As usual, Dave came over for our Monday night wine dinner. This Monday I had to make dinner and it was also my turn to provide the wine. I decided to make Red Chile Chicken and Rice with Black Beans. The recipe came from the cookbook Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless. You coat the chicken with Ancho chile powder, sear them a little and set them aside. Then you make the rice and black beans, cut up the chicken and add it back in to finish cooking. You also add more Ancho chile powder to the rice while it is cooking. While 2 1/2 tablespoons of chile powder sounds like a lot, Ancho chile is not very hot, it mostly has an fruity and earthy flavor. I’ll have to say it turned out very good, we all loved it.
For wine I chose a 2005 Sterling Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot. It turned out to be an excellent choice, the wine paired very well with the Ancho chile. The wine had a nice medium ruby color and a nice nose of dark fruit and a little vanilla. The flavors were complex with dark fruit (plums), spice, and a little vanilla. The wine was well balanced with moderate tannins and good acid. Very easy drinking with a nice finish. I think I have one more bottle left, I’ll be looking forward to drinking it.
