OK. Corned beef is a tough one to pair with wine. My initial answer is just drink beer! However, in the past, I've paired it with Riesling, and it actually works quite well. I generally prefer a dry Riesling to an off-dry Riesling, but I actually didn't go with a Riesling this time. So, let's start with dinner.
Again, a real no-brainer. And, with my crazy life, no-brainers are best (and, quite often delicious)! So, when I came home for my lunch hour on Monday, I opened up my crock pot, I dropped in the corned beef (dumped in the seasoning packet), and the poured in a can of Boddington's. Set it on high for few hours, and bam, dinner.
Now, onto the wine. I thought that since I have enjoyed this before with Riesling, that maybe it would work with a Gewurztraminer (say it with me, guh-VURTS-trah-mee-ner). Matt & I first tasted this wine on Father's Day of 2009 when we visited Alba Winery to celebrate his special day. They hadn't yet released it, and on the winery tour, we got a taste of it right out of the tank. We loved it! When it was finally released, we bought a few bottles at a wine festival. I've paired it with other food before and really enjoyed it. It's a 2008 Gewurztraminer from Alba Vineyard in New Jersey (WHAT? JERSEY?). I know you're thinking Jersey can't make good wine, but Alba does. Try it.
Now, this wine is a bit sweeter than the dry Riesling, so unfortunately, the pairing with corned beef was not a match made in Heaven. I was hoping that the saltiness of the meat with the sweetness of the wine would work it's magic, but no, it didn't.
But, PLEASE don't write off this wine with other foods!! It is a delicious wine on it's own. I could see this totally cutting through a nice fried chicken, mmmmm....
In Vino Veritas!
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