Wine, Fried Up Right
The sparkling red I picked up from Domaine Chandon is the perfect holiday wine. First off, it’s red, so it’s the right color. Secondly, it’s bubbly–so the festivity is built in. This one, made from Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, bends itself closer to the characteristics of the second grape: chocolate, rich raspberry, and overall fullness. Starts off cool and warms on the way down. This is what we were drinking to get New Year’s Eve started, a rather appropriate beginning….happiness all around.
So, perhaps by now, you’re wondering about my title. Did we fry the wine?
We do tend to fry most food groups at some point or other in the south. For instance, the trip home wouldn’t have been complete without taking BK to Jerry’s Catfish House in Florence, MS, where we sampled these items from the deep fryer: catfish fillets, whole catfish, frog legs, dill pickles, potatoes, and hushpuppies (passing, though, on the chitlin’s). We rolled out stuffed but happy. You can also get at various eateries– fried cheese, most veggies, all seafood, ice cream, Snickers bars, sandwiches, and more.
This time, however, the victim was a turkey. My stepdad was the culprit, injecting the bird with cajun spices and lowering him into the hot oil. Outside, of course, cause you wouldn’t believe the number of accidents that occur when people attempt this feat. (Okay, maybe you would…) Johnny is a pro, however, and things went off without a hitch as BK looked on. We sampled some while waiting on the other diners to arrive, and it was crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, full of great spicy flavor. The Domaine Chandon went with the turkey quite nicely, but at that point, it wouldn’t have mattered. Both were so good by themselves, I don’t think I would have cared about the pairing.
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POSTED IN: Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, bubbles, especially good meals, they love wine down south
3 opinions for Wine, Fried Up Right
BK
Jan 7, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Mmmmmmm… Fried. Many delicious fried foods were had last week. Does French toast count as ‘fried’? And, though the sweet tea was good, what wine to have with whole fried catfish? I really like the Domaine Chandon. Gonna have to make another red sparkling run soon!
doug
Jan 8, 2008 at 4:53 am
my mouth is watering… though i did have fried chicken, fried shrimp, fried crab claws, fried oysters and a great assortment of fried southern delicacies, i didn’t have any fried catfish or fried dill pickles (my personal favorite) or, because we just didn’t do one this year, the fried turkey… and southern sweet tea goes with everything down south… glad you guys had fun…
Farley
Jan 8, 2008 at 11:53 am
Doug, it’s too bad we weren’t there at the same time. Although I think our usual place to get catfish was Cock of the Walk, where the waiters tossed cornbread in the air and you could get a cast iron pot o’ greens. Yum.
BK, I think if I had to pair a wine with that meal, it would have been a dry sparkling that’s heavy on the citrus. Maybe the Cristalino, cause you wouldn’t want something too fancy. There’s nothing pretentious about a fish fry, you know?
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