Surf n Turf and Riesling? Dinner at Miccosukee Resort and Casino
Written By: Randy Torban on Fri, May 15th 2009
There are cheap dinners that involve take-out or fast food, and then there are CHEAP dinners that are amazingly classy. One such dinner took place at the Miccosukee Resort in Miami. For the ridiculously low price of $6.95, their Café Hammock serves its famous Florida Steak and Lobster Special. And what wine was served with this unbelievably priced meal? Blue Nun’s Medium Sweet Riesling.
The fact that it was Blue Nun Riesling served with the meal is overshadowed by the larger question of what do you serve with surf and turf. A red for the steak that is light enough for the lobster, or a white that compliments the lobster and can still stand up to the steak. It was decided to order a white with our particular meal, and at a price of $18 ($7 in any store), the Blue Nun seemed like a good choice. A value bottle all the way, the Blue Nun came through marvelously, not because of what it offered, but because of what it was missing: any real flavor that would offend any part of the meal.
From the 1950s into the 1970s, Blue Nun was marketed as the wine that could be drunk throughout the entire meal. It’s just a simple, light, sweet wine, so what couldn’t it be paired with. A heavy steak dinner would certainly overshadow such a light white. But with just steak, you wouldn’t order a white. With surf and turf, a balance has to be struck between the competing food flavors. The wine should refresh the palate, not detract from dinner. This particular Riesling was a good choice because it did just that. What’s more is that Blue Nun has a slight petrol character in the finish that complimented the minerality of the lobster, as well as the grilled flavor of the steak. The petrol flavor is more common in German Riesling that has a few years on it. In this case, we may have just lucked out.
Pairing a light Riesling with surf and turf is not an obvious choice, but it is something worth trying. It is up to the individual to choose a bottle of his or her preferred sweetness. Due to the fact that the wine has to walk the line between seafood and red meat, a more expensive bottle may not be right; too much complexity could cause a less than desirable effect. If cooking at home, the best bet would be to buy a bottle that is around the same price as your meat’s cost per pound.
This article brought to you by the South Beach Wine Club
