served in a giant heap. When we did this a few years ago we matched Riesling and Gewurztraminer in a tongue in cheek “competition” style – to see if there was a food and wine pairing that stood above everything else. The only conclusion I was able to draw was that we all won that night by putting that food on the table. When we did our reprise of marriage of wine and food I had something a little special up my sleeve. A little while ago I was sent a package from Flat Rock Cellars that included a look back at their Twisted White. The box contained a bottle of 2012, 2014, and 2017 versions of this wine. I thought it would be fun to crack open this mini look back at these wines.
Everyone knows that I’m a big fan of the Rusty Shed and Gravity from Flat Rock – so, as a result of my short attention span I forget about how consistently good the portfolio from Flat Rock runs. The great thing about twisted is that it delivers the floral and spice notes from Gewurztraminer, and crisp acidity from Riesling keeps the Gew from overpowering and suffering from low acidity. It also gives Flat Rock flexibility to put a great blend together depending on the vintage conditions.
So I guess this is the part of my post where I’m supposed to talk about which wine was best. Honestly, that’s the best part about these wines – there was no BEST on the table. They were all so different. The 2012 Twisted was mineral notes, and subdued floral and orchard fruit notes were buried. This was a welcome sip in my glass as I paired some of the Chinese dumplings with a screaming hot chilli oil. In my opinion the 2012 was past it’s prime – but still offered something interesting in the glass. I was surprised at the very crisp acidity given the very hot vintage. 2014 was a favourite at the table – it oozed with concentrated tropical, orchard, and rose notes on the nose and on the palate. There was just a hint of sweetness on the finish but this is mated with perfectly balanced acidity. A few years in bottle started to allow the mineral notes to poke through. This was a worthy bottle for the feast on the table. So 2017 delivered something special as well – the fruit flavours are fresh and vibrant – it’s a signature of twisted to have harmony between lychee, peach, lemon, and lime. So here’s the deal – if you’re planning on serving dumplings of any kind grab a bottle of Twisted. If you have the means to save a few older bottles it was a lot of fun to take a look back. The fact that this wine isn’t expensive reminds you that you don’t need to invest in high value wines to have fun visiting the cellar
I loved reading your dumpling show down article and how well the Twisted fit the bill.
I also love hearing of people pushing the envelope on traditional wine and food pairings and delving into uncharted territory. My wife’s family have, over the years, spoiled me with many delicious traditional eastern European dishes (her grandparents coming from former Czechoslovakia) all of which i have paired with Canadian wines. Great fun.
Keep up the adventurous spirit !
David.
When I discovered the joys of off-dry riesling I was confused why tasting notes always said “patio sipper” – asian food – or spicy cuisine – because even before I knew two things about wine I always felt my grandfather’s bavarian cuisine was screaming for off-dry riesling.
I promise to keep pushing it.