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Wine Pairing Help - Dry-Rubbed Cajun Catfish and Sauteed Cremini Mushrooms


funkyfood

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For Valentine's Day this year, we're going to stay in and make a Blue Apron.  It's blackened catfish with a peppery cajun spice blend, dirty rice, collards and sauteed cremini mushrooms.  We're looking to buy a nice ($50-100) bottle of wine to enjoy with it.  I know next to nothing about wine and was hoping for some good recommendations (and where I can find them).  Blue Apron suggested a Pinot Noir, but I have no idea how reliable their advice is.  Thanks in advance.

 

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You need acid and fruit, but be delicate. Stay away from Northern California at the moment. Think Burgundy like a Mercurey and maybe a touch up a Nuits-St-Georges. You could look towards California but head south towards Sta. Rita Hills or Santa Maria Valley. Or you could go towards Alsace for some beautiful whites. Just my two cents, but what do I know, I have to pair wines with Chicken Fingers and French Fries, along with Cobb Salads.

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Man, I wish I could have just one whiff of this dish - it depends on the composition of the spice, and also what the mushrooms are sauteed in. If it's strong on black pepper and the mushrooms are sauteed in red wine, I'd go with a St. Joseph or something Grenache-based (you want something to compliment the black pepper, but also something that contains red fruits (as opposed to dark plums)); if it's more like an Old Bay rub and the mushrooms are sauteed in white wine or something not red, I would have the exact wine I had two nights ago: a 1997 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant - you won't find a better match. As to how you'd find the wine, you simply drive by and I'll hand you a bottle.

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Thanks for the insights as always.  And Don, considering all you do for the site, I could never accept the bottle, though I very much appreciate the offer.  I'd be happy to pay you for it though.

The spice mix is below.

Cajun Spice Blend (Smoked Paprika, Ground Yellow Mustard, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Dried Ground Oregano, Dried Thyme & Cayenne Pepper)

Mushrooms are sauteed in butter

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21 minutes ago, funkyfood said:

Thanks for the insights as always.  And Don, considering all you do for the site, I could never accept the bottle, though I very much appreciate the offer.  I'd be happy to pay you for it though.

The spice mix is below.

Cajun Spice Blend (Smoked Paprika, Ground Yellow Mustard, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Dried Ground Oregano, Dried Thyme & Cayenne Pepper)

Mushrooms are sauteed in butter

I'd drink a white with this. You can have it for what I paid for it - make *sure* you like Chenin Blanc, because not everyone does.

I bought some of this wine because it's my son's birth year, and there aren't many non-Port wines that succeeded in 1997. Ironically, he was born on Valentine's Day.

BTW, Josh isn't at all wrong with Alsace - a Tokay Pinot Gris (if it's a delicate rub), or even a Gewurztraminer (if it's an assertive rub) would work very well with this dish. And if it's somewhere in the middle, Riesling would hit a bulls-eye.

If this was sauteed in red wine and had more black pepper, I also like his idea of Mercurey.

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