Finding Shiraz friendly dishes ...

by Brian Pasch

I love to host wine tasting parties at my home.  After years of experimentation I think I have a good feel for matching foods with most wines with some exceptions.  The first time I knew I was in trouble is when I was asked to attend  a Shiraz/Syrah tasting hosted by some friends.  The event ended up being a wine drinking dinner and not a wine tasting dinner.

The challenge was that there were 12 different American and French Syrah based wines along with some powerhouse Australian Shiraz wines from Torbreck, Penfolds, Two Hands, Glaetzer and others.

Pushing the fast forward button, the wine tasting was a success in only one way; everyone was completely bombed by the final course.  The high alcohol content of many Aussie Shiraz seemed to overwhelm even experienced tasters.

But even as we started the event, I thought that I would be very challenged to put together a four course menu that could stand up to a full night of Shiraz tasting.

So, I send this challenge out to our readers. 

Send me your tried and true recipes that would go perfect with Shiraz wines.  I'll post the best of what has been submitted and put together a tasting menu for you to test with your friends in your home.

Let's see if we can put together a great four course tasting with these assumptions:

• Two different bottles of Shiraz will be tasted with each course

• Dinner will be for 8-10 people so scale your recipe accordingly.

• Last course can either be dessert, cheese or something completely new.

I'll start posting reader feedback as it arrives in the coming weeks.  If you only have one recipe send it along.  If you can put together all four courses that would be amazing.

Bon Appetite!