A versatile red wine for your Easter or Passover enjoyment | Phil Your Glass
The number of wines available to pair with your Easter and Passover festivities is as abundant as the colors in a bag of jellybeans.
Many will work in one way or another; however, Josephine Côtes du Rhône from Famille Arnaud is an extremely versatile choice.
This French wine comes from the village of Laudun. It’s one of about 20 villages permitted to add its name to the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation.
Grenache, a very food-friendly grape, must make up at least 40% of any blend produced in this appellation by law. Syrah and/or mourvedre must account for 25%.
The Arnaud family of winemakers dates back to 1641. Joséphine and Frédéric Arnaud are 10th generation winemakers, and their son Cyril will be the 11th.
For starters, I was a bit more adventurous than normal with my cheese selection and picked up hunks of gruyere and Camembert cheeses from Mustard Seed Market in Montrose. My research, which I found to be spot-on, deemed the two cheeses excellent companions with this wine.
I topped my petits toast with the ooey gooey Camembert and a dabble of raspberry basil jam from Spain that I purchased at a Kroger in Perrysburg. I have a habit of grabbing a couple of those tiny 1.05-ounce jars of jam whenever I'm cheese shopping, no matter the flavor.
This blend of 55% syrah and 45% grenache will the perfect wine for the holy season trifecta of lamb, ham and brisket. I found it to be an excellent wine with a $14 carryout Little Bo Peep lamb burger from Perfect Pour in Akron. The wine's strawberry notes and subtle leathery raspberry finish made this a match made in heaven.
I first fell in love with this bottle when I was sampling wines for the upcoming spring wine tasting at Beau’s on the River. Chef Erik Pierce’s small plate of braised pork shoulder and grits stole my heart.
Josephine is one of the nine wines we selected to be poured at the spring wine tasting from 6-8 p.m. March 22 at Beau's on the River. Cost for the tasting is $80 per person or $150 a couple. For reservations, call Chelsea at 330-920-7539 or email her at cramsey@sheratonakron.com.
This wine can be found at Mustard Seed Market in Montrose, Krieger’s Market in Cuyahoga Falls, Beau’s Market in Copley or Grapes in a Glass in Canton − and, of course, at the spring wine tasting.
Cheers! See you at Beau's.
Reach Phil Masturzo at philyourglass@gmail.com and follow him on Instagram @pmasturzo_philyourglass
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Josephine Cotes du Rhone is a versatile wine for the holy season
