Sausages with Balsamic Glazed Onions & Red Grapes – Wine Pairing

Jump to recipe

Garnacha:  Comando G, La Bruja de Rozas 2017 – Pairing Rating:  9.5 out of 10.0

Grenache: Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Grand Grenache 66 2010 – Pairing Rating: 9.0

The earliest known use of the word “sausage”, from the Latin salsus (salted), can be found in Homer’s The Odyssey (XX : 24-27), circa 700 BCE. Since then, sausages continued to hang in the halls of history, linked to numerous historical figures:  the Aristophanes’ play The Knights is about a sausage vendor who is elected leader; sausages were associated with the Lupercalia pagan festival during the reign of Nero; in 320 AD, Constantine I and the Catholic Church banned sausage eating because of ties to such pagan festivals; and in the 10th century, Byzantine Emperor Leo VI, the Wise, outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.

Today, we link sausages with casual, comfort food: brats at the ballpark, sausage & peppers at a county fair, sausage (Würstl) & sauerkraut at Oktoberfest. Trish and I wanted to think outside the bun and in doing so found this excellent recipe from Fine Cooking magazine (detailed at the bottom of this post):

The salty, spicy juices of the sausage, the tang of the balsamic vinegar and the sweetness of the onions & grapes, commingle in a way that separates this recipe from other sausage dishes. The preparation is straightforward, hastened by having all the elements at the ready – so called, Mise en Place.

Key to this recipe (in addition to high quality, sweet Italian sausage) is the selection of the Balsamic Vinegar. If you choose to use a thin, tart grocery store brand, you will miss the mark. We propose two richer vinegars from Modena, Italy:

• 

• 

The Cavalli Balsamico ($25) is our go-to vinegar for salads. It’s rich and concentrated, with plummy sweetness from the grape must (no added sugars). If your preference is for sweet over savory, this is the vinegar for you. The De Nigris ($20) is a bit less concentrated and less sweet, but complex and full-bodied, with a bit more acidity than the Cavalli. In Bond-speak, think Roger Moore vs. Daniel Craig. After trying the recipe with both vinegars, our vote was for the De Nigris, mirroring our preference for Craig.

Wine Pairing

In view of the vinegar/sautéed onions/red grapes driving the flavors of this dish, we wanted a wine with enough acidity to handle the vinegar but sweet enough to complement the onions & grapes. And because it’s balsamic vinegar, it had to be a red wine. We immediately thought of the grape Grenache (or Garnacha if Spanish). But Grenache from what part of the world? France, Spain, Sardinia, USA??? For brevity sake, we focused on two expressions of this grape – one lighter-styled, and one more extracted.

• 

• 

Comando G Bruja de Rozas 2017 ($30) is a light-styled Garnacha is from the Sierra de Gredos, a mountain range near Madrid. The fruit is from vines 50 to 80 years old, biodynamically farmed on sandy soils of granite, slate and quartz at an elevation of 2700 ft. All serve to produce a pale ruby wine filled with energy and rich red fruit. We totally agree with Decanter Magazine’s description of Comando G: “elegant, mineral and refreshing . . . (a) thrilling, modern expression of Garnacha.” In our view, this is a terrific food wine with grilled meats and burgers.

For a more extracted style, we chose a Grenache from Domaine Santa Duc Grand Grenache 66 2010 ($109) from the Gigondas region of France’s Southern Rhone. Made from biodynamically farmed vines that range in age from 50 to 110 years old, the wine maker said that only the best lots from the vintage were selected for this wine, the most expensive in the Santa Duc lineup.

• 

• 

The wine’s color in the photo above tells all. This Grand Grenache is rich and fleshy, with dark fruits, silky tannins, and a very long spice-filled finish. Stylistically, this Gigondas is quite different from the lighter, refreshing Comando G; a consequence of the Gigondas’ soils (more clay), elevation (lower) and extraction (higher). Note that Santa Duc now markets a 100% Grenache wine as Chateauneuf du Pape La Crau Ouest.

We love this Gigondas wine but feel it pairs better with richer, heavier fare like braised Short Ribs, Osso Buco, and Cassoulet. If you’ve not tried the wines of Domaine Santa Duc, we recommend you start with their Grenache blends – Clos Derriere Vieille ($48) or Les Aubes from Vacqueyras ($27). Both are 80% Grenache.

Regardless of the Grenache/Garnacha you choose, give this recipe a go. Cooking with vinegar, as showcased here and in our Chicken Escabeche post, will brighten your favorite comfort food.