Summer has a natural tendency to stir nostalgic memories. From long evenings on the patio, to sunshine filled days at the waterpark with your children, or camping! So, it seems a fitting time of year to create the most delicious campfire food and wine pairings.
I’ve teamed up with a fellow wine blogger for this article. Below are my red wine suggestions then head over to www.julieloveswine.com for her white wine suggestions.
Bellwether Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 with Basil Infused Blackberry Jam Campfire Sandwich
The Bellwether Coonawarra Cabernet is organic, unfined and unfiltered. It’s 10 years old and has years of life left in it. It’s filled with blueberry and blackberry flavours that exude a juicy jamminess that fills the mouth. The conservative tannins make it a super easy drinker for late evenings by the campfire.
It only seems natural to play off the jaminess with a blackberry jam filled campfire sandwich. You might need to hit up Amazon for this toasting contraption; it was a must-have for my family during our camping adventures. We used it for grilled cheese, apple strudel or whatever else we could fit in between two pieces of bread.
Try making your own jam recipe ahead of time. And for a twist, include an herbal infusion to play off the ever so slight eucalyptus aroma in the Cab. I like this recipe from the Food Network. To take it up a notch add a thin slice of creamy Brie into the sandwich for a more savoury (and gooey) experience.
Goats do Roam 2016 & Marinated Tofu and Veggie Skewers
Look at regionally focused foods if you’re stuck on a food pairing idea. Try Italian Chianti Classico with tomato-based pasta, A Spanish Rioja Reserva with tapas, you can rarely go wrong. So what do you pair with a South African red? Anything BBQ! Or Braai as they call it. While red meat is an obvious choice, I’m going to suggest keeping it simple for the campfire food and wine pairings. Try cubing some tofu, skewering it with your favourite veggies and marinating it with the concoction below before sitting (and sipping) while it sizzles over the flames.
The Goats do Roam is a jigsaw blend of 5 varietals, each varietal adding it’s own piece of personality to the puzzle. The fuller bodied varietals such as Shiraz (66%), Mourvedre (20%) and Petite Sirah (1%) add flavours of plum, blackberry, black pepper and cocoa while the more medium bodied varietals such as Grenache (8%) and Carignan (5%) round out the palate with raspberry, cranberry and cinnamon.
Gesondheid! (That’s cheers in Afrikaans)
I hope you give these red wine pairings a try on your next camping adventure. Head on over to JulieLoveswine.com for her suggestions for campfire food and wine pairings with white wine. Safe camping and happy sipping!