Super Pairings for Super Bowl
Last year before the Super Bowl we sent out an email with some wine and snack food pairings—the email was an instant customer favorite, so we wanted to revise it and post it here on our blog. That way, the recommendations and recipes are always here, they won’t get lost in your inbox and you can come back anytime to read them again.
This year, we added a bit of a twist by giving you some pre-game entertainment—our own homage to the classic 1980 Superbowl Coca-Cola® commercial with “Mean” Joe Green. If you’re one of our longtime customers, enjoy the updates. For our new customers, we hope you find this information useful and fun. Enjoy the big game.
In case you don’t remember or haven’t seen the original 1980 Coca-Cola® ad:
Here’s our version:
Nancy Walker’s Pulled Pork
Ingredients:
One pork shoulder roast, about 5 lbs.
1 Tbsp granulated garlic
1 Tbsp seasoned salt
1 Tbsp lemon pepper
1 cup barbecue sauce
1 cup fire roasted salsa
1 cup white or rosé wine
Directions
- Combine garlic, seasoned salt and lemon pepper, rub into pork shoulder
- Place shoulder in crock pot
- Add barbecue sauce, salsa and wine
- Cover and cook on high for 6 hours then switch to low setting for 8 hours
- Remove crock from heat, cool and refrigerate for 5 hours.
- After 5 hours refrigeration remove any pork fat and discard.
- Keep cooked pork in crock pot with remaining sauce and use a large spoon to gently separate meat into shredded pork
- Add up to 1 1/2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce and heat for serving in crock pot.
- Keep heat on low during serving.
- Serve on your favorite sandwich roll or over Creamy Herbed Grits.
Creamy Herbed Grits
Ingredients
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups quick-cooking grits
1 Tbsp savory seasoning
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup cream, room temperature
½ cup cheddar cheese
Directions
- Bring chicken stock to boil in large saucepan.
- Slowly whisk in grits and savory seasoning, bring to a boil.
- Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 8 minutes, whisking often.
- Slowly mix in cream, continuing to cook over low for 4 minutes.
- Add cheese, stir and remove from heat.
People who love wine know that wine can enhance any dining experience, even everyday snacks with the big game! Skeptical? Take a look at the pairing suggestions below, read the science behind it, then try it for yourself this Sunday, or anytime.
Spicy Favorites
With hoppin’ hot salsa, spicy buffalo wings or your neighbor’s specialty three-alarm chili, try a fruit forward red such as our 2007 Three Vines Red or our 2007 Mendocino County Merlot. Or, try a white wine with a just hint of sweetness such as our 2007 Gewürztraminer or 2007 Chenin Blanc. These wines will fan the flames in your mouth until the next bite. What to avoid: strongly tannic and high alcohol content wines.
Salty Snacks
Grab your favorite bag of potato chips, crunchy, gooey nachos, or salted cashews and pour yourself a glass of Champagne. The higher acid levels in sparkling wines contrast with salty foods for a fantastic experience on your taste buds.
Savory & Fried
Here’s a combination that will get you thinking, corn dogs and our 2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. We’re serious! Pinot Noir and pork are a natural pair and the crunchy, delicious carmelization that occurs with the corn batter works perfectly with the toasty characters inherent in Pinot Noir.
Indulgent Sides
Creamy, cheesy dips are game watching favorites. Try matching textures and flavors of your go-to dip with a wine of similar characteristics such as Seven Layer Dip with a rich, creamy Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc with Spinach Dip where the herb qualities of both support each other.
Old Standbys
Pizza with Zinfandel, Burgers with Cabernet Sauvignon and Fried Chicken with Chardonnay.
In other words, you don’t need to save wine for special occasion meals, have fun with it everyday. Your Personal Wine Consultant is the perfect resource for choosing the perfect wine for any occasion. Learn more about food pairings here on the Windsor Vineyards blog, Carpe Vino. Our Director of Wine Education, Steve Ross, gives you the tools you need to become a wine & food MVP.
For a game-day dish your crowd will love, try winemaker Nancy Walker’s recipe for Pulled Pork and Creamy Herbed Grits. Serve with Windsor Vineyards 2007 Mendocino County Syrah or our 2007 Sonoma County Zinfandel
Read more at the Carpe Vino blog
