Raan and Grover Chêne

I’ve been thinking a fair bit about red wine and Indian food lately - of which more in due course - but wanted to flag up one pairing from my trip to India last week which definitely worked.

The dish was a raan or marinated roast lamb which was served at the International Vine and Food Experience I attended at the Taj Falaknuma Palace hotel in Hyderabad and the wine Indian winery Grover’s Chêne, a blend of tempranillo and shiraz. Most of Grover’s reds are made in Bangalore though they have some vineyards in Nashik which is where we had met up with them earlier in the week.

You might be surprised to discover that India produces full-bodied reds but a number of wineries do as I revealed in my Guardian column last year (and will write about again in due course)

Incidentally they served it cellar cool which was obviously welcome in the considerable heat of Hyderabad - and not a bad idea elsewhere.

You could of course serve other reds with raan such as shiraz and tempranillo from other countries including a young rioja or a malbec. Even a cabernet which I feel sometimes struggles with spicy food would work perfectly well.

If you want to give raan a try yourself here’s a delicious recipe from Meera Sodha’s Made in India (Photograph © David Loftus)

Roast turkey and Chivite Coleccion 125 reserva 2001

A bit of a departure with the turkey this Christmas - a magnum of Chivite Coleccion 125 from Navarra we unearthed in a cellar sort-out the other day. It's based on Tempranillo with a proportion of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon - I'm not sure what the percentages were that year - but was probably at the optimum moment for drinking - the fruit still bright but super-smooth and beautifully in balance.

I know I tend to recommend other options with turkey but this hit the spot perfectly coping with a rich spicy stuffing and bright, sharp cranberry sauce.

What made it work? Three main things, I think: the level of alcohol (13.5%) - not too alcoholic but powerful enough to take on the many different flavours on the plate, pure, intense but in no way cloying fruit and smooth, integrated tannins. And a magnum is always fun.

Chicken with sweet peppers and Tempranillo

I’m constantly amazed at the stream of good value reds that is coming out of Spain these days. Here’s another - La Copa Tempranillo 2005 from the up and coming Campo de Borja wine region which is situated in Aragon to the north west of Zaragoza. It appears to be made by a co-operative, the Cooperative de Santo Cristo de Magallon but is none the worse for that.

It’s a vibrant, juicy, full-flavoured red which would happily accompany all kinds of everyday dishes but the pairing I was struck by was a Spanish-style chicken casserole with sweet red peppers, onions and pimenton, appropriately enough. I’d also like it with dishes with chorizo and chickpeas, other spicy sausages or with a chilli. The importers, Moreno Wines, which sells it in the UK for £5.75, recommend lamb, turkey, smoked meats and grilled or fried venison.

Image © © Igor Klimov - Fotolia.com

Roast venison with tapenade and a modern Spanish red

Frankly almost any full-bodied red will work with a roast meat like venison but I’m particularly excited about the new breed of modern Spanish reds that are appearing on the shelves.

This was a dish I had last week at one of our neighbourhood restaurants in Bristol, Greens Dining Room which has a typically modern British/Mediterranean influenced, seasonal menu. (The head chef has worked for such mod Brit restaurants such as Chez Bruce and The Brackenbury in London)

The venison, which was quite gamey, was served Italian-style with grilled polenta and cavolo nero but the most important ingredient from the point of view of the wine match was a roughly chopped tapenade topping.

Black olives, as I’ve mentioned before, have an almost magic effect on red wines making even the fiercest tannins tame and velvety. They also seem to boost a medium-weight red like the incredibly good value 2006 Viña Urbezo from Bodegas Solar de Urbezo in Carinefia we drank - a blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Syrah.

It’s one of a number of vibrant young reds of real quality that Spain is currently producing at a knock down price from wine regions such as Cariñena, Bierzo, Campo de Borja and Toro. Look out for them!

Image © stockcreations - Fotolia.com