Chicken Salad, Calamarata Pasta, and the 2020 Craggy Range "Te Muna Road" Sauvignon Blanc #WorldWineTravel

This month the #WorldWineTravel group is sharing articles about the wines from Martinborough, New Zealand. Fittingly, our very own Martin - of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog - is hosting. You can read his invitation here.

If you are reading this early enough, feel free to jump in on our live chat Saturday, September 24th at 8am Pacific. Follow the hashtag #WorldWineTravel and be sure to add that to anything you tweet so we can see it.

Here's the line-up of posts from the group about Martinborough...

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla will be serving up Chicken Salad, Calamarata Pasta, and the 2020 Craggy Range “Te Muna Road” Sauvignon Blanc.
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm is Saying Farewell to Summer with a Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc.
• Terri of Our Good Life is sharing Garlic Parmesan BakedEggplant with an Astrolabe Province Sauvignon Blanc.
• Our host, Martin, at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog will be pairing Ata Rangi PinotNoir Crimson + Smoked Portobello Mushroom Burger.

 2020 Craggy Range "Te Muna Road" Sauvignon Blanc 

Martinborough is located at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. Craggy Range calls the Gimblett Gravels winegrowing district home but brings in fruit from a different estate vineyards. This wine sources its grapes from the Te Muna Road Vineyard about a handful of miles outside of Martinborough. The stony soils dotted with limestone are an ideal environment for Sauvignon Blanc

This wine is aromatic and complex with aromas of bitter grapefruit, tropical pineapple and passionfruit, and woody lemongrass. On the palate, this sleek, juicy wine makes an impression with layers of fresh herbs, ginger, and a salinity of smoked sea salt. It's delicious! 

Calamarata Pasta and Chicken Salad

 

Because I poured this early in our empty-nest adjustment, I still wasn't really inspired to cook. I have since begun to embrace cooking for just the two of us. But that first week, all of our meals needed to be quick and easy...and were washed down with a lot of wine!

On the first night, I paired this alluring wine with a simple pasta - calamarata pasta tossed with jarred octopus and parmesan cheese - and, on the second night, a chicken salad made with leftover roasted chicken.

Ingredients serves 4

• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded 
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup diced pickles (I used homemade pickles)
• 1/3 cup diced hard-boiled eggs
• 1 to 2 teaspoons mustard, depending on preference (start with 1 teaspoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• freshly ground salt, as needed
• freshly ground pepper, as needed
• Also needed: bread, lightly toasted (I used a homemade brioche) or crackers for serving

Procedure

Pull the meat from the chicken. I ended up with about 2 cups. Roughly chop the meat and place it in a medium mixing bowl.

Combine all ingredients together and stir with a fork until well-combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with lightly toasted bread or crackers.

Well, that's a wrap on my #WorldWineTravel post for Martinborough. The group will be back next month with pairings from the New Zealand's North Island other than Martinborough. Linda of My Full Wine Glass hosts. Stay tuned!