amontillado sherry with deconstructed green bean casserole

5 minute read

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To those who know me, my love for sherry is no surprise. For those who don’t know me, it’s a conversation stopper. Literally.

A few months ago, I sat at my first ever job interview in German. After seriously embarrassing myself with my crummy grammar and limited vocabulary, I had lost hope that my eager, sunny, American disposition would win them over. We were nearing the end when the owner of the shop asked me what my favorite wine was. As a sommelier, that feels rather like picking a favorite child – everyone knows you have one, but it’s rather uncouth to admit it out loud. I paused for a second to think – maybe this could salvage the interview:

“…wahrsheinlich Sherry. Ich liebe Sherry!” (”…probably sherry. I love sherry!”)

A blank stare greeted me in response. “Well…back to the want ads,” I thought.

I did end up getting the job, but my enthusiasm for sherry didn’t do me any favors. I mean, sherry’s image has improved from what it was a few decades ago, but it still has a long way to go. Even among wine professionals, it hasn’t completely recovered from the notion that it belongs on the bottom shelf as a usually sweet, uncomplicated wine more suited for cooking than drinking.

The thing is – sherry is insanely diverse. (The slideshow below is a quick introduction to the world of sherry.) It ranges from some of the driest wines in the world to some of the sweetest. You can find versions that are zesty, crisp and served chilled, while others are nutty and luscious at room temperature. Those boring bottom-shelfers still exist, but they’re sulking in the shadows of their more refined, elegant and incredibly complex counterparts. 

Valdespino Amontillado Tio Diego

This week’s wine is an amontillado sherry. That means the wine spent part of its life deprived of oxygen and part deliberately exposed to oxygen. It’s dry, as are most in this category (and most sherries, contrary to popular belief). But Tio Diego is particularly cool because the grapes used to make it come from a single vineyard, which is very rare in the land where everything is blended.

Valdespino, the maker of this wine is one of the oldest bodegas in Jerez. They still ferment it in old oak barrels, a practice that has long since been abandoned by all other winemakers who favor a neutral steel tank fermentation. That vestige of time-gone-by adds subtle layers of flavor and character to the final product, which is bursting with flavor – nuts, bruised apple, orange zest, dried apricots, salted caramel, coffee, and a bit of vanilla. These flavors are classic winter favorites, and with the wine’s luscious mouthfeel and warming (if a bit elevated) alcohol, you will definitely want to have this wine on hand all winter long. You can find my full tasting notes below.

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Pairing food with Amontillado sherry

Confession: I initially planned to pair this wine with vegan “chicken” pot pie. In my omnivorous, gluten-full days, I attempted the pairing and loved it so much. More recently, I spent hours researching and trying to reincarnate the dish in vegan gluten free form. I tried twice to make the pies, and the filling was generally pretty good, but the gluten-free crust left much to be desired. My last attempt was for Thanksgiving. It was pretty good. I even took pictures of it and planned to sort of shrug it off as one of the recipes on this account that are still in progress.

But at that meal, I tried the amontillado with everything else, including my favorite holiday side, green bean casserole. The sherry was probably the best all around meal pairing I’ve had in a long time (note to self, bring an extra bottle of sherry to all holiday dinners). It played nicely with everything we ate, but it was absolute dynamite with the green bean casserole.

The earthy umami of the gravy brings out brighter fruit characteristics of wine, amplifying the complementary aspects of a congruent pairing. The caramelization from onions and mushrooms comes through just enough to echo the caramel notes in this dry wine. And the textural components of the food’s bite, crunch and creaminess are contrasted by the luscious, chewy glycerol texture of the wine. This wine’s acid is leaning towards astringent, but that calms down with the richness of the gravy so that the rich nutty and oak notes are laced with just a hint of orange zest flavor.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of putting these two together from the beginning. It was some serious holiday kismet, I’m telling you. And I’m definitely not waiting for the holidays to try it again!

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Deconstructing Green Bean Casserole

This was my absolute favorite holiday dish growing up. We always had green bean casserole for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s simply the best. The preparation I remember from my childhood, though, leaves much to be desired (no offense, mom); it consists of canned beans, canned cream of mushroom soup and French’s fried onions. This version is a barely recognizable version of that one, but it’s still the most delicious and nostalgic thing on my table – holiday or otherwise.

Tasting and Other Notes

Directions

For mushroom stock and purée

Place bay leaves and thyme in an herb sachet or loose-leaf tea bag.

Place the sachet and all ingredients for the purée in a stock pot over medium high heat

Once the pot comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer for about an hour, or until reduced to about ¾ to ½ its original level (this is a good time to prep the rest of the ingredients if you haven’t already done that)

Remove the herbs

Spoon out the vegetables into a high speed blender (it’s ok if some broth is included)

Strain the rest of the broth into a separate bowl through a sieve and set aside

Purée the vegetables on high while slowly streaming in about half a cup of the broth until completely smooth

Finish with cream or milk if using

Set aside for later

For the gravy

Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat until the butter is melted

Add half the onions and shallots sauté until translucent and soft

Add the garlic and sauté another minute

Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour and nutmeg, and stir to make a paste

When the paste is lightly golden brown, slowly add the broth, stirring thoroughly, and bring to a simmer

In a sauté pan heat the oil over medium-high heat, when it’s shimmering, add the remaining onions and shallots and cook until softened

Add the mushrooms, and continue sautéing until all ingredients have a slight sear to them. Add a tiny bit more oil if the pan is too dry, but not too much, as you want them to get that little bit of caramelization without being soggy.

Finish the mushroom mixture with thyme leaves, mix thoroughly and add to the mushroom purée

Give it a good stir, reduce heat to low and continue cooking until flavors meld (approximately 5-10 minutes) while you finis the green-beans

For the green beans

heat a large lidded skillet over medium high heat with olive oil

add the green beans and sauté, stirring continuously for about 5-7 minutes. Some of the green beans may develop brown sears on them, that’s totally ok!

add two tbs water and cover the pan

cook for two minutes covered, until the beans are bright green

meanwhile, prepare to serve: spoon 2-3 ladles of gravy onto a large serving plate

remove the green beans directly to the plate with gravy in single portion bunches

add a spoonful or two of gravy over top each portion

garnish each portion with fried onions

serve immediately with a glass of amontillado sherry