What Kind of Wine Goes With (Arizona) Wildcat?
A perhaps overly optimistic friend put it this way: The University of Louisville Cardinals are going to “eat” Arizona in Friday’s NCAA Tournament.
“What kind of wine goes with Wildcat?” my friend asked.
It’s a good question. Joy of Cooking has recipes for buffalo, ostrich, wild boar and — if your edition is old enough — squirrel. But no recipe for cat, wild or otherwise. There is one website, CatRecipes.com, but I think it’s a joke. (The beer can cat recipe, which begins: “Drink half the can of beer and then place beer can into rear of cat…”)
It’s safe to assume that the Arizona Wildcats, like most wild game, are going to be lean and tough. In general, meat like that needs to be cooked slowly with a lot of added fat and moisture. “Barded and basted” is how Joy of Cooking puts it. That, to me, sounds a lot like slow, smokey barbecue.
Since barbecue sauce normally has a fair amount of spice, it seems the Arizona Wildcats might just be the kind of dish that cries out for a low-acid, off-dry white. I, personally, love an Alsatian pinot gris with barbecue. Alsace is the region on the west bank of the Rhine River that has, through history, gone back and forth between France and Germany. It’s part of France now, but its wines remain more reflective of German tradition than French.
Hugel Tradition ($20) is terrific, as is Trimbach’s offering ($27), but any Alsatian pinot gris will do. They’ve all got the same soft fruitiness, which tastes to me of pear. Almost every store carries at least one, and entry-level is about $12.
March 24th, 2009 at 4:20 PM
WTF? Alsatian Pinot Gris with wild game? I could see if it was some kind of sweet kraut German style prep but you are talking BBQ sauce here. The rank flavors of wild cat and the strong tomato and vinegar notes of the sauce would tear nearly any wine a new one , let alone an elegant, understated Alsatian. You don’t win NCAA Championships by bringing the wrong date to The Dance. Bold. Bold. Did I mention Bold? flavors are called for. Try a really smoky Pinotage like Westerland, medium weight, not heavy, so as to let the texture of “the other white meat” shine through but with an undercurrent of hickory smoke that won’t quit when the BBQ and ‘Cat open up a can of whupass. If you are running a wine pool, I want in.
March 25th, 2009 at 7:04 AM
Pinotage is an interesting choice, one that I, frankly, had not considered. I thought about a big zin, but the interplay between the smokey, gamey meat and dark core of the wine scared me as little. It’s a basketball game, after all, and hopefully no time for brooding.
I decided instead to go for a white. The conventional choice would have been Riesling. Your point about the tomatoes and vinegar is well taken, and a kabinett‘s acidity and touch of sweetness might do the trick.
That said, I went for an Alsatian pinot gris despite it’s relative lack of acidity because I really like Alsatian pinot gris and, to paraphrase Sally Field (something I almost never do), I really want other people to like it, too. The illusion of sweetness brought on by all that fruit would, I think, do just fine up against the funk and spice of stewed Wildcat. The subtleties might be lost, it’s true. But, again, it’s a basketball game.
The solution, I’m sure you would agree, is to open several bottles at the same time and compare.
Pinotage is an interesting suggestion, though. Very, very interesting. I look forward to future suggestions from you, sir. Or ma’am. Whatever.