Dirty South Wine

Syrah and the Leprechaun? More 12seconds of Wine

Syrah.  Yeah- it is gonna' git ya!
(original version here on 12seconds.tv)

Bacon Popcorn and High Life Chasers: Trying to Make a 15% Shiraz Work

Woop Woop.  I tried not to hate on this wine before tasting it, but it was hard.  The goofy-ass name, the 15% Alc, and the love to hate relationship I have with bombastic Aussie Shiraz...

I popped the Zork (A unique alternative closure that I kind of like)... and cautiously poured a glass....

2007 Woop Woop Shiraz
(Australia) Syrah Variety.  About $11.  Haunting shelves all over the US.

More garnet than purple-  a revolting nose of burnt cigarettes, a dirty ashtray, alcohol, and artificial fruit syrup.  I can't escape the burnt cigs....  On the palate, full bodied, red licorice, more ciggies, some rock, and a long menacing finish.

I spit the wine, and grabbed a High Life to chase it to try and slaughter the finish...

Not content to accept defeat-  I ran this wine through the "Vitilator" to see if some aeration would help.

Remarkable difference.

The dirty ashtray smell fell back and the wine showed more intense fruit, and some rock.  Still, too big and fruity for me, but just no longer 100% nauseating. 

Again- still determined to make this work, I thought of a quick pairing--  I threw some popcorn in the microwave, and then liberally applied Bacon Salt and black pepper....  The combo worked pretty well.  Smokey flavors pairied well with the big fruit, and even seemed to hide the Alcohol.  I'd be content to have a glass of this and the popcorn while watching reruns of American Gladiators...

Toulouse Notes: Grilled Salmon with Balsamic Beurre Blanc and Shiraz "Riding Dirty" (#dty)

Photos courtesy of Broderick Smylie

 

Toulouse's Pairing:

Wine:  Tintara Shiraz (Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale)

Food:  Grilled Salmon with Balsamic Beurre Blanc

Price: $19.95

I think we all had a few questions when George Tice from Toulouse sent over his pairing for "Riding Dirty" The Dirty South Wine Atlanta Wine Pairing Challenge.  Shiraz, the big, fruity, Syrah from Australia is normally found next to heavy red meats- lamb, beef, and feral duckbill platypus, but salmon????  Knowing George and his passion for wine, I realized that even though uncommon, this dish would work.

Instead of choosing a small plate for his entry, George submitted a half-entree.  A generous portion of grilled Atlantic salmon, pickled cabbage, jasmine rice, and green onion, and a thick, reduced, balsamic beurre blanc.

This came across as almost a mini-meal.  

The salmon was cooked perfectly- medium rare, but still with a crisp crust, and just enough char from the grill.  The Tintara, was a straightforward Aussie Shiraz, but not overblown and stewy.  

Together, they became a caramel-like dose of goodness. The Tintara and the balsamic really matched up well, and in a way, rounded each others edges and gave you caramelized pure fruit, that really created a minutes long finish of flavor.  

Balsamic, Salmon, and pickled cabbage are such strong flavors, that anything less potent than Shiraz would get lost in the dish.

For $19.95, this made me really happy, it wasn't just good pairing, it was killer comfort food.

If you aren't familiar with George Tice, or Toulouse, the YouTube video below provides some of George's insights into the restaurant, cooking, and selecting wines.

If you have never been to Toulouse, the Steve Penley art in the dining room is worth a trip alone

George talks about Toulouse, Wine, and Food

Toulouse Video: "Riding Dirty" The Dirty South Wine Atlanta Wine Pairing Challenge (#dty)

Toulouse Restaurant and their entry into "Riding Dirty"  The Dirty South Wine Atlanta Wine Pairing Challenge.

Right after leaving Dogwood, Rowdy, Smylie and Dirty drove down Peachtree and pulled into Toulouse.  Toulouse is hidden off the street, and is next to Imperial Fez, but must be accessed from behind the building.

Toulouse's entry on paper was a little bit of a shock-  Shiraz, Salmon, and Balsamic Beurre Blanc, but this worked really well.  More than a pairing this was a mini-meal and something I'd love to have on a cold night at their bar.

We'll write an official post on their pairing in a bit, but for now, enjoy the video.

Please- Anything-a but Paringa!

I’ll start by saying that all palates are different- mine, often very different. I love wines that some hate, and am baffled by wines that some love This is one of those wines.

I drink very little still Shiraz and had been skeptical of sparkling Shiraz. The addition of bubbles brought this wine closer in my mind to spiked grape soda. I think adding bubbles to something like a hot-dog sounds more appealing to me. Though I had preconceptions, when one came recommended to me, I figured what the heck-- Lady Dirty and I cooked up some Spice Rubbed Tempeh Tacos and bravely popped this enigmatic sparkler.

2004 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz Individual Selection
(Australia, South Australia) Syrah varietal. Under $10 at many places in the ATL area.
NOTES:
Purple with a persistent magenta foam. Intense aromas of a plate of Moo-Shu pork, covered in hoisin, soy sauce, and then completely hosed down with Welchs Grape Juice. A mildly sparkling palate that can only be described as Dimetapp stirred into Tonic Water. A short chalky finish that wasn’t short enough.
CONCLUSION:
With her first sip, Lady Dirty cursed and then practically spit it out. I grimaced through it and tried to slowly nurse my glass, hoping that I would find something positive about this wine. I found nothing, except deep questions as to why on earth would this wine exist? Without being flawed, we found it borderline repulsive.

Sorority sisters wouldn’t chug this while putting on their pearls before a ball, hobos would sip this and then declare a secret war on Australia, and no self-respecting, long-term, prison inmate would ever contemplate trading this for a brownie.

After dumping this out, I searched online and found a lot of positive feedback for this bottle- “Structured”, “Sparkling Boysenberries”, “Delightful”, “Buy Cases of it”, “90 points!”-- Who are these people? I’d like to meet them and either put them directly in a sleeper hold (“Go to sleep! Go to sleep!”) or to find out what other dark secrets they hold.

This wine was a perfect example of me not just missing something, but of me missing everything.

Lady Dirty and I abandoned our glasses and upgraded to Miller High Life.