I'm going to our wine group's annual "nibbles" evening tomorrow and need to take a bottle and a plate of nibbles, that match.

Has anyone had any remarkable food/wine matches recently. I would do sherry but two of the members aren't keen, so it seems cruel to inflict Apostoles with chinese crispy chilli beef - one of the best matches known to man - on them.

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mel

Spose that "Natch" with cheese & onion crisps is out of the question..

that sounds extremely interesting. Take it the sweetness if the Apostoles and even slight thickness helps work with the chilli.

I Like the sound of that. Shame your gang aren't broadminded/adventurous enough to be willing to give it a go...

Afraid to say I can't really offer any matches made in heaven worth reporting. If I can think of something I'll come back.

but personally I think you should go for yor original shout with the beauty of it being you convince the Gooses (or would it be geese ?:D) of this world that there is more to sherry than harveys Bristol cream.
Its a shame you hhad to tell them andd gave theem the choice to decline it. Should be about accepting another person's revelation. I'd be willing to give anything a go (with in reason) if someone was enthusiatic about it

am hoping that Sainsburys have Apostoles and the PX Noe instore tonight as I'm going to be doing a reccy of local stores while the 25% offer is running.

No cooking or prep required. If not pushing the boat out - Do you have an affordable ripe '02 or '03 Beaune (03 better) that you could wheel out. Sweet B with light cheese pastries and light peppery herbs breads - Lush

How many do you have to Serve ? If loads, it is a no go er.

A copy email picked from the outbox this autumn:

This Gevrey (1999 Lachaux) has a very lovely flavour that can, and IMHO should be sipped as an aperitif with Waitrose cheese straws and mini Berttolli biscuit breads with very mild herb flavours also bought at Waitrose. We consumed the bottle before dinner, with old friends, one of whom, whose favourite burgundy is GC - So I was very pleased.

The nose is a perfumed black cherry, musk and sweet wild woodland mushroom - vey little farmyard at this stage.

The flavour is ripe black cherry, super ripe and juicy dark raspberries and sweet woodland mushroom, (same as the nose), what little oak there was, is so well integrated that it is only there for support. This is not an overly complex wine, the fruit is sweet and succulent pinot noir. Completely opposite to 'what is labelled as' ordinary Cotes de Nuits, which is over dry, dusty and pretty dull these days.

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Duncan

I'd love to try that - what's the matter with them ????


1) OK - super ripe '03 Auxey rouge with twice baked mini soufle's (gouda) and sprinkle of rocket - It's all work and expensive.

2) M. Fume blanc, rye bread, smoked salmon, own creme fresh dip with fresh lemon verbena or similar fresh flavour.

3) Take away Prawn Madras (not too madras), plain Nan to wipe it up, marks's demi sec shampoo on offer

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Duncan

Thank you

I may take advice and say, this (apostoles) is delicious wine and you're a nutter if you don't like it.

That should work

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mel

Yep

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Duncan

here here !

While I'm bored I'm starting to plan xmas dinner wine.

for a possible smoked salmon starter is champagne the best match ?
Fizz of some sort will be opened for the missus and my mother so might be the way to go....
...however, I'm almost tempted to do the reverse and find a starter to match wine - am looking for an excuse to open a Cloudy bay Te Koko (tho not sure this would work well with smoked salmon)

I'm never sure about fizz and ss. I like an oaked chard with smoked fish. I'd do the Te Koko by itself because I'd so enjoy the taste. I think the acidity might do something nasty with the ss.

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mel

I'm totally with Mel, oaked softer & fuller and older Californian SB ok, or oaked Char is best with smoked Salmon.

Te Koko - I'd drink that naked as well At the price, very little would be allowed to get in the way. I would be sharing with folks anyway. A full glass each to savour, after that, it's some in the style of Didier Dag and bank overdrafts.

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Duncan

Interesting. Thanks for that folks.

Read such different view on SS matches (Chard & Kabinet Riesling pop up a good few times).

Personally I like oaked chard with SS too but the 2 ladies aren't such fans, with fizz being their poison of choice followed by whites a little more fresh and zippy than oaked chard (otherwise I would have gone for a 2003 Meursault that I have that probably is better to be consumed within the next year or so)
What's important I guess is providing wine people like more so than to match with their food (with the execcption off your tasting night Mel where I say go for the Apostoles )

Was hoping the Te Koko would be a happy medium with the oak giving a smooth creaminess but the SB being fresh enough to appeal to their palates. As you say tho, it may not go so well with the SS

Have to hold out for another occasion I guess.....

Having trouble removing the idea of Duncan drinking Te Koko naked, but have new problem to deal with.

OK, so I'm serving Apostoles, with some kind of chinese chilli beef with sweet sticky sauce. How the heck am I going to get it into their mouths?

All other nibbles will be bite sized and pick up-able. Amelia (at home with virus) says put it in those little ready made pastry cups, but that seems all wrong. I have several chinese cookery books, perhaps one will have a suggestion. Actually, I also have a gross of chinese small pancakes. Perhaps I could make the chilli beef and wrap it up.

Problem solved, unless anyone can come up with a better idea.

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mel

You could try deep frying in a light beer batter

was gonna say serve it in the pancakes

Other alternative is to serve it up on chinese soup spoons

Are you making it yourself or buying preprepared ?
If you're adventuous you could make/buy spring roll wrappers and then quickly deep fry them even further

Deep frying is appealing because they're then sealed and easily managed. However, wrapped in a small white floppy pancake will be fine, I think. There are about 14 of us and I only have about 8 chinese spoons. I could borrow, but not sure. Be nice to use up the pancakes as they've been there a while.

If I were to deep fry, would I use the same little white pancakes, or do I need special frying pancakes? Could do with some practice. Pity it's tomorrow.

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mel