Drinking In: Pairing Up That Lobster Mac
Drinking In is a new DCist feature that offers wine pairing suggestions for each Eating In recipe. Look for Drinking In the day after an Eating In is published.
By DCist Food and Wine Contributor Michael Mugmon.
Lobster macaroni and cheese screams out -- well, burbles furiously -– for a buttery New World chardonnay. And not one of those flabby, backyard fence-scented oak bombs that sparked the "Anything But Chardonnay" movement. Rather, DCist recommends a moderately-oaked chardonnay from the American West Coast or Australia that has undergone some malolactic fermentation, also known as "malo." During malo (a development process that the winemaker can control), bacteria transform sharp malic acid (think Granny Smith apples) into softer lactic acid (think Land O'Lakes). Malo also creates diacetyl, a buttery-tasting substance that also imparts textural heft to wine. You're left with a fuller-bodied, more buttery chardonnay that matches perfectly with the richness of the butter-poached lobster and cuts through the creaminess of the melted fontina.
Although DCist suggests that you saunter confidently into your local wine shop armed with this knowledge and willingly select a bottle or two based on the purveyor's recommendations, we thought we'd start you off with three options ranging from the grab-a-bottle-with-impunity to the look-at-your-checking-account-balance-before-you-buy variety.
- Argyle Chardonnay "Willamette Valley" 2003 ($10-$15) – The Oregon Trail pioneers weren't trying to reach Oregon's Willamette Valley for nothing. Argyle's entry-level chardonnay from the cool Willamette smacks of meaty Oregonian pears and -- thanks to malo -- whipped butter. Look for the 2004 edition in October.
- Melville Chardonnay "Estate" 2004 ($22-$28) – As an ex-SBist, DCist swears by this rich chardonnay that hails from the Santa Rita Hills northwest of Santa Barbara. Done with only partial malo, this chardonnay exhibits characteristics of muted butter and citrus fruits. This wine will leave your palate begging for another luscious bite of lobster mac.
- Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay "Art Series" 2001 ($65-$75) – Lobster macaroni and cheese isn't Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (sorry, Cheese and Macaroni), for gosh sake. So, why not splurge? Wine Spectator called this offering "the greatest white wine Australia has ever produced." Maryland-based wine critic Robert Parker was a bit more circumspect, if not dirtier, in remarking that it is "impressively endowed." Whether you're as openly enthusiastic as the Spectator or as repressed as the Parker, you'll pick up scents of grapefruit, lemon and spice. What makes this chardonnay especially excellent is its smooth creaminess, achieved with only minimal malo. You'll want to finish it off even after you've had your fill of lobster mac.
Let us know what you select, what you think of it, where you find it, and what information is helpful in making your selections.