Much to crow over as chicken, white wine pairing go down well
[caption id="attachment_39682" align="alignright" width="405"] TOP MAN : Paul Bain served a veritable feast at a wine, food event[/caption]
CHICKEN and white wine, right?
Traditionally that's been touted as the rule. But rules are meant to be broken, and when done properly, they can have surprisingly delightful results. And so it was, earlier this week, when wine estate La Motte teamed up with the Kipling's Brasserie at The Boardwalk for a food and wine pairing evening.
With just a touch of mischievous rule-breaking, chef Paul Bain cleverly adapted the traditional coq au vin creating a chicken au vin with potato aligot paired with a La Motte Millenium. Not only was the chicken dish paired with a red wine, the red in question, was bursting with berry flavours and an undertow of oak spice not something you would expect with chicken. Without a doubt, the dish was the winner of the night as was the pairing of the wine and food. I'm not going to say too much about the Springbok shank paired with a divine La Motte Shiraz. Bain himself admitted that the shank was far from falling off the bone – and he was right.
It was tasty, and exceptionally well-seasoned, but cutting it felt a little like it might when one took a hacksaw to a tree. The Shiraz however was perfection with many enthusing that it was the clear front-runner of the four fabulous wines we tasted. My favourite however, was the estate's Chardonnay, something that surprised me as I tend to favour reds over white. This white, however, caught my attention with its rich, fruity flavours. The Chardonnay was paired with grilled seabass, clams and mussels in a smoked seafood broth. The dessert, a green apple bavour with apple jelly, apple fondant and roasted crumble, was paired with La Motte's Sauvignon Blanc.
While both were good, neither were the best of the night with the dessert tasty and the wine fresh, with a nice bright fruity nose.
Lovely, but not knock-your-socks off stuff. - Angela Daniels
