Lent-friendly Dinner and Wine pairing ideas
By: Wiley Kimball Hospitality Manager
With a few more weeks of Lent still to go, we thought we’d serve up some inspiration for Lent friendly dinners paired with some of our white wine offerings currently in the Tasting Room. Our white wines display strong varietal and food-friendly characteristics that will pair with a wide variety of seafood dishes and preparations, and here’s just a few that we’ve been enjoying:
2022 Gruner Veltliner with Oysters
About as simple as it gets, our Gruner Veltliner from our Shenandoah Vineyard has a bright, crisp acidity that makes it a natural pairing to the briny, savory flavor profile of oysters. Pop open a bottle, shuck a dozen (or two), grab a couple lemon wedges, and go to town!
2021 Riesling with Shrimp Scampi
Our stainless steel aged, Kabinett-style Riesling has a beautiful, rich flavor profile that is textbook Riesling; stone fruit, minerality, and an abundance of acidity balanced by just a slight hint of sweetness will pair beautifully with shrimp sauteed in melted butter (the best way to cook them) and tossed with a pasta such as fettuccine or capellini.
2021 Dry Petit Manseng with Red Pepper and Parmesan Tilapia
This is a personal favorite dish of mine year-round for any occasion, but especially well-suited to a Lenten meal. I like to use tilapia, but any flaky, mild white fish such as cod, flounder, or Halibut can work with this preparation. The Dry Petit Manseng has a delicate flavor and well-integrated alcohol that won’t dominate the fish, but enough of a tropical fruit flavor that it won’t be overwhelmed by the red pepper flakes (no matter how heavy-handed you are with them!) I love to serve this with simple roasted vegetables and basmati rice.
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tilapia filets (6 ounces each)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the egg in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine the cheese, Italian seasoning, pepper flakes and pepper. Dip filets in egg and then in cheese mixture.
Place filets in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake until the fish just begins to flake easily with a fork, 10-15 minutes.