Pairing a School Assignment with a #Winophiles Project: Moqueca + Gautier Vouvray Argilex 2012 #Winophiles

This month Jeff of FoodWineClick! is hosting the French Winophiles as we explore Vouvray. You can read his invitation here. And if you are reading this early enough, feel free to join in on our live Twitter chat. Saturday, December 21st at 8am (Pacific time). Follow the hashtag #Winophiles and be sure to use it if you chime in.

Here's the Vouvray line-up...

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla is Pairing a School Assignment with a #Winophiles Project: Moqueca + Gautier Vouvray Argilex 2012.
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest explains Why I Chose This Vouvray As A Holiday Favorite.
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles offers The Multiple Expressions of Vouvray!
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm pairs Creamy Clam Dip with a Sauvion Vouvray.
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish posts Monmousseau Ammonite Vouvray: Gussying-Up an Ad Hoc Holiday Feast.
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator matches Carême Organic Vouvray and Lunch at Chateau de Pray.
• Nicole at Somm's Table has Champalou Vouvray Brut and a Very Lazy Cheese Night.
• Jane at Always Ravenous writes about Vouvray with an Indian-Inspired Dinner.
• Linda at My Full Wineglass shares Still or Sparkling, Versatile Vouvray Shows Its Style.
• David at Cooking Chat writes about Spicy Lentil Soup with Wine Pairing.
• Liz at What’s in That Bottle? says Va-Va-Va-Vouvray! Get to Know These White Wines from the Loire.
• Payal at Keep the Pea has A Birthday and A Vouvray.
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! declares Vouvray Pairs with Cream.

In the Glass

I was able to track down a few bottles and I will share my pairing of a sparkling Vouvray later. But, for this event, I am sharing my thoughts on the Gautier Vouvray Argilex 2012, a Chenin Blanc from Vouvray. Turns out that Vouvray is an important white wine appellation in the Touraine part of the Loire and runs the gamut from sweet to dry and still to sparkling. It is almost almost a single varietal - Chenin Blanc - but it can contain up to 5% Menu Pineau though that's still fairly uncommon.

Domaine Gautier, in Vouvray, has been in the family for seven generations and dates bak to the 17th century when vines are mentioned in a legal document dated 1669. Benoit Gautier took the helm in 1981.

The grapes for this Argilex are hand-harvested. The wine is labeled as sec which means dry. Other designations might be tendre - off-dry - demi-sec - half-dry - moelleux - very sweet - or liquoreaux - botrytized. This drier version has aromas of winter fruit and chamomile. But it was the hint of saffron that made this an alluring match for a savory soup from Brazil.

In the Bowl

On the night that I wanted to pour this, my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf - D - had a school assignment he needed to complete. He and his friends were making a dish that fused old world ingredients with new world ingredients for their AP World History class project.

The version of moqueca that I know is Brazilian. D says the dish originated in El Salvador; I suspect it has roots and iterations in almost every Central American and South American country. As they cooked, R and D told me that the tomatoes were the only New World ingredient. They explained from where all of the ingredients came. 

You can go to the original recipe post here - Moqueca: A Dish That Fuses Old World and New World Ingredients.

I am always open to teaching kids how to cook or swapping lessons. My friends from Spain taught me how to make paella; I gave them Lumpia Lessons.

And that's a wrap for the 2019 French Winophiles events. We'll be back in January with our

Newcomer’s Guide to French Wine with Jeff of Food Wine Click! leading the discussion. Stay tuned and, in the meantime, Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!