Our 30 Days of Local Wine campaign takes place throughout the entire month of December. Each day we’ll be featuring a different local wine from several of the Essex Pelee Island Coast wineries along with recipes for food, cocktails (yes, wine cocktails), desserts, party tips and more. Click here for the complete list of 30 wines.
Also, we want to see how you enjoy your local wine. We encourage you to use the #30DLW hashtag on Instagram to win prizes like a day for 2 on a tandem bicycle on our award winning Wine Trail Ride Cycling Tours. Click here for more details on the 30 Days of Local Wine Contest.
Who doesn’t love a lady in red? Well this wine is no exception with it’s “nice nose, good legs and great body!” And she’s award winning, having won the silver medal in the All Canadian Wine Championship for Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery.
The flavour profile goes along with the name, offering a soft and smooth flavour and finish. The wine is a fruity and medium-bodied which makes it a very easy drinking red. The delicious blend of licorice, raisins and the hint of oak is a perfect match with charcuterie platters, pizza, lasagna and pork.
You can pick up a beautiful bottle of Lady in Red this holiday season at the LCBO or experience her beauty by taking a trip to Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery.
Earlier in the 30 Days of Local Wine, chef John Alvarez of Sushi Guru got creative with a Sauvignon Blanc from North 42 Degrees Estate Winery. We also gave him a bottle of Lady in Red to hit the other side of the palate spectrum with a red wine. He didn’t disappoint.
How can you resist pork belly?
Braised Pork Belly
Ingredients
- 6oz pork belly
- 4 cups of chicken stock
- 1/2 cup of Lady in Red from Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 1 sweet onion
- 1 thumb of ginger
- 6 cloves of garlic
- Scallions
- Sesame oil
- Rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp of Chinese 5 spice
- 1 sweet potato
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Sear and braise pork belly in 4 cups of chicken stock and red wine. Add garlic, onion, ginger 5 spice to braising liquid.
- Cook on medium low for 2 – 2 1/2 hours until fork tender.
- In a saute pan, add sesame oil, sweet potatoes, onion and garlic on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Set aside.
- In a small bowl place diced cherry tomatoes, sweet onion, scallions, sesame oil and a splash of vinegar rice for garnish.
- Remove pork from braise and reduce by 1/2, skimming off fat as you go. Season with salt and pepper.
- To plate, add red wine pork reduction on bottom of plate. Add sweet potato hash, then braised pork belly topped with lomi lomi tomatoes.
