Cape Verde dishes present wine pairing challenge
Published: March 10, 2010
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Whenever I get to know someone from another country, I always extort a meal from the person at some point.
So it was with my Cape Verdian friend Sara Paiva, who invited me to a family dinner for her sister Aurizanda, who marked her 25th birthday with a traditional home-cooked meal at her parent’s Scranton home. I provided the wine.
Aurizanda kicked things off with a brief speech, expressing love for her family, and a prayer asking God to help her become the best woman she could. Holding hands, family and friends recited The Lord’s Prayer in their native language. Then we ate and drank.
Cape Verde is a small group of islands off the coast of Senegal in western Africa. Its culture, language and food are derived from Portugal, which ruled the islands until 1975. I knew that country’s versatile white vinho verde would be an easy fit, ideal with light seafood dishes, like Cape Verde’s arroz de marisco, a version of paella, a yasmin rice dish with mussels, squid, crabmeat and shrimp. A pork dish seasoned with garlic, lemon juice and spice, called for pinot noir — the pork no-brainer. Bacalhau a brás included cod, potato, onions, tomatoes and egg, had more powerful, creamy flavors, so we selected rich chardonnays.
Casa De Vila 2008 Vinho Verde from Portugal was a hit, peachy and minerally with fresh green apple, peach and citrus flavors. This is the wine everyone went back to. $11. 4 stars
The heft and power behind the St. Francis 2007 Sonoma County Chardonnay, with rich, grilled-pineapple and spice flavors and prominent alcohol took attention away from the cod, but offered a better match for an appetizer, breaded and fried herb-salmon empanadas. $16. 3.5 stars
Wild Horse 2008 Central Coast Chardonnay showed more balance with crisp, green apple character, simultaneously smooth and crisp, bringing out the onion and olive oil in cod salad. $15. 4 stars
The tasty Clos du Bois 2007 North Coast Pinot Noir has a charming, ripe black cherry and vanilla flavor with a silky texture an easy-going manner that makes it more of a pleasant sipper. However, the fruitfulness didn’t do well with pork. $18. 4 stars
Chaddsford 2007 Pennsylvania Pinot Noir is light and delicate, showing more earthy, black fruit and black tea characters with a zing of acidity and brush of tannins making it a nice match with the pork, and food in general. The wine held an important symbolic place — representing the tie of Aurizanda’s family to the Keystone State. Sold through Chaddsford. $18. 4 stars
The best way to cap a meal, particularly a Portuguese-influenced one, is with Porto. Dow’s 10-Year Old Tawny hits notes of candied fruit, nuts, fig and vanilla with enough alcohol to leave a warm feeling. $32.
Then in the Cape Verdian tradition, there was dancing.
David Falcheck writes a weekly wine column for The Times-Tribune in Scranton. Write to him at dfalchek@timesshamrock.com. © The Times-Tribune 2010.
