.jpg)
This flavorful dish of steak, spinach, and potatoes was enjoyed with a Priorat.
Steak is probably my absolute favorite meal to pair (sorry, vegetarians). So much depends on how the meat is prepared, the spices or sauces it's marinated in, how tender it is, and what else is on the plate.
On my recent honeymoon to Hawaii, my husband and I dined at Ka'uiki restaurant at the Hotel Hana Maui. Ka'uiki, the recipient of a 2007 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, is under new leadership, with Chef Robert McCormick (previously of Daniel Boulud Brasserie in Las Vegas) taking the reins. I chatted briefly with McCormick about the award-winning wine list he inherited, and the personal touches he's adding to the Ka'uiki menu.
The freshness of the ingredients do most of the talking. Maui cattle is raised locally, free-range, and seafood is caught a day or two before it's served. Produce is abundant, and never frozen.
At Ka'uiki, I ordered a filet mignon topped with fresh local spinach served atop local potatoes. I scanned the sumptuous wine list for a red that wouldn't dominate the delicate greens, but would match the juicy medium-rare filet. I selected a 2005 Pasanau "Ceps Nous" Priorat, a blend of Garnacha, Merlot, Mazuelo and Syrah. We were not disappointed.
Priorat as a region is widely respected by wine lovers for its powerful red wines. The region is historically volcanic, so the soil content is a mixture of quartz, slate, and mica. This is responsible for the relatively low yields of wine in Priorat. Vineyards are planted into the steep hillsides that make working the harvest frightening for those scared of heights. In fact, according to the Barcelona Field Studies Centre, "The Priorat vineyards lie on gradients so steep that neither tractors nor any other kind of agricultural machine could possibly cope with them."
What results is a powerful, earthly, flavorful wine that truly brings out the best in beef. The Pasanau we enjoyed bottles its harvest young, which gave the wine an almost semi-sparkling quality that surprised us.
Priorat makes an interesting alternative to Riojas and Ribera del Dueros, so with your next steak or next trip to a Brazilian steakhouse, pour a Priorat.
Comments