Saturday, August 1, 2020

Pairing Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato with Drunken Cold Chicken Wing and Pork Knuckle, and Sautéed Julienne Leek #ItalianFWT

Pairing Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato with Drunken Cold Chicken Wing and Pork Knuckle, and Sautéed Julienne Leek

Having a stronger preference over red wines and typically shying away from the sun, sitting at the patio and enjoying chilled wines is not my usual summer pastime.  However, the summer of 2020, in so many ways, is very different from the past…staying in the house, no family travel plans, no summer street fairs, no wine tasting events. To extend my living space to outdoor, we have upgraded our patio with elevated garden boxes for some annuals and new patio furniture. All out of a sudden, checking out how my flowers are doing becomes a daily ritual and, slowly but surely, having our wines and meals outdoor is what I look forward to every evening.  Lauren from The Swirling Dervish invited the #ItalianFWT bloggers to discover the pink wines from Italy’s indigenous grapes. That helps me expand my summer patio wine list. Let’s sip some Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato and devour the chilled drunken chicken wings and pork knuckle plus some sautéed julienned leek.

                          Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato 2018 SRP$12.99:
cherry plum (GMO for sure), fuller-bodied, a good balance of acidity at the end; Dry Port?

What is Rosato?

Rosatos are pink wines coming from all over Italy. They are made with a wide variety of Italian indigenous grapes. The choice of grapes and winemaking methods, either direct pressing of red grapes or “saignée method” (bleeding off must from tanks to avoid too dark of the color from skin contact) presents a diverse and fun world of Rosato – different regions, shades of pink or light red, weight or body, aromas, tastes and price ranges.

Soft citrusy finish that kind of zips all the fruitiness of this wine
and leaves you with a refreshing and clean mouthfeel at the very end!

This Rosato doesn’t taste like Rose!

BibiGraetz Winery was found in 2000 when Bibi Graetz turns his passion of wines from drinking it to making it. Growing up in a family of artists, it’s not hard to find the artistic strokes on the wine labels. Not only I like the label of this Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato 2018, I’m also so excited to taste my very first Rosato which happens to be awarded a 91 rating from James Suckling.

This Sangiovese-based Rosato is strawberry and cherry on the nose. My first sip of it really sent some shockwaves…what is this? A dry Port? I immediately asked my husband, who is a Port lover, to “verify” the taste. It also tastes like a lighter Port to him too. But what makes this Rosato so interesting is the soft citrusy finish that kind of zips all the fruitiness of this wine and leaves you with a refreshing and clean mouthfeel at the very end!

Making drunken chicken wings and pork knuckles takes some time but it is so worth it!
 
Drunken Chicken Wing and Pork Knuckle with Sautéed Julienned Leek

With this fuller-bodied and solid Sangiovese-based pink wine, I decided to make some drunken chicken wings and pork knuckles that are served cold. I boiled the wings and knuckles for about ten minutes and washed off the fatty floatie stuff from the meat under the running water. I then fully cooked the wings and knuckles an Instant Pot (stovetop is perfectly fine too). One thing to keep in mind is not to stew the meat so it becomes too mushy and the skins of the wings and knuckles need to be intact. In a separate pot, I was making a brining liquid by boiling two cups chicken broth, ¼ cup rice vinegar, some Sichuan peppercorn, anise, scallion, ginger, salt, and pepper. After the broth was cooled off in a large bowl, I added ½ cup of clear Chinese cooking wine to the broth and submerged the wings and knuckles in the broth. Leave the meat in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 

Yes, it's a meaty pork knuckle. The pork skin is not fatty at all as the rice vinegar in the brining liquid takes care of it.

When you bite into the bouncy skin of the wings and pork knuckles, you know that all the work is totally worth it. The brining process turns the heavy meat into tasty cool summer eats that are substantial but not fatty, appetizing, umami, lightly sour and gingery…overall, a good match to the honest and impressive Bibi Graetz Casamatta Toscana Rosato.

If you don't like leek potato soup, maybe try to sautee leeks. I am quite happy with this leek dish.

With the vegetable side, I julienned a whole leek and sautéed it with Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp until the leek was tender and slightly under-cooked so that it still had that crunch to it. 

Julienned leek sautees very fast and can be served cold. The leeks retains the vibrant green color after its cooked too.

The Laoganma sauce is an all-purpose condiment for spicy food lover. It is red pepper-based with oil that is infused with the spiciness. The crunchy peanuts and tinny dry tofu cubes in the sauce also add a lot of fun to your sautéed food too. This sautéed leek is spicy, oniony and literally healthy. Who can imagine one can eat a whole leek and drink Rosato – yes, I can… at my new patio.

Got this leek from a nearby farmer's market. It costs me $2.5 for three whole leeks.
A better alternative to onion, in my opinion. 

Let's check out which Rosato our #ItalianFWT friends is drinking:

10 comments:

  1. That leek looks amazing as does the wine. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks. The sauteed leek is so simple and perfect.

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  2. I love that you pair both meat and veg with your wine! The leek dish looks like something I totally want to try! I understand about checking out the flowers! I do that regularly too (along with all my solar lights to ensure they're working each night - LOL!)

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    1. I don't do gardening much but right now looking at the flowers daily gives me hope:-)

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  3. I'm quite jealous of your outdoor space! Really beautiful. Also, always a fan of the Bibi Graetz wines.

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  4. Will definitely look for Bibi Graetz wines. Always looking for wines to pair with spicy foods. Thanks!

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  5. I love your patio, and cool outdoor meals sound wonderful. I agree with you on leeks! I like them much better than onions and even better than shallots (which are often my go to). The wine sounds fascinating with it's flavor profile!

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  6. I've loved the Bibi Graetz wines I've tasted but never tried the rosato. Definitely going to change that, thanks to your post. And "Wow!" on the pairings - I have a package of wings in the freezer that I need to use; going to try your method. Looks delish!

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  7. It looks and sounds like a wonderful pairing Pinny! I enjoy a fuller bodied roses too!

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  8. I love the flower boxes. What a great idea! And while I haven't had the rosato, I've enjoyed several Bibi Graetz wines.

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