Food and Wine of Patagonia and the Weekly Menu #WorldWineTravel

The World Wine Travel group has headed to South America this year to explore the wines, foods and cultures of this vast region.  

Cam of Culinary Cam is hosting this month and invited us to join her in exploring Argentina saying:

For February's #WorldWineTravel event, let's focus on Beyond Malbec from Mendoza. That can mean (1) a Malbec from elsewhere in Argentina or (2) a different variety from Mendoza.

I love Malbecs so I went on a search for one made outside of Mendoza locating a bottle made by Catena Family Wines in Patagonia.

I found this bottle at Total Wine for $30 dollars.  It had a 5 star rating and the following review from James Suckling, considered one of the world's most influential wine critics....

Very polished, very fine and together, offering purple fruit with some bark, on a medium body with refined tannins that are creamy and exceptional. Beautiful finish. Such fine texture..."

I decided to pick it up and see what I thought, even though I normally try to stay under $20 on wine for Frank and I to enjoy unless it is a special occasion or we are entertaining.

We were not entertaining on the night I opened this wine.  In fact, it was a very casual family dinner of Patagonia-Style Lamb Empanadas from a recipe that I came across while visiting Patagonia virtually.

I was excited when I found this recipe because I just happen to have an Empanada event that I am attending, also hosted by Cam, coming up soon.  Stay tuned for this scrumptious recipe and if, by chance, you happen to find a bottle of Pasarisa Malbec, grab it up and save it to pair with these Lamb Empanadas when you make them.  You will be happy you did!!

I do believe the adage "what grows together goes together" so I often look for recipes from the wine region in which I am exploring for the pairing.  I find that this is normally a safe bet and that I am pleased with my choices.  That was certainly the case with this pairing.  The gaminess of the lamb was matched by the spicy dark fruitiness of the wine making this casual dinner feel very special.

Cam is hosting a Google Meet tomorrow, February 25th, at 11 AM ET.  You can learn how to join in the chat with us by going to Cam's Preview Post.  Here are some of the topics we will be discussing......

• Bleu Cheese Sliders + 2019 Pasarina Malbec from Patagonia by Culinary Cam
• East of the Andes in Mendoza: Zuccardi’s High Elevation, High-End Chardonnay + some bonus bubbles by Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley
• Food and Wine of Patagonia by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• More than Malbec, more than Organic - Argentina’s Domaine Bousquet by Crushed Grape Chronicles
• Stuffed Chilean Peppers with a Patagonian Malbec by Our Good Life

It looks like I'm not the only one to find this wonderful wine.  I'm anxious to hear their thoughts on it.  Please plan on joining us.

I should be able to squeeze an hour in for this chat.  The Angel Face will be here and Frank has a CPL class scheduled for Sunday that I need to prep for but I'm sure that they can entertain each other for a while before we head out to celebrate my nephew Ryan's housewarming party.  I am very proud of this young man who has already managed to buy his own home before he has even reached a quarter of a century in age.

Frank and I are heading out on a road trip Wednesday.  We will stop to see our friends, the Sawyers, in Pennsylvania for a couple of days before heading to our son, Chuck's in Virginia for a few days.  On the

 way home we are stopping by our friends, the Bendas, whom we haven't seen since their move from Michigan a couple of years ago.

So it is a small Weekly Menu that I am sharing this week.  Enjoy......

Saturday

Ryan's Housewarming 

Sunday-CPL Class

Breakfast

Pineapple Rice Krispie Muffins

Citrus and Mint Salad

Coffee/Tea/Water

Lunch

Sloppy Joes

Chips

Veggies and Hummus

Chocolate Cake

Dinner

Hummus with Shwarma

Pitas

Monday

Cobb Salad

Croutons

Taco Tuesday

Tamales by Casey

Wednesday-Road Trip- See you in a week.