Tag Archives: Rioja

Wine and food pairings 16: Couscous mushroom sort of risotto

mushroom risotto
This is what mushroom risotto looks like with arborio rice. Churro, the blog’s associate editor, forgot to take the picture for the post.

The Wine Curmudgeon pairs wine with some of his favorite recipes in this occasional feature. This edition: three wines with a mushroom risotto, but made with pearl couscous

The Wine Curmudgeon loves couscous. It’s cheap, it’s easy to make, it’s versatile, and it tastes good. I like it so much, in fact, that a friend who comes to dinner once asked: “What’s wrong? We’re not having couscous?”

I don’t do as much with the larger, pearl or Israeli-style couscous. For one thing, it’s not always easy to find in Dallas. For another, it’s not as versatile. But I did notice that, after it’s cooked, the larger couscous resembles short-grain and arborio rice. So why not try something risotto-like? (And not actual risotto, since that can only be made with arborio rice).

Hence, this recipe. I used button mushrooms, but adding dried mushrooms (and their soaking liquid) would work, too. It takes about one-quarter of the time of traditional risotto, and there isn’t any stock spooning or continual stirring. It’s not as creamy as the real thing, but it’s creamy in its own way.

Click here to download or print a copy of the recipe. What wines to pair? Pasta-friendly reds, of course, since the mushrooms make this almost beefy:

• Frescobaldi Rèmole Toscana 2019 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): Classic cheap Italian Chianti-style wine — lots of sour cherry fruit, tannins pushed to the back, and an almost interesting finish. Needs food like the couscous. Imported by Shaw-Ross International

• CVNE Cune Crianza 2017 ($12, purchased, 14.5%): This Spanish tempranillo isn’t as well rounded as some others, but still professional, varietally correct, and a fine value. It’s a little oaky and the cherry fruit is more ripe, but neither is a problem. Imported by Arano LLC

• Banfi Col di Sasso 2019 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): Softer and fruitier (red berries and cherries), with more relaxed tannins than Banfi’s Centine, but still a fine value and still very Italian. Imported by Banfi Vintners

Blog associate editor Churro contributed to this post.

More about wine and food pairings:
• Wine and food pairings 15: Southwestern-style stew with guacamole and pico de gallo
• Wine and food pairings 14: Mom’s chicken parmigiana
• Wine and food pairings 13: Crawfish etouffee

Slider photo: “Rome Elite Event: wine, food and nice people” by Yelp.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Wine of the week: El Coto Rioja Crianza 2016

el coto rioja crianza
El Coto Rioja Crianza 2016/$10-$17

The El Coto Rioja Crianza is one of the world’s great cheap wine buys

There’s a reason why the subhed on this post is so similar to the one on this post. Both are Spanish red wines from the Rioja region, and the El Coto, in its own way, may offer even more value than the CVNE Cune.

Sometimes, despite all going on around us, cheap wine truly is grand.

The main difference between the El Coto Rioja Crianza ($10, purchased, 14.5%) and the CVNE Cune is price. For some reason, and even before the Trump wine tariff, El Coto had raised its prices into the premiumization tier, $15-$18 (destroying the value of its otherwise excellent rose in the process). So when I found this for $10 at Total Wine, I bought it. Should have bought a case.

The wine offers spice, earth, cherry and raspberry fruit, a touch of oak, and muted acidity. The high alcohol is not noticeable, and may be well a tariff accounting trick. And, that it tastes like this at this age, is beyond me. A value at $15, and a steal at this price.

Some wine geek stuff for anyone who missed the CVNE Cune post: Crianza is the most basic of the three kinds of Rioja, which means it gets less aging, sees less oak (if any), and costs the least compared to reserva and gran reserva. There are also requirements for which grapes can be used, so most of the wines are mostly (if not all) tempranillo.

Drink this with almost any simple red meat, roast chicken, or the blog’s couscous jambalaya. Certain to return to the Hall of Fame in 2022 and will likely be on the short list for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Imported by Opici Wines

Wine of the week: CVNE Cune Rioja Crianza 2016

CVNE cune Rioja
CVNE Cune Rioja Crianza 2016/$10-$14

CVNE’s Rioja Crianza remains one of the most dependable cheap wines in the world

The Wine Curmudgeon was concerned when I checked the alcohol on this Spanish red from the Rioja region, since it was about a point higher than usual. That’s hardly elegant and classic, which is what this wine – even at this price – is supposed to be.

But there was no reason to worry.

That’s because CVNE’s Cune Rioja Crianza ($10, purchased, 14.5%) is as dependable as the moronic management of my once-beloved Cubs. You can always count on the Cubs’ bosses to ruin the team, just like you can always buy this wine and know exactly what you’ll get.

That means a fair price for tempranillo from Rioja that tastes like tempranillo from Rioja: A bit of cherry fruit, maybe some orange peel or spice, a touch of tannins, and balanced acidity. And I didn’t detect the higher alcohol. In this, the Cune could be the definition of a simple, but not stupid, wine. Which, around here, is high praise.

Some wine geek stuff: Crianza is the most basic of the three kinds of Rioja, which means it gets less aging, sees less oak (if any), and costs the least compared to reserva and gran reserva. There are also requirements for the grapes that can be used, so most of the wines are mostly (if not all) tempranillo.

Chill this a touch and drink it with almost any simple red meat, roast chicken, or the blog’s pork shoulder. Certain to return to the Hall of Fame in 2022.

Imported by Arano LLC

Wine of the week: LAN Rioja Crianza 2016

LAN Rioja CrianzaThe Spanish LAN Rioja Crianza is red wine for a Father’s Day cookout

What do you need to know about the LAN Rioja Crianza?

• A terrific price, as little as $10 in some parts of the country.

• More than decent availability (91 results on wine-searcher, as one example).

• A surprisingly decent score on CellarTracker, given how its members look down on wines like this.

In other words, buy a bottle of the LAN Rioja Crianza ($12, purchased, 13.5%) and enjoy it for Father’s Day. It’s a step up from something like Aldi’s La Cornada – better grape quality and even a bit of oak. In this, it’s classic crianza from Spain’s Rioja region, the entry level wine made with tempranillo. Look for cinnamon, maybe something orangeish in the aroma, red cherry and berry fruit, and nary a tannin out of place. And the oak doesn’t get in the way, actually adding to the whole.

Highly recommended, and almost certain to appear in the 2021 Hall of Fame. Pair this with almost anything on the grill, be it sausage, burgers, chicken, or pizza.

Imported by Mid-State Wine & Liquors

Wine of the week: CVNE Cune Rioja Crianza 2015

The Cune Rioja, from Spain’s CVNE, is a tempranillo blend that will bring joy to anyone who loves quality cheap wine

CVNE’s Cune Rioja brings joy to my tired and worn out brain whenever I see it on the shelf. And these days, when the future of quality cheap wine is very much in doubt, that’s something to depend on.

The Cune Rioja ($11, purchased, 13.5%) is a Spanish red wine from the Rioja region, mostly made with tempranillo. CVNE is a large Spanish producer that has been around for 140 years, and its wines still taste as they should and still offer quality and value for less than $15. Crianza is the simplest of the Rioja wines, but still well made.

This vintage of the Cune Rioja is a little rounder and fuller than the 2014 – the cherry fruit isn’t quite as tart and the wine isn’t quite as earthy. But there is some baking spice and a hint of orange peel, Rijoa’s calling card. And it will pair with almost anything that isn’t in a cream sauce. As I wrote in my notes: “As it should be. One of the world’s great cheap wine values.” What more do we need these days?

Highly recommended and a candidate for the 2020 $10 Hall of Fame and 2020 Cheap Wine of the Year.

Wine of the week: Cortijo Tinto 2016

cortijo tintoThe Cortijo Tinto is is another reminder that Spain’s Roija produces some of the world’s best red wine — cheap, expensive and everywhere in between

The Wine Curmudgeon has watched in horror this summer as several of Dallas leading retailers stuffed much too old vintages of cheap wine on their shelves. How about a $10 white Bordeaux from 2011?. They’re playing off the consumer perception that old wine is better wine; in fact. most old cheap wine is vinegar. Unless, of course, it’s something like the Cortijo Tinto.

The Cortijo Tinto ($10, sample, 13.5%) is a Spanish red made with tempranillo from the Rioja, which produces some of the world’s best red wine, cheap, expensive and everywhere in between. The Cortijo is no exception – that it can provide so much interest and character, despite the vintage, speaks to the quality of Rioja, the producer, and the importer.

Look for lots of dark fruit (blackberries?), but where the fruit doesn’t overwhelm what Rioja wines are supposed to be like. That means a bit of floral aroma, some spice, a bit of smokiness on the finish, and just enough in the way of tannins to hold everything together.

This is one of my favorite wines to keep around the house, so I know I’ll have something worth drinking when I feel like a glass of red wine. It’s fine on its own (you can even chill it a touch), and it pairs with almost everything except delicate fish.

Imported by Ole Imports

Wine of the week: CVNE Rioja Cune Crianza 2014

cune crianzaCVNE’s Cune Crianza is a red Spanish wine that delivers tremendous value and quality

Spanish wine still offers some of the best value in the world. And, whenever the Wine Curmudgeon despairs about the future of cheap wine, I drink something Spanish like CVNE’s Cune Crianza and feel better.

The Cune Crianza ($13, purchased, 13.5%) is everything an inexpensive Spanish Rioja (a red wine made with tempranillo from the Rioja region in northern Spain) should be. It’s varietally correct, with that faint orange peel aroma, not quite ripe cherry fruit, and a bit of earth and a touch of minerality. The touch of oak offers a little vanilla, but it’s in the background and doesn’t take over the wine. In this, there is a tremendous amount of structure for a crianza – the least expensive class of Rioja, and one that sees little of the oak aging that helps to provide structure.

And yes, it’s worth the extra two or three dollars – especially when you consider the alternative is something likes this.

Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2019 $10 Hall of Fame and the $2019 Cheap Wine of the Year. The past year has not been kind to cheap wine, but the CVNE Cune Crianaza is a reminder about what is possible.

Imported by Europvin