A dear friend of mine went to Jamaica recently.  And has been on their food kick, since coming back.   We’re fortunate enough to have many International restaurants near us in the area.   And that includes delicious foods from the land of ‘Out of Many, One People’.

And what a perfect opportunity to try some new foods and of course, a bottle, to pair with these dishes!

In doing my in-depth research, I found that the spicier foods (such as what we were about to eat), should be counterbalanced or complemented with some sweeter whites.    We don’t want a full-bodied red or lots of oak, to detract from the food we’re enjoying.  We want the our meal to be enjoyable, and we want the wine to enhance that.  With a lighter selection, more flavors can come out from our dish.  We also want a wine that’s low on tannins.   This is nowhere near as complicated as it sounds.

I am a huge fan of medium to full reds.  But having one of those would completely undermine our meal and our wine.  In some instances, it’s brought out  the cheapness of the food and the wine.   I found this site very useful in my quest.

With the knowledge presented to me, I wanted to get a Gewürztraminer.   It’s a wine I wish I had more of.   We’ve enjoyed this grape a few times over a Thanksgiving meal.  And I’m happy to the opportunity has been presented itself to enjoy once again!

I want to thank Friendship Wine & Liquor of Abingdon, MD, for helping me pick out a bottle.

I chose the 2013 from Chateau Ste. Michelle.  And this is a winner!

It was very easy to drink and didn’t feel as if it were too sugary or acidity for my liking.  I didn’t detect any clove spice as the synopsis says.   But I could sense some fruit.  Which fruits there were, I don’t know!  But I was loving this choice.  And and under $10, I feel this was a steal and a half!

We enjoyed our bottle with a wonderful Brown Stew Chicken, Goat Curry, Plantains, and a Meat Pie.  Everything about our meal, from the food to the wine, was wonderful.    This can pair with many spicy foods, not just Jamaican.  It’s all about personal preference.   Most important of all is to try what you like.   And that you are enjoying the wine and food together.

And I am grateful to have been introduced to another great winery, whose wines will be seeking out on a regular basis now. That’s one of the fun parts of this!  Now I have so many new ones I want to try.

The winery itself looks beautiful from pictures.   And it makes me want to visit them in Washington State.  I suppose I will!

Thanks so much.

Best,

Ideen