30 Days of Local Wine

Yesterday, we took a look at the Sprucewood Shore Estate Winery Meritage and paired it with a nice Vietnamese Lamb Chop recipe.

Today we decided to stay with the same wine, the 2006 Meritage VQA LENS from Colio Estate Wines, but show what else can be done with it.

A short warm spring in the Lake Erie North Shore was followed by a hot, relatively dry summer which allowed for ample maturation of most red grape varieties.This 60/40 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc is aged 18 months in oak barrels and has a sugar code of 0.

The Colio Meritage will give you tastes of blackberry, raspberry, cedar and firm tannins with a fresh, dark fruit, earthiness bouquet.

While the recipes with Sprucewood‘s Meritage was spicy, Colio recommends pairing this wine with Veal parmigiana, lasagna prima vera, grilled lamb with black currant sauce, strong cheeses, BBQ black pepper steak & frites. Chef Scott Edmunds of Centro provides this recipe below to pair with Colio’s suggestions:

Veal Parmigiana with Pasta Primavera

Veal Parmigiana

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb veal cutlets, 1/8” to 1/4” thick
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup prepared tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
  • 2 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Pound veal cutlets to 1/8? thickness, if necessary. In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot. Dip cutlets into bread crumbs, coating both sides.

Place cutlets in skillet; cook 2 minutes. Turn; season with 1/8 teaspoon salt and top each with sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover and continue cooking 1-2 minutes for medium doneness. Do not overcook. Remove from skillet; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Pasta Prima Vera

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of mixed vegetables, for example:
  • 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1/2 small eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
  • 1/2 bell pepper, any colour, cut into thin strips
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence
  • A sprinkling of garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup of tomato sauce
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 pound pasta
  • Grated Parmesan optional

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (for your pasta).
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the vegetables, stir to coat with oil. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until vegetables are just cooked. Turn off heat, but let pan stay on the burner.
  3. While you are cooking the vegetables, add the dry pasta to the boiling water and follow the cooking instructions for the pasta. You want to time it so that the pasta is done soon after the vegetables.
  4. Add a 1/4 cup of the spaghetti, marinara, or tomato sauce to the vegetables, along with 1/4 cup of water to thin the sauce. If you are using a prepared spaghetti or marinara sauce, you don’t need to add much seasoning, just a 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence, a few sprinkles of garlic salt, and salt and pepper to taste. If you are using a plain tomato sauce, you might want to start out cooking the vegetables by cooking a minced clove of garlic first, and then adding the vegetables, and then add a bit more of the seasoning (to taste). Spaghetti and marinara sauce are already seasoned.
  5. Once the pasta is ready – cooked but still a bit firm, or al dente – drain the pasta and put it directly into the skillet with the vegetables. Adjust seasoning. Add more sauce if needed. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes.
  6. Serves 4. Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan, if you like. A little bit of chopped fresh basil would go nicely with this as well.