A Gravelly Bordeaux for #FrenchWinophiles

I had never heard of Graves nor Entre Deux Mer wines when it was announced that these were the wines we were showcasing this month in our French Winophiles group.  It turns out that both of these wines are districts in the Bordeaux area of France.  Now, Bordeaux is a wine with which I am familiar.

Normally, when I think of Bordeaux, I think of a rich dark red that I love to have with a nice juicy steak.  This was what I had in mind when I headed to the City to buy my wine.  When I arrived at Cost Plus Wine Warehouse, I spoke with the owner and found that he carried one Graves and no Entre Deux Mer.  That made my decision very easy.  The Graves that he carried was a white.  There went my juicy steak!!

Graves, literally means, gravel soil.  This wine is named after the soil in which the grapes are grown. It is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc is a wine with which I am familiar and often enjoy.

When I think of Sauvignon Blanc, I think of hot summer days on the deck with a seafood salad.  I knew I wanted to serve this wine with seafood and, as luck would have it, we were celebrating Stuffed Fish and Seafood in this month's Fish Friday Foodies.  I decided to serve this wine to our friends, Kim and Kurt, when they joined us for dinner where I served up a Crab Stuffed Flounder.

I shared the recipe for Crab Stuffed Flounder with you yesterday but if you missed it you can link to it here.  The wine that I was able to get is from Chateau des Perligues.  Fortunately, this winery is known for "producing classic Graves of extraordinary quality, at very reasonable prices", according to Vision Wine.

This 2013 Graves was very affordable at $14 and was bright and crisp like a Sauvignon Blanc but the blend of the Semilllon was apparent.  It paired very nicely with the Crab Stuffed Flounder.  It poured a pale yellow and was clean and grassy on the nose.  Flounder is also a light fish which makes it perfect for stuffing.  The stuffing was a little bit heavier which made it a wonderful match with this wine.

I enjoy, so much, being a member of the French Winophiles. Prior to joining this group I was not familiar at  all with French wines sticking mostly with California wines with an occasional foray to Washington, Australia and Chile.  The more French wines I try the more I like them. I think that this will not be the last Graves I enjoy.

Each month, the French Winophiles gather on their blogs and on twitter, illustrating the best in French food, wine and travel. We are finishing up our visit to Bordeaux, and we invite you to join the following writers and bloggers:

French Winophiles Tackle Graves

Illustrating the best in food, wine and travel from these spots are the following writers and bloggers: 

• Jeff from Food Wine Click! gives us a Quick Weeknight Meal: Cod Packets with Graves
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm offers A Gravelly Bordeaux 
• Michelle from Rockin’ Red Blog is Diving Into Bordeaux Wine with Winophiles: Graves
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is having Pizza Night with a Lalande de Pomerol 2011 
• Jill at L’occasion we are celebrating Harvest in Bordeaux

Join us Saturday, September 17th at 10:00 am central for a live twitter chat using #Winophiles and share your favorite food, wine and travel experiences featuring Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers.

 

Join us for our upcoming tours:

October 15th – Jura

November 19th – Cahor and Beaujolis