I received samples from Elixir wines in celebration of Tannat Day and Uruguay Wine Week. All writings, opinions and thoughts are strictly my own. I received no monetary compensation for this post.
I was excited when my friend Jeff of Food Wine Click invited me to join him in celebrating Tannat Day. Jeff had arranged for some of us to get samples from Uruguay wine. We all met up earlier this evening for twitter chat where we shared our thoughts.
I had hoped to write this post and have it up this morning as a prelude to that chat but life's best laid plans and all that. My wine didn't arrive until late last night so I opened it at about 4 pm today to allow it to breathe. Then I sipped and munched on some sunchoke chips during chat while my steaks were on the smoker. I'm going to be sharing the Sunchoke Chip recipe with you on Sunday so stay tuned for that.
Right now though let's talk about Tannat Wine. Tannat is the most widely grown grape in Uruguay, first planted by Basque native, Pascual Harriague, in 1870. April 14th is the anniversary of Harriague's death and Tannat day was created in his honor.
This bottle of 2017 Bouza Tannat B6 is aged in oak barrels for 16 months. Bodega Bouza, owned by Juan and Elisa Bouza was established in only 2000 when they restored a historic winery in the outskirts of Montevideo. Bouza was named as one of the Worlds 26 Best Vineyards and you can learn much more about it in this article. I found it very interesting. I also now yearn to go and visit this impressive winery in person. Bodega Bouza sounds so lovely and I would love to go to their restaurant and do a pairing of their amazing wines.
I found the Tannat B6 to be very smooth and silky. Dry but fruity with just a hint of chalk. I had flavored my sunchoke chips with rosemary and it was a perfect herb to match with this bottle.
When researching Tannat wine one of the most suggested pairings was grilled or smoked meats. So I went into the freezer and pulled out a T-Bone steaks to thaw.The Teen was working so it was just Frank and I for dinner. I seasoned the steak liberally, as this wine loves spice. Then I left Frank in charge of dinner while I joined in the #TannatDay chat.
During chat Frank first smoked and then seared the steaks. He fried some potatoes and steamed some green beans. We sat down to dinner. The dinner was wonderful and the pairing was simply amazing.
I had previously had a tannat wine from Texas that I paired with a Taco Seasoned Pork Tenderloin and had enjoyed that. This was my first introduction to tannat from Uruguay....I will be visiting this varietal and Uruguayan wines again and again after this wonderful experience.
Yield: 2
Smoked T-Bone Steak
T-Bone Steak, well seasoned and smoked over low heat before being seared to a perfect medium rare.
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 40 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 45 M
Ingredients
- 2 T-Bone Steaks
- Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste
Instructions
- Season the steaks with the Montreal seasoning and let rest at room temperature while the smoker preheats to a temperature of 225*.
- When the smoker is ready, place the steaks onto the grill and smoke for about a half an hour, until the internal temperature of the steak reaches 115*.
- Remove steaks from the smoker and increase heat to high. When the smoker/grill reaches 500* return the steaks and sear for about 3 minutes per side, until internal temperature reaches 135*.
- Remove from the grill and top with a pat of butter. Allow the steaks to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes:
Adapted from a recipe created for Traeger Grills.
Calories
248.86Fat (grams)
17.39Sat. Fat (grams)
7.12Carbs (grams)
0.59Fiber (grams)
0.17Net carbs
0.41Sugar (grams)
0.03Protein (grams)
21.07Sodium (milligrams)
294.65Cholesterol (grams)
70.55
Yum, looks fabulous.
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