Argentinian wine carries aroma of Black Forest Cake

Discover the unique taste of this La Mascota Cabernet Sauvignon

My girlfriend Cathy and I are moving toward eating more plant-based dishes. I decided to prepare a meatless meat sauce for our gluten-free spaghetti pasta. In this recipe I added roasted tomatoes, Yves Italian Ground Round, cubed eggplant, mushrooms, onion, green olives, olive oil, chili flakes, and a boatload of fresh, minced garlic. I'm exaggerating on the garlic of course.

With this dish we sipped a glass of La Mascota 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, (CSPC 292110), $15.45, Mendoza, Argentina. Wow, what a fabulous wine for this reasonable price.

The moment I swirled and sniffed, aromas of Black Forest Cake with Sour Cherries sprung to mind. Cathy smelled Kirsch. Almost a similar aromatic experience we shared. Kirsch is a dry, colourless brandy distilled from the fermented juice of black morello cherries. Kirsch is made in the Black Forest of Germany. No surprise!

La Mascota's palate is medium bodied but highly complex with layers of flavours. Black Forest cake comes through in this dimension, as well, but also with more sour cherry notes ending on the finish. While it has been aged in both American and French oak, La Mascota displays almost no astringency and dryness from its tannin. This is somewhat uncharacteristic of Cabernet Sauvignon aged in oak. However, it doesn't matter. This red is sophisticated, smooth, and complex. Loved it.

Mascota Vineyards is considered a premium winery in Argentina and was awarded, in 2014, the International

Wine and Spirits Best Argentine Wine Producer of the Year. This is a feat, considering the country produces an enormous amount of wine. In 2005 a team of agronomists and winemakers began working in a vineyard called Finca La Mascota, located in Cruz de Piedra, in Maipu, in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina. The vineyard, extending for 100 hectares, is located at the foot of the Andes Mountain Range, one kilometre from the Mendoza River. Their other vineyard is located in Valle de Uco, Mendoza. This was the beginning of La Mascota. Rodolfo “Opi” Sadler is winemaker at La Mascota. With over 30 years of experience in winemaking in regions within California, Chile, and France, Opi now specializes in vinifying Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Malbec, and brut rose sparkling wine as La Mascota. He first studied at the prestigious Don Basco University in Mendoza and later worked at Santa Ana, considered one of Argentina's largest wineries in the Cuyo region.

Due to its bright acidity, I would partner this Cabernet Sauvignon with salty foods like hard cheeses, namely Paramigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and Asiago. Alongside a platter with cheeses add cured meats like Prosciutto, Bresaola, Coppa, and Lonza, or Pancetta.

The key to pairing plant-based dishes with this Cabernet is to increase the the level of bitterness in the dish by adding items like spinach, kale, toasted walnuts. Also in your dish add the fifth taste sensation, known as umami. Umami means roundness and depth of flavour and this is key when choosing Cabernet as a partner. Condiments high in umami include Japanese soy sauce, and miso. Even ketchup is North America's umami condiment. Fresh tomatoes possess simplistic umami. The moment they are slow roasted, the umami increases dramatically and is referred to as synergistic umami. You've got the point, I think.

Other plant-based dishes to partner to this Cab include Mushroom Risotto with Caramelized Shallots with Fresh Sage and Thyme and Tuscan Bean Soup.