Duck – Duck – Chook? A Sparkling Shiraz Chook!

A chook is Aussie slang for a chicken. And “The Chook” is an South Australian sparkling shiraz.

But what does all that have to do with barbecue?  And what about the duck, Jerry? I’m glad you asked.

It started at Paul the Barber’s shop in Mountain View. Paul had two shaggy people in front of me, and there was plenty of time to peruse the magazines. Tucked in among the usual Maxims, Esquires, and GQs was an old Food and Wine magazine. Inside there was an interesting article on sparkling reds. OK, I was skeptical at first, thinking of pink zinfandels and wine spritzers, with maybe a little Cold Duck thrown in. “Riunite on ice, think twice,” and all that. But the article was on Aussie sparkling reds, and there is usually nothing prissy about wines from down under. One of my favorite Monty Python skits of all time is on Australian Table Wines, “Of the sparkling wines, the most famous is Perth Pink. This is a bottle with a message in, and the message is ‘beware’. This is not a wine for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.” But the article from Food and Wine was really favorable. And I had been to South Australia where one of the wines had been made (I was an exchange student at the time). And I was curious. ‘Beware,’ ha!

Bev Mo had only one sparkling shiraz,”The Chook”, $17.99. A good start. But what would I have with a sparkling shiraz? I was immediately thinking about barbecued duck. It turns out I think about barbecued duck a lot, because it is crazy good. I get the duck thighs and legs from Asian markets. Some apple and pecan smoke, orange spice rub, crispy skin, juices running down your hand. You don’t pick up your grilled duck? You haven’t lived my friend. Usually my bbq duck has some sort of port sauce-currant/raspberry sauce. Usually, because I am always looking for an excuse to buy and open a bottle of port.

Diane was gone for the day, leaving me completely unsupervised. Ranch 99 had plenty o’ duck quarters. I asked my friend Paul if he would look for other sparkling reds or other sparkling wines for a duck & sparkling wine tasting. It was all on! I love my life.

Duck leg thigh quarters with Bicentennial Rub

I started with a mess of duck quarters rubbed with magical Bicentennial Rub (Penzeys.com: Yay, Penzeys!). You doubt that this stuff is magical? Salt, pepper, sugar, turmeric, orange peel, and coriander. Sounds ordinary, but this is truly the poultry seasoning of legends. At least my legends.

So this duck was good to go. I prepped the BGE (Big Green Egg) for low heat (around 250°). This was using  indirect heat. On the BGE this involves a ceramic plate heat-diffuser thingy. Someday I will take a picture of it. A little apple and pecan wood for smoke. A disposable water pan to catch most of the fat. A couple hours of awesome smells.

Barbecued duck. Pure duck goodness. It does not get much better.

All right, I know it was supposed to be a duck and sparkling wine tasting, but I wanted other sides. I can’t resist grilled pineapple. Roasted yams. Cucumber, red pepper, and red onion salad. Grilled asparagus. Paul sold his family on coming by stating there would be shrimp étoufée. It was left over, but hey, the flavors get a chance to marry, right? No port sauce as I decided that might interfere with the sparkling wine tasting (but I still conveniently bought a bottle of port!).

BBQ duck loves grilled pineapple, and so do I

Shrimp étoufée goodness!

BBQ Duck and Sparkling Wine Tasting? It's all on!

Paul came through and brought three more wines.  Two sparklers and a non-sparkling red Cuvée. Score!

Sparkling shiraz, syrah, and moscato! Oh my!

So what about those wines?

The Chook had a really pretty garnet color. Some raspberry/cherry with a little pepper. Some oak backbone. Not too sweet. I think the wine complemented the richness and full-flavor of the duck.

The South Coast Winery Ruby Cuvée (Temecula Valley, CA – $20) was a little sweeter. Dark ruby color. Maybe raspberries, with a sweet-tart finish. A little smokiness. The vineyard refers to it as liquid cranberry sauce. The tartness was also a nice match for the duck, although Paul thought this one was a little sweet.

The Cupcake Vineyards Piemonte Moscato (Italy – $9) was the sweetest of the sparklers. Not a sparkling red but a muscat based wine. Floral nose with some tropical fruit on the palate. Would have been a good dessert wine, but it worked ok with the duck. I love muscat, so I liked this one regardless.

The Liberty School 2008 Central Coast Cuvée ($13) was not a sparkler, but a blend of  Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Viognier. Good fruit, a little smoke. I think we did this wine a disservice as it was chilled. I would like to try it again later at room temp.  I like the varietals…

No one goes away hungry. Not even Paul.

A very pleasant afternoon. I thought the sparkling wine and duck combinations were very tasty. I think Paul thought they were unusual at first, but might have been won over by the sparkling shiraz. We had plenty of left-overs, including the wine. Paul left with a Tupperware container of wines that I thought were destined for coq au vin. But that is another story!

Until next time, cheers! Jerry