Pittacum with Hamburger
Pittacum crianza
Winery Pittacum
www.pittacum.com
D.O.: Bierzo
Grapes: 100% Mencía
Ageing: 6 months in barrels.
Price: 9,50 €
Excerpt from the book “Pairings of spanish wines with exotic cuisines”.
Click to see the preparation of these dishes, in American recipes.
This winery was a pioneer in working with Mencía grapes from El Bierzo in a different way, with state-of-the-art technology and quality controls at a level that had never been seen in that region before.
The results are so spectacular that there is already a legion of wine lovers who look for those wines everywhere.
It is a really powerful, fascinating wine, one of those you cannot forget. In nose, it marks an aromatic power that is confirmed in mouth, with nuances of red fruits, plums and figs, with that touch from the wood which provides notes of liquorice, nutmeg, even China ink.
The most surprising thing is its mouth, that strong body that fills us up at first sip, almost indomitable although when savoured it gives us a torrent of ripe fruits, applesauce, spices, even flowers -everybody emphasizes violets.
Beef hamburger
It may seem vulgar to include such a discredited dish in a gastronomy book, but these hamburgers have nothing to do with those served in teenagers' burger restaurants. They are almost a way of living in USA, a star dish in many barbecue restaurants. When you try them, you will see that they are perfectly comparable to a Filet mignon or even to a beef T-bone steak from Tolosa.
Meat is not usually consumed old in America. Many meat cuts are more similar to our veal than to our beef, anyway they are not new-born and their quality is different; they are Angus, Beefmaster, Charolés, Hereford, Limousin, Longhorn or Shorthon "baby-beef", very tasty and with high meat yield.
Pairing.jpg "Hamburger")
At the end of the book, in the recipes section, we talk about the spices that take part in the accumulation of aromas that we can find in these gastronomic hamburgers, that is why the wine to go with them must rise to it; many good red wines can remain as bad as water when confronted to the meat, the smoke from the grill and the spices.
When you have a drink of this wine after the meat, the sensation is as if it was a garnish, a fruit side dish that is part of the main one. If the wine is served fresh, at cellar temperature (15ºC), the acidity will be reinforced, as well as the sensation of great body that it already has.
It is also worth mentioning the side choices, such as baked potatoes with sour cream or coleslaw salad, two delicacies that must be taken into account.