Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Primitivo Wine and Grilled Lamb Chops


The past few posts, I have neglected to tell you about some of the wines I have been tasting. So I want to tell you about a new wine that we unscrewed last night with our grilled out lamb chops.
A-Mano 2005 Primitivo was our choice for the evening. Primitivo is actually Zinfandel, but in Italy they call it Primitivo. A-Mano is from the Southeastern Region of Puglia in Italy. This was a luscious wine with juicy fruit flavors of ripe black berries and a hint of spice on it's nice finsih. It was an enjoyable wine without those heavy tannins, but just enough to give the wine a nice personality. The alcohol content was 13.5% and the price was under $10.00. It paired perfectly with our dinner.



I was in such a hurry to get the photos of our dinner so we could chow-down while it was still hot that there is not a very good shot of the wine bottle in the food photo. But, here above, you can see the label clearly.



Since it is still quite toasty here in Key West, a heavy meal is still not the order of the day. So we fired up the grill and fixed lamb chops. To accompany them, a simple cool sauce of Greek Yogurt with fresh chopped mint and a dash of red wine vinegar. Also a fresh salad of chopped tomatoes, diced cucumber, sliced red onion, chopped olives, fresh chopped oregano, tiny bits of feta cheese, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. This simple but full flavored salad hit the spot with the chops. Cipolline onions, which are Italian pearl onions, were just sauteed in butter and olive oil, so simple but sweet and tender. We also had a few of those potatoes that I talked about yesterday, just sauteed and tossed with butter and chopped fresh parsley.

A perfect meal and wine to start the end of our day!

Cheers!

11 comments:

Figs, Bay, Wine said...

Greek yogurt sauce with fresh herbs is such a lovely was to dress lamb chops - what a delicious looking dinner & gorgeous photos!

Anonymous said...

The lamb chops sound heavenly! I don't make them nearly often enough. Another light sauce that might work with them [I usually spoon it over pan-seared salmon] is about equal parts non-fat yogurt and Dijon mustard, with chopped fresh dill. Mix the first two ingredients, then start adding dill and tasting until you really notice the dill flavor. It tastes creamy and luxurious, but is fat- and guilt-free.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

When my friend was up here from Arizona she couldn't believe the price of wine here. You can't get a bottle of wine worth drinking for less than $12 here in the valley. That includes wines grown here at our 70 wineries. The lamb dinner and wine combination were probably exceptional!!!But a bottle of wine for $10 is unheard of!!!!!!!No wonder so many people make their own!!!

winedeb said...

Hey Amanda - thanks! I do love the coolness of that sauce with the lamb.

Hi Terry - You sauce sounds great! I am making note of that one! Thanks!

Hey Valli - no wine under $12 with all those wineries! I would have to alter my budget!

Thistlemoon said...

mmmm..I love cippoline onions! And Lamb for that matter!

Shayne said...

yum yum this is my hubby's kind of meal and I have to say it sounds good to me too.

Wendy said...

A very elegant meal. :)

Belinda said...

Sounds great, Deb...and I bet those little onions sauteed in butter and olive oil are a wonderful accompaniment. :-)

winedeb said...

Hey Jenn, yep those onions are so sweet and juicy!

Hi Shayne - it is a crowd pleaser in our home!

Hey Wendy - it was super!

Hi Belinda - those onions, which look like little flying saucers, are the best!

Nora B. said...

Hi Deb, the way you prepared the cipolline onions sounds so good. I would like to try that. BBQ season has officially started in Sydney, although this weekend not so good weather wise (a bit wet).

winedeb said...

Hey Nora, I do understand that it is a bit hard to grill when it is raining. Our porch where the grill is located is not covered. But we have been desparate before and used an umbrella!