Perfect Pairings with FireClay Cellars

I am very excited to announce a new collaboration with a local winery for whom my admiration and gratitude are well documented - FireClay Cellars, Siler City https://fireclaycellars.com/. Just in case you are new to my blogposts (Welcome!) FireClay Cellars was the first vineyard/winery to allow me to promote them when Merlot2muscadine was born in 2019.

FireClay Cellars has extended me the opportunity to contribute to their newsletter and recommend food pairings that complement their wines; I will even provide recipes as you see at the end of this blogpost.

In Perfect Pairings I will share with you my recommendations for foods that complement FireClay wines and I encourage you to share with me dishes that you have paired with these wines as well.

This month’s wine is Traminette, an amazingly versatile wine whose versatility can be attributed to its famous parents Gewürztraminer and Joannes Seyve. This early ripening hybrid grape may be vinified sweet, dry, or off dry, with the FireClay version being dry with floral notes, and a bouquet of honey, lychee & passion fruit.

This wine pairs extremely well with just about any light summer salad. To take advantage of the freshness of the vegetables currently in season, try my In Season Summer Salad. You will find the recipe below.

For an interesting cheese accompaniment try Gruyere, Manchego, or Cheddar. This wine also pairs well with pasta in cream sauces like Fettuccine Alfredo or Carbonara.

FireClay Traminette would also pair very well with seafood, especially my Honey Glazed Salmon recipe which combines the bright acidity of the Traminette with the richness of the salmon and the sweetness of the honey. If you are feeling adventurous, try this recipe on a cedar plank, easily found at local stores. Make sure you adequately soak the plank in water for 4-6 hours BEFORE grilling.

See you soon when we will once again discuss FireClay wine and Perfect Pairings!

Here are this month's recipes:

In Season Summer Salad:

4 ears of fresh corn (or 2 cans) ½ cup chopped red pepper

½ cup chopped green pepper ½ cup chopped red onion

2 Large tomatoes, seeded and chopped ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chopped garlic ¼ cup minced parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice ½ cup Italian dressing

Cook the shucked, washed corn in boiling water or microwave until tender, drain and cool. In a large bowl combine Italian dressing, lemon juice, parsley, salt, basil, and cayenne pepper. Cut the cooled corn off the cob, it should yield about 2 cups, feel free to use canned corn if you choose (but it is not as good as corn in season), add the Italian dressing mixture to the corn, tomato, onion, peppers. Mix well, cover and chill for at least one hour, the flavors will continue to develop as it marinates, makes 4-6 servings.

Honey Glazed Salmon

(4) 6-oz. salmon fillets, patted dry with a paper towel

1/3 c. honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided Freshly ground black pepper

Kosher salt

3 teaspoons chopped or minced garlic

In a bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat two tablespoons of oil. Cook salmon skin-side up and season with salt and pepper. Cook salmon until deeply golden, about 6 minutes, then flip over and add remaining tablespoon of oil.

Add garlic to the pan and cook for about a minute. Add the honey mixture and simmer the sauce until thickened, baste salmon with the sauce for a few minutes and serve.