Sweet Potato Risotto + Murrieta's Well 2018 Dry Orange Muscat #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with a virtual wine tasting event hosted by 

Snooth for Murrieta's Well Winery. Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.

Last summer I participated in a virtual tasting with wines from Murrieta's Well*. You can read about that here. So, when my contact at Snooth asked if I wanted to participate this round, I was quick to reply 'yes'. This week, I'll log in and chat with wine enthusiasts around the country about a set of four wines from Murrieta's. Can't wait!

Sweet Potato Risotto

inspired by the Butternut Squash Risotto by Murrieta's Well

Ahead of the event, I decided to try a riff on one of the recipes they sent with the wines. It's not quite butternut squash season here, so I made a sweet potato risotto instead.

Ingredients

• 2 C cubed sweet potato, peeled
• 1 C white onion, peeled and cubed
• 2 T butter
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T minced garlic
• 2 C arborio rice
• 8 to 10 C liquid (I used homemade stock, water, and white wine)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, destemmed + more for garnish
• freshly ground salt, as needed
• freshly ground pepper, as needed
• crumbled cheese for serving (I used queso fresco)

Procedure

Bring liquid to a boil in a sauce pan, then reduce to a simmer.

Melt butter in olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Stir in the onions and sweet potato. Cook until the sweet potato is fork tender and the onions are translucent, approximately 8 to 10 miunutes. Stir in the arborio rice and toast for 5 to 6 minutes. Add in the garlic, then ladle by ladle, add in the stock until it's absorbed. Keep stirring. Repeat until the rice is cooked.

Stir in the fresh thyme leaves. season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, spoon risotto into individual serving bowls. Top with crumbled cheese and a thyme sprig. Serve immediately.

In My Glass

I paired my sweet potato risotto with the 2018 Dry Orange Muscat from Murrieta's Well. A single varietal - 100% Orange Muscat - this wine was just released in May 2019 and retails for $38.

The grapes were grown in the Hayes vineyard of the Livermore Valley. It was cold-fermented in stainless steel tanks, then aged for three months.

This is not what you might expect upon hearing the word 'Muscat', which in my mind is usually sweet and syrupy. This wine, as its name suggests, was fermented to dryness. To the eye, it's a pale straw color with flecks of greenish gold on the edges. On the nose, I got aromas of almond and bergamot. On the palate, it's decidedly dry, with flavors that persist from the aromas plus a nice salinity.

Looking forward to what the panel and other tasters think on Thursday. Stay tuned...

Find the Sponsors

Murrietta's Well on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram

Snooth on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram

*Disclosure: I received sample wines for recipe development, pairing, and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.