I love Guinness, but I don’t necessarily want it with my corned beef and cabbage (scroll down for recipe that uses Guinness made in the Instant pot– so easy!)

Every year I hit the internet for ideas and I try different wines.

Different wines as in red wines.

While some people pair everything with pinot, that doesn’t work for me so I tend to turn to that other master of versatility, zinfandel! This year I bought a Ousterhout from Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, but when I read David Crowley’s Cooking Chat experiments with  white wines, specifically German Resiling, I tested a Paul Anheuser 2017 BLANC de Pinot Noir and a 2016 Dr. Heyden Silvaner. At $13, they are both quite affordable and I discovered:

Dry German whites for the corned beef and cabbage win!
Also wonderful with soda bread and Irish cheese! 

 

Both wines have plenty of body and complexity as well as razor sharp acidity to cut right through the fatty meat. They also paired well with the vegetables and could even handle a light amount of mustard.

So this St. Patrick’s day, Clink Different and try dry German wines with your Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage! (Stay tuned for more about how you can #ClinkDifferent with wines from Bordeaux!)

2017 Paul Anheuser Blanc de Noir SRP $13
Estate Bottled pinot noir blanc, 11% alcohol
Sample for my review consideration

On the label there is an image of Nahe and the castle from 1631.

Color:  Golden buttercup, medium hue

Nose:  I found this wine to have much fruit and floral, while Sue thought it was very light. For her it was all about grass and lemon. I got sweet watermelon, almost like a jolly rancher watermelon, white flowers.

Palate:  Sweet tart, cherry strawberry lemonade, pink lemonade, light in body, easy to drink on a warm summer day. There is a sweetness on the palate from the fruit, but it is not sweet at all. It is a very dry wine. There is a nice crisp, clean, lingering finish, possibly some clay, some minerality.

Pairing: So, so yummy with the soda bread and Irish cheddar cheese. This would be a fabulous dessert. Loves the salty potatoes and cabbage bringing out a lemony quality in the wine. UPDATE: The next day, with sushi? YUM!

This is my new favorite wine to have in my cellar!

Most people know of Mosel, but this estate is located in Nahe, a small region with a wide range of soil types that is named after the river that crosses the valley toward the Rhine. Soils include volcanic, slate, loess, loam, and sandy soils.

In Nahe, Paul Anheusser’s cellar is located in Bad-Kreuznach. Estate grown pinot noir grapes are pressed and only the clear juice is used to make this white wine from the red grape — Blanc de Noir translates from the French to “white from black.” I may not be big on pinot noir with corned beef and cabbage but this wine works, and works well! It has some of the pinot noir characteristics like strawberry and cherry fruit as well as complexity with plenty of structure to handle the corned beef. What a delight!

2016 Dr. Heyden Silvaner SRP $13

Old Vines
Estate Bottled, 12.5% alcohol
Sample for my review consideration.

Color:  Pale gold green

Nose:  Bee pollen, black and red licorice candy. Sue and I both agreed that there is a cotton candy sweetness on the nose. Tuber Rose,

Palate:  Fennel and lime, kifer lime, grassy, tart. The acidity in the wine makes one salivate.

Pairing:  This Silvaner really paired well with the sharp Irish cheddar, It liked the salinity, the creaminess of the cheese cut through the bright acidity. The wine likes the earthy qualities of the potatoes and the cabbage. They bring out the fruit in the wine.  The spices in the corned beef also play really nicely with the wine. The biggest thing for me was how well this wine went with the brisket. You always think red wine, red meat, but this is an exception to the rule.

Located in Rheinhessen, the largest wine region in Germany, Dr Heyden’s cellar is in Oppenheim. The rolling hills support many crops; vines cling to steep hillsides.

This wine offers herbal notes which compliment those of the meal. Dry with citrus, white peach, and minerality, it also was fantastic with the meal.

I would hate to choose — at $13 a bottle why not try both? Imported by Winesellers, Ltd.

And what should you do for dessert? How about a St. Pats-tini?

Here’s a link to the recipe! It’s plenty green, and uses vodka plus three creams: creme de menthe, cacao, and Bailey’s. YUM!

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Instant Pot Corned Beef 

• Open two bottles of Guinness; begin drinking one bottle.
• Pour 12 ounces of dark beer (Guinness) into instant pot.
• Apply salt and pepper to brisket.
• Place brisket on trivet in instant pot.
• Sprinkle provided seasonings.
• 90 minutes on manual
• While cooking enjoy the Guinness with soda bread and Irish cheddar
• Natural release 15-20 minutes
• Remove brisket and trivet; wrap in foil to keep warm.
• Add vegetables: cut in half 1 cabbage, 1 cup (or more) 1-2″ long carrots, 4 potatoes cut in large chunks.
• 3 minutes on manual (takes 30 minutes)
• Slice brisket and serve on vegetables with grainy mustard
• Serve with soda bread and Irish butter

And on the subject of corned beef and cabbage, should you share your favorite St. Patrick’s Day meal with your pooch?

I figured sure! But I’ve learned that corned beef is a BIG NO NO for dogs!

Your puppy can’t handle the sodium and seasonings used to make this brined brisket taste so good to us Irish and wanna be Irish. So why a little nibble here and there won’t hurt (like a NIBBLE not a nob!), if you give your dog a bowl of broth or let him lick up the plate and consume all the fatty left behind bits, your dog will suffer from mild discomfort to MAJOR problems!