I would say don't tell Dave, but he might read these. Hmm. I guess this will be our little test. Besides, he had this pairing. In the middle of harvest, we all have our roles. Bill and David are at the vineyard all day. I typically hang out with Maddy; she and I visit for a period, I usually pitch in with some grunt work (tossing grapes into the crusher or sorting grapes), she usually plays hide and seek with Daddy. But overall, they do all the real work on the wine. I try to make a dinner they can eat at whatever time they make it back, that can reheat easily and will taste good on the second time. But chasing a talkative 5-year old after a long week at, well, my day job, I am quite exhausted. On this particular day, I made dump nachos. If you've never made dump nachos, it's basically, any meat you happen to have, your appropriate veggies, pickled jalapenos, cheese, and serve with dippings. We were 2/3s through harvest and I was beyond exhausted. I just couldn't anymore. I found some left over steak, onion, corn, olives, and we always keep pickled jalapenos and fresh garlic. Whenever a recipe calls for one clove, they mean a whole head of garlic, right? Am I doing it right? I popped them in my oven (see! it counts as oven related) and had Maddy help me clean up the kitchen from her school work. Homework in kindergarten could only be true in 2020.
When they came out, I knew they would pair best with our 2012 Cabernet Franc. We'd just found an extra case and some when we closed up the downtown tasting room. It was a very fun find in the midst of a bit of heartache. And this was the perfect "test" to make sure nothing bad had happened to it. The '12 was softer than any other of the Francs, making it a perfect pair for spicy foods, which is hard to say for any red. And Dave had left me three bottles. Wouldn't mind if I do.
Maddy, at 5, did not have any interest in any of this, so it was meatballs, noodles, and salad for her. I threw some leftover lettuce on my nachos for some semblance of health and opened my bottle. It smelled different, but it tasted like my wee cabbie and it went purrrfectly. And there was nothing I needed more after Week 987 of Harvest 2020 than comfort nachos and a glass, oops two, oops three, of cab franc. Really, any well balanced red goes well with spicy food. From our current selection, our 2014 Meritage, or our soon to be "officially released," 2015 Syrah (you can buy it now, but it's Big Day is coming!). For nostalgics:
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