Pistachio-Armagnac Sabayon with Strawberries and Meringues #Winophiles

Here we are at the July 2017 event for The French Winophiles, a wine-swilling, food-loving group started by Christy of Confessions of a Culinary Diva and, now, jointly coordinated by Jill of L'occasion and Jeff of Food Wine Click. This month, Jeff has us heading, virtually, to Southwest France. Here's Jeff's invitation: here.

If you are reading this early enough, we'll be chatting on Saturday, July 15th at 11am EDT. Join us on Twitter using the hashtag #Winophiles. Or come check out the stream later and try to join us next month.

To the Southwest of France...

We're referring to the region that's inland and south from the Bordeaux and Saint Emilion regions, Marcillac is a small area, but the area vineyards of Cahors, Gaillac and Bergerac are extensive and best known for their reds. The Cahors area produces some of the richest and darkest red wines in France, primarily using the Malbec grape variety, sometimes referred to as "black wine." Had I been able to track some down in time, I definitely would have tried it. But, as it is, I'm still looking!

The Rest of the Crew...

Take a look at all the discoveries made by our Winophiles group!

• Jill at L’occasion shares “Périgord Wines: Bergerac and Duras”
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Southern France at a Midwest BBQ”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Pistachio-Armagnac Sabayon with Strawberries and Meringues”
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog shares “#Winophiles Showdown: Madiran vs Applegate Valley”
• Rob from Odd Bacchus shares “Bergerac: Underappreciated Wines & Controversial Cuisine”
• Martin from Enofylz shares “Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng and Arrufiac? Oh My!”
• Olivier from In Taste Buds We Trust shares “If it makes you happy…”
• Nicole from Somm’s Table shares “Cooking to the Wine: Paul Bertrand Crocus Malbec de Cahors with Lavender-Herb Ribeye and Grilled Veggies“
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest shares “Basque-ing in the Sud-Ouest: Wines of Irouléguy“
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares “Toast #TDF2017 with Wines from the Côtes de Gascogne“
• Gwen from Wine Predator shares “Finding and Pairing Southwest France Wine Cheese & Spirits for French #Winophiles”
• Mardi from Eat.Live.Travel.Write. shares two posts (!) “Clafoutis, Southwest France style” and “Armagnac: A Primer”
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! shares “Exploring Madiran with Vignobles Brumont”

In the Glass

While researching the area's wines, I opted to go with Armagnac, a distinctive brandy that's distilled from wine and produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, in southwest France.

In the 14th century, clergymen claimed it had therapeutic benefits: "It makes disappear redness and burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers, and fistula by ingestion; restores the paralysed member by massage; and heals wounds of the skin by application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and retards senility. And when retained in the mouth, it loosens the tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself permits."

Those would all be nice effects of drinking Armagnac. I can't vouch for any of them, but I will say that it was a pleasant sip and added that je ne sais quoi allure to my dish. In the glass, it was a shimmering amber. On the nose, I detected some muted floral notes - think lemon blossom - and honey. And on the palate, it was mildly spicy, but rounded, with a strong taste of licorice.

In the Bowl

I decided to carry the alcohol flavor over to the dish as well and made Pistachio-Armagnac Sabayon with Strawberries and Meringues. This is adapted from A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson. Actually, since the only thing changed was swapping the Marsala for Armagnac, I'll just send you to her recipe. Enjoy!