[RECIPE+PAIRING] Touchdown! KC BBQ + 49ers WINE

Photo: Vinnie Biskupic

Kansas City vs. San Francisco. A BBQ mecca vs. the wine capital of America. Don’t know who to pick for tomorrow’s big game? Here’s a Super Bowl pairing we can all cheer for! 

KC-style barbecue is known for its dry-rubbed and smoked meats that are slathered in thick tomato and molasses based barbecue sauces. For a dish with smoke, spice, and savory sweetness we want a wine to match those classic tailgate flavors. Turns out Northern California pumps out some killer barbecue wine with higher tannins to cut through that melt-in-your-mouth fatty meat.

 

KC-Style Spareribs

Created by Vinnie Biskupic

*Pair to Peterson 'Mendo Blendo' 2013 Petite Syrah, Syrah, Carignane, Grenache| Sonoma, California

*Check out our other Football wine recommendations in the "What Your Tailgate Life is Missing Shop Page

 

Ingredients

Three Slabs of Spare Ribs

Kansas City Dry Rub:

  • 3 cups brown sugar 
  • 3/4 cup dried mustard 
  • 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder 
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoon smoked paprika 

Pét-Nat Wine, Demystified

Photo: Leslee Miller

Have you heard about Pét-Nat? This cute little word seems straight from the mouths of millenials, doesn’t it? Pét-nat, or pétillant naturel, is the French term for “naturally sparkling” wine. And here’s the thing: pét-nat is NOT a frothy trend. In fact, it’s an ancient type of wine, and its recent rise in popularity is more than well-deserved.

Pétillant naturel is a genre of sparkling wine that predates Champagne, if you can believe it. Its méthode ancestrale involves bottling an unfinished (or still-fermenting) wine and allowing it to finish fermenting inside of the bottle. Contrary to the Champagne method—which requires one fermentation in tanks and then a second fermentation in the bottle, with added sugars and yeast—the pét-nat way is wild and volatile. When making a pét-nat, the winemaker must trust the grapes’ naturally-occurring yeasts and sugars to do their dance without interference or alteration. The result is fizzy, frenetic wine that is refreshing and surprising in its...

The Sip Better Gift Guide 2019

Photo: Superkitina

The holiday season can get a little hairy when you're worried about what to get alllll of those fine folks you love on your list! Let me help you cut through the clamor of consumerism--here are a few of my favorite things from 2019. Hopefully they inspire you to treat your favorite people (and wine lovers!) this Christmas and beyond!

AGATE CHEESE BOARD | Anthropologie

This pretty, sparkling serving board makes a stunning backdrop  to one of my personal favorite appetizers--cheese! And you know what plays well with cheese? Um, wine!

 

2020 PLANNER | Wit & Delight

I love a good notebook, and this sleek little planner has the bonus of helpful productivity and planning tools. Plus, Wit & Delight is a favorite blog and design house local to Minneapolis! 

A BOTTLE OF HAUS APERTIF | Haus

Haus makes delicious European-style apertifs made from only the best ingredients, like California wine grapes and other natural goodies. This is the liqeur that's been missing from your bar! It's also a...

[RECIPE + PAIRING] English Muffin Stuffing

Why is stuffing so often the star of the Thanksgiving table? Is it because it feels like a soft, warm hug? Probably! I've got a crazy delicious recipe that I like to whip out for holiday meals, courtesy of my buddy Chef Corey Meier (Create Catering). It's so good it went a tad viral when we debuted it on The Jason Show! Check it out below and don't forget the wine pairing!

ENGLISH MUFFIN STUFFING
Created by Corey Meier
*Pair to Domaine des Chers Cru Beaujolais ‘Saint-Amour’ Gamay| Beaujolais, France

Ingredients:
• 6 Store bought or fresh English muffins (cut into cubes)
• 6 Tbsp European-style sweet cream, unsalted butter
• 2 Cups of duck confit (or smoked duck, smoked chicken, roasted/smoked pheasant or breakfast sausage)
• 2 Stalks of celery, diced
• 1 Medium sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 Cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Apple, diced
• ½ Tbsp fresh chopped sage
• ½ Tbsp fresh chopped thyme
• ½ Tbsp Fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 Cup chicken stock
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

- Preheat oven to 325...

3 Wines To Please Everyone At Your Holiday Table

Hosting the holidays this year? Holy Stress, amiright? Not only do you want to please your guests with delicious vittles, but you're also thinking about the music, the decor, the flow of the evening...

And then there are the beverages. 

Ideally, you would stock a crazy supply of beverages to please every person's personal palate, but that's tricky without spending loads of cash and ending up with lots of extra bottles you might not be crazy about once all of the guests have gone home.

Let's keep it simple, shall we? Here are three different wines that are friendly enough to appeal to a range of people, while also suiting the harvest vibes of a holiday meal. Don't knock yourself out. After all, the most important part of a holiday gathering is the warmth of good company, right?'

 

Domaine J. Laurens "La Rose No°7" | France**

This sparkling rosé of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir is adorably pink AND a stellar companion to all things Thanksgiving Day. It's got a delicate mousse...

The Sip Better wine club is all about

  • Truly awesome wines.
    No re-packaged bulk juice here!
  • Introducing you to new wines,
    hand-picked by me, just for YOU
  • Supporting boutique,
    family-owned wineries
  • Fun & Education! You'll become an
    expert with our videos and tips