It's eggplant time! Also known as aubergine for it's purple skin, the eggplant turns up in the cuisine of many cultures, from Indonesia to the Mediterranean, and it's certainly suited to the climate of California! A member of the nightshade family, along with the potato and tomato, the eggplant's deep purple hue adds an attractive color contrast to the reds, yellows and greens of other ingredients in dishes. The skin and the flesh can be quite bitter, however, making it both bane and blessing at the table. Chefs have many tips for dealing with the bitterness of eggplant, but nevertheless eggplant remains a polarizing food: folks either love it or they hate it. I happen to love it--grilled in a Mediterranean-inspired eggplant salad, roasted and pureed in a variety of spreads and dips (baba ganoush, anyone?) or braised and served alongside a hearty protein like beef or lamb.
Eggplant's distinct flavor and texture present an opportunity for some delicious wine pairing, as long as you steer clear of tannic reds and oaked whites, which will amplify bitter flavors. Still, a wine with ample structural components is needed to match eggplant's richness. This bodes well for red wine, but I'd keep it on the fruitier side. Mediterranean varietals and blends like Barbera or Dolcetto from Italy and Grenache and Rhone varietal blends from France and Spain, as well as California's Zinfandel come to mind as tasty options to consider.
Asian-inspired dishes with eggplant may include both spicy and sweet ingredients and be seasoned with exotic spices, which changes our wine pairing course. For a dish with heat, I'd avoid any wine that is too dry or high in alcohol; alcohol amplifies the sensation of heat in the mouth. Dry wines taste bitter against fare with sweeter ingredients, and with eggplant is involved we definitely don't want that! A perfumed, fruity white with fresh acidity (and even a little sweetness, depending on the heat of the dish) would be best here. A dry or off-dry Chenin Blanc from France, a fleshy Vermentino or other medium-bodied white from Italy, or a ripe Sauvignon Blanc from California are several options to consider.
For the Mediterranean-inspired grilled eggplant salad I'll be enjoying soon, which includes your usual suspects of garlic, olive oil and vinegar, fresh garlic, green herbs, black pepper and capers, I'm going Greek. Located in Tyrnavos, Greece, Domaine Zafeirakis produces a seductive, perfumed red from the rare indigenous variety Limniona that has all the qualities I'm seeking to match this particular dish: lifted aromatics, soft red fruit, elegant structure and the length on the finish. The red fruit and floral aromatics will play well with the ingredients of the dish, and there's enough acidity to counter the vinegar. The Zafeirakis family has been in the Greek wine business for over a century, but the winery is a new enterprise, founded in 2012 by fourth-generation Christos Zafeirakis, who studied Oenology in Piedmont, Italy. The revitalization of the native varieties otherwise headed for extinction like Limniona is a focus at the domaine, an effort I strongly support. I've been very impressed by what I've tasted so far from this producer--they also make a lovely aromatic white from the Malagousia variety--and I highly recommend the wines.
-Chiara Shannon
-Chiara Shannon
In stock now at Mission Wines:
100% Limniona. "The thick-skinned Limniona grape has become Christos’ signature wine in
just its second vintage. It is a silky, sinewy wine without an ounce of
fat on it, but with an indescribably mysterious nose, strangely
evocative of oriental spices. Aged, interestingly, in Austrian oak
barrels (more neutral than French, and beloved by the likes of Willi
Bründlmayer), it bears more than a passing resemblance to good
Trousseau. A true original and a wine of high class." (Producer)
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