Skip to main content

Coffee-Infused Wine? One Sip Melted My Skepticism


Last week a friend posted a photo of this bottle of wine. She didn't actually tag me - she tagged someone else - but I was intrigued. So I located a bottle at my local BevMo and commented that she should come over for dinner to try it. Done.

I'll be honest: I was dubious. I like wine, but I like good wine and this seemed a little too gimmicky to me. Why would I need to drink wine infused with cold brew coffee?!? 


Denise joked, "Do we drink it in the morning? Or at night?" We went for late afternoon.

Okay, so you know I love wine. And you probably know I adore coffee. But I had some reservations about mixing the two together. My skepticism, however, was completely washed away the moment I took the first sip.


The aroma from the glass is strongly of coffee, but not a bitter coffee; think of your favorite fruity coffee bean! On the tongue, it's a subdued red wine that verges on sweet, but not Port or dessert wine sweet. Just less tannic than other reds. In any case, my fears of two rights (red wine and cold brew coffee) making a wrong (coffee-infused wine) were completely unwarranted. I think we all enjoyed this.


I served smashed potatoes with bleu cheese, grilled wild board sausage with mustard, and a fusion entree of  harissa-spiced kofta on top of mini pita with chimichurri on top. Yeah, yeah...that all sounds weird, right? But so does coffee-infused wine! And it all worked.


I will be posting recipes for these dishes soon. Stay tuned!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ki Ngombo = Okra

In honor of Mardi Gras, I searched for traditional recipes for gumbo...only to discover that there is no canonical recipe for gumbo. It seems there are as many recipes for gumbo as there are cooks!  The only two constants in a gumbo: variety and okra. The term 'gumbo' likely comes from an African dialect whose word for okra is ki ngombo .  Gumbos can have meat, seafood, just about anything.  In Mark Huntsman's "The History of Gumbo" he refers to written mentions of using muskrat and owl in gumbo recipes.  I embraced the unlimited potential of ingredients and opted for a combination of fish, chicken, pancetta, oysters, mussels, octopus, shrimp, and squid...and lots of okra!

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an...

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.