For those who love Cabernet Sauvignon, sometimes the palate longs for variation yet not deviation from the strong nature of the varietal.   If you seek a red wine that still maintains the stoically strong backbone of Cabernet Sauvignon yet offers a unique spicy suppleness, look no farther than a Cab-Syrah.

Hall Winery, located in St. Helena in Napa Valley, bottles a beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah blend called “Darwin”.   Opening a bottle of Darwin not only invites a red wine with personality to the table but with it comes a story.   In 2004, Craig and Kathyrn Hall (proprietors and vintners) were travelling in Australia.   While in flight above the Outback, the landing gear of the Hall’s small plane failed to properly deploy.  During the course of three hours in the air, attempts were made to repair the plane’s landing gear.  Ultimately an emergency landing was successfully accomplished in the city of Darwin.   Safely on the ground, the Halls’ raised a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah to toast divine guidance and care.  With that toast soon followed a firm vow to create a lush Cab-Syrah blend in honor of the safe landing, the town where they unexpectedly landed and the wine that awaited to welcome them.

Dominated largely by Syrah from various vineyard blocks, the 2005 Darwin offers aromatics of fig, blackberries, spice of anise and hints of allspice.  Benefiting from proper cellaring and bottle-aging, tamed tannins give way as a velvety smooth texture unfold leaving a wake of dark roasted plums and blackberry preserves undulating across the palate.

From a food pairing perspective, Cab-Syrah blends welcome anything from grilled vegetables to steaks on the grill.   While taking a friend wine tasting over the weekend in Napa Valley, we talked about the varied different pairings that I feature in my weekly articles and I commented that sometimes I just have to feature “dude food”.   “Dude food” means those savory items that generally involve meat and the smell of a smoky charcoal grill.   With a Cab-Syrah sitting on the table and “dude food” on the mind, this week’s menu hosts:

·         Grilled Steak with Dried Tomato Butter Atop Grilled Vegetables and Arugula With Garlic Aioli;

·         Tomato Zucchini Black Bean Rice Casserole; and

·         Red Velvet Cupcakes Dressed With Chocolate Mint.

Serving a casserole in an individual ramekin makes an otherwise standard savory comfort food dish into a hip attractive side dish.   Brown rice, Vidalia onion, heirloom tomato, lemon thyme, zucchini, black pepper and jack cheese are combined to bring garden fresh flavors to comfort food.  Lemon thyme from garden is incomparably fresh and livens the casserole with pronounced aromatic notes and flavors of Meyer lemon.   When paired with the wine, plum fruit comes forth and the black beans encourage a subtle earthiness from the wine.

Top Sirloin seasoned with peppercorns, garlic and sea salt is grilled indoors and prior to finalizing cooking, is topped with dried tomato butter.   “Dried Tomato Butter” is easy enough to quickly whip together at home as julienned sundried tomatoes, minced shallots and lemon thyme are combined with butter.  Sundried tomatoes atop a steak are a sweet savory addition causes one to slowly chew, roll eyes to the back of the head and wonder why one had not thought of this combination long before.  This flavored chef butter makes beef so extraordinarily savory which in turn reaches for the deeper, richer flavor aspects of the 2005 Darwin.

Lurking beneath the steak are grilled zucchini medallions and thick slices of Vidalia onions.   Both the zucchini and onions are spritzed with Meyer lemon olive oil before hitting the grill.  Further beneath the grilled vegetables lies a seasonal bed of arugula adorned with garlic aioli.  As the steak is sliced, the vegetables and arugula take on the residual juices of the beef to create a roguish grilled salad capable of engaging the senses and leaves the palate wishing for more.

Sinfully rich and sweet red velvet cupcakes are adorned with fragrant julienned chocolate mint from the garden and parked next to a seasonal juicy strawberry.   Take a sip of wine and let the palate be raptured by an even sprinkling of spices as big rich blackberry preserves tumble back across the palate.   Clear the palate with a bite of strawberry and dare to repeat.

Typically I finish each article with a short quip about why to seasonally enjoy a wine and food pairing but for the 2005 Darwin, Hall Winery aptly captures the sentiment of sharing and enjoying wine on its label:   “A toast to you and to those special joys of life that come without warning and that we will never forget.”    Cheers!