I got this wine. It had a BBQ sauce recipe to go with it. The wine is aged in bourbon barrels. I love Bourbon, my dolls. I don’t know that this gave too many bourbon-y notes but the only time you’ll hear me say “it has notes of coconut” in positive light is when speaking of things aged in American oak. As Bourbon is.
The grapes? 30% Merlot, 20% Zinfandel, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Pinot Noir, 14% Petite Sirah.
Oh what’s the wine?
1000 Stories Gold Rush Red 2017
The wine and its accompanying recipe gave me a tempeh excuse. I mean a tempting excuse.
After all, the BBQ recipe was meant for ribs. But as a vegetarian I prefer to put meat ON my bones as opposed to sucking it from…okay this is getting graphic. But if you fatten my ribs, do it with red wine and BBQ tempeh.
And/or do it with bread and butter and/or fries but that’s a given.
What does a vegetarian put BBQ sauce on? Tempeh! And fortunately the recipe only uses a half cup of the wine so you and your dining companions can have the rest of the vino.
So I poured the wine, I made the sauce, I sautéed the tempeh, I set the table (lies I have no table) and tucked in.
The wine:
Looks deep but frivolous
On the nose I smelled purple raisins running in vanilla fields. It’s not paradise but it is a happy place.
On the tongue: medium acid med + tannin, high alcohol, full body, medium plus intensity…more prunes. Actually, dried fruits of every sort. But someone smashed them into a fresh plum mush
Dang that’s tasty.
I tossed BBQ sauce coated tempeh into my maw then took a swig and…for two seconds I thought eh it’s okay. I mean the wine IS less sweet than the sauce which is SUPPOSED to suck if the wine is less sweet but this held the floor.
I’m in.
For Zin.
For bbq tempeh.
For ribs. Mine.
oh ps I got this as a sample but I get a boatload of wines as samples. I only write about ones I find worthy.
Oh wait. The sauce:
GOLD RUSH RED BBQ SAUCE
- 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup minced onion (mine was more like diced whatevs)
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated (mine were more like minced but dubs whatevs)
- 1 tsp. cumin (used a smidge more)
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp. golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup 1000 Stories Gold Rush Red
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup ketchupsee-through-is
Heat the oil over medium. Sauté your onion and garlic until onion is see-through-ish. Add cumin and cayenne and stir. Add sugar and wine, stir until sugar dissolves. Add vinegar and ketchup and bring to low boil. Adjust heat to bring sauce to a vigorous simmer (don’t know what that mean but it was somewhere in the simmer-plus range). Keep doin’ it til thickened. At that point I added a packet of tempeh–8 oz I think–that I had chopped up into various sizes (I like bite variation not bit consistency). Then eat. I like using chopsticks but go with fingers forks tongs I don’t care. Neither does your wine. Enjoy it my darling.
Scrumptious Gruel 
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