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 Roast Duck - Roasted Asparagus -  Wine Choice

ROAST DUCK WITH CRANBERRY GLAZE

4-6 lb duck                           Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon

8 oz. can cranberry sauce      5-6 slices of bacon

¼ cup brown sugar               1 tbsp. rum                                               

Salt and pepper the duck inside and out.  Duck should be roasted in a 350 degree oven for 2-2 ½ hours. Thirty minutes before it’s completely done, combine all ingredients, except bacon, in a pan and simmer until smooth. Spoon glaze over the duck and place strips of bacon on the duck. Return to oven for another 30 minutes.

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

3 lbs. of asparagus                    5 tbsp. olive oil

4 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Lay asparagus in a single layer in a roasting pan and brush thoroughly with the olive oil. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, turning the asparagus once. Place on a serving dish and sprinkle with pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

WINE CHOICE

I thought I finally had an easy one.  Roast duck is a food I like, and there are definite wines I like with it.  Then I noticed the asparagus.

Asparagus is a vegetable I just do not like.  I could not remember ever having a wine that tasted quite right with it, but I figured that might be my prejudice speaking.  Besides, I do not eat asparagus often and choose something else whenever I can, so maybe I just was not giving it a chance.

So I went to the books and the Internet to look for a wine match for asparagus -- and discovered I was not alone.  Asparagus, it turned out, can be a very difficult match for wines.  I looked at this idea and I looked at that idea.  None caught fire for me, so I sat back to think.

After a while, an idea drifted up to me: Sauvignon Blanc, one of the most food-friendly whites in my opinion.  As with many dishes, the flavors in the sauce and the dish are likely to overwhelm any complexity or depth in the wine.  What is needed, in my opinion, is a counterpoint, something to cut through to and liven up the palate a bit.

So I looked down under the stairs.  I was hoping there might be a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc down there, because the New Zealanders seem to make theirs different and brighter than everyone else.  No such luck.  I rooted about a bit more, and found a Carmenet Sauvignon Blanc California Cellar Selection 2002 as well as a Chateau Ste. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc Columbia Valley 2001.  Both nice wines at very drinkable prices.  Either would do, but I picked the Carmenet.

Roast Duck - Roasted Asparagus -  Wine Choice

 Last modified: August 07, 2007