Nothing’s better this time of year than a nice cool glass of your favorite white wine to take an edge off of the summer heat. The only thing that might make it better is some delicious food to go with it. Summer is a great season to get creative with seafood dishes, and one of my all time favorites is Garlic Shrimp. Pair that with Miner’s 2012 Napa Valley Chardonnay and you have a great pairing that can be repeated all Summer long.
Winemakers, Gary Brookman & Stacy Vogel, perfected this Chardonnay by using a combination of cooler microclimate vineyard sites to source our fruit from for better quality grapes. The cooler climate surrounding these vineyards, (Hudson, Hyde & Genny’s to name a few), enhanced the grapes acidity and intensified the citrus qualities that shows through in the final product. Once the alcoholic fermentation is complete, our team takes half of the juice and puts it through a process called Malolactic fermentation. This takes the sharp malic acid that gives the perception of tartness, and turns it into the smoother lactic acid, the same acid that you find in dairy products. After this process we age 30% of the wine in stainless steel, which helps to accentuate the brightness in the wine, while the rest goes into partially new French oak barrels for 10 months. The use of oak in this wine will help to not only bring out a toasted aroma in this Chardonnay, but also help to cut through the oiliness in the Garlic Shrimp recipe. While Miner makes 5 different Chardonnays, this one is best suited for this dish due to its lack of oak aging. Too much oak will overpower the delicacy of the shrimp.
Summer is one of the best seasons to incorporate fresh and bright ingredients into your food. You can pick up some fresh shrimp from your local market, along with a few other ingredients and be on your way home to make this quick and easy meal. The lemon in this dish brings great brightness, acidity and flavor to the shrimp, while the parsley gives it a hint of freshness. The acidity from the lemon will also help to increase the perception of body and fruitiness in the Chardonnay, specifically bringing out the lemon zest and green apple flavors. This dish is simple and will have you out of the kitchen in less than 20 minutes, giving you more time to enjoy your chilled glass of Napa Valley Chardonnay.
Cheers!
Alex Dickens, Marketing & Hospitality Manager
Recipe (Serves 4):
Ingredients:
• 8 Tbs. grape seed oil
• 2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled
• 8 cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 Tbs. parsley, chopped
Directions:
Add oil to a medium skillet on medium heat. Add in garlic and sauté slowly. Just as the garlic starts to brown add in the white wine, lemon juice, pepper and paprika. Stir ingredients in the skillet and continue to cook on medium to low for about 3 minutes until a sauce has formed. Add shrimp carefully to the skillet. Bring temperature up to medium. Cook for 3 minutes and flip the shrimp in the pan. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until shrimp is pink. Quickly remove shrimp from heat to keep from overcooking. Take the cooked shrimp out of the pan and serve on your favorite pasta (linguine is great). For extra flavor, drizzle the remaining garlic sauce from the pan over the shrimp and pasta. Sprinkle with parsley.