In praise of Manchego cheese and Navarra wine for any season (#winePW)

By now, most of us know that many of the old wine and food pairing rules no longer apply.

Grilled salmon on the menu? Go ahead, open that Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc calling you from the wine cellar. If you’re in doubt, smother those salmon filets in pan-fried mushrooms for extra umami (the savory taste).

One pairing rule I’d like to retire permanently goes like this: winter is for reds, summer is for whites (and rosés). You see this all over the internet, right? Titles like “10 summer wines to enjoy in 2023.” This doesn’t have to be.

If you want your summer red wine “chill,” refrigerate it for a half hour or 45 minutes before serving. Is that rule-breaking? You bet!

Cheese is the perfect food for mixing and matching your wines. That’s why I’m delighted the Wine Pairing Weekend (#winePW) crowd is getting cheesy this month with our theme, “Pairing Wine and Cheese.” Please check out the bloggers posting and join us, with or without your pairing, for a Twitter chat on Saturday, June 10, at 8 am PT/11 am ET. Everyone is welcome.

Truth is, I restrict my cheese intake quite a bit these days for health reasons. But I couldn’t resist an excuse to indulge – especially when my research turned up this article by Fiona Beckett, and I learned one of my favorite cheeses, Manchego, a hard sheep’s cheese from Spain, pairs well with Rioja (also from Spain).

Hmmm… turns out I have a red blend from neighboring Navarra. This wine has some of the same varieties – Tempranillo and Garnacha – found in Rioja. Spanish wine is a bargain anywhere, but this one was positively a steal at Grocery Outlet. Might do the trick.

What’s up with Navarra?

Less well known than Rioja, Navarra was once associated with dry, fruity rosado (rosé) made from Garnacha. But in recent years, this Spanish wine region has been getting attention for red blends made primarily from Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

Navarra’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay, to be specific) in the northwest, the Pyrenees mountain range in the northeast, and the Ebro River combine to moderate temperatures in an otherwise warm Mediterranean climate. Though Navarra has just one regional DO (Denominación de Origen), its diversity has led to creation of five sub-zones: Baja Montaña in the northeast, Valdizarbe in the north, Tierra Estella in the northwest, Ribera Alta in the center, and Ribera Baja in the south, below the Ebro River. A small section of Navarra is classified as Rioja DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada).

Winemaking in Navarro, which predates Roman times, got a boost in the 14th century from Catholic pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago to the shrine (now cathedral) at Santiago de Compostela. Another big increase in demand occurred during the 19^th century phylloxera epidemic in France. But this was short-lived, unfortunately. Eventually, Navarra vineyards suffered from the blight, too. Vineyard owners replanted using phylloxera-resistant rootstocks. Source.

Expanding into Navarra

In 2014, Victor and David Fernández de Manzanos, fifth generation owners of the large Manzanos Wines family business, expanded into Navarra with the purchase of Bodegas Castillo de Enériz. Altogether, the Manzanos company, which was founded in 1890, now owns 10 wines and owns or manages a grand total of 3,770 acres of vineyards: 2,350 acres in Rioja and 1,422 in Navarra. By volume, it is among the top three producers in Navarra and top five in Rioja.

Located on the Camino de Santiago, the town of Enériz has its origins in a fort dating from the Iron Age. One of the reasons the Manzanos company acquired a recently built winery facing an old town was to increase winemaking capacity. The family can store up to 2,000 barrels of wine at this site.

The family’s Navarra vineyards are located in the village of Cárcar. Here’s a description of the company’s Navarra vineyards from the Bodegas Castillo de Enériz website:

“One of the main characteristics that define our vineyards in Navarra is the great diversity of landscapes and climates, finding all kinds of cultivation situations such as slopes, banks, plateaus or plains. Soils as diverse as clays, limestones, silts and even pebbles converge on our plots. All this, together with our vineyards conducted in gobelet and trellis system, build an ideal ecosystem for the development of our vineyards.”

The company has implemented irrigation systems in all its vineyards to ensure grapes receive a consistent amount of water.

The wine: 2018 Castillo de Eneriz Crianza, DO Navarra
Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo

These four varieties are listed above in the order in which they appear on the data sheet. Percentages are not provided.

Hand-harvested grapes ferment for 20 days in stainless steel tanks before being moved into concrete tanks for malolactic fermentation (converting the harsh malic acid into softer lactic acid). To be labeled “crianza,” a Spanish red wine must be aged for two years. This wine is aged in French and American oak barrels for 18 months, settled in concrete tanks, and then kept in the bottle for six months.

My tasting notes: Dark ruby in color. Nose is fruity and minty with aromas of cherry, black cherry and eucalyptus. Palate is minty, too, with black tea leaves and a hint of mocha. Tannins have smoothed out in five years. This wine is probably drinking at its peak right now. Not overly oaky, which can happen sometimes with Spanish wine. Medium acidity. Medium finish. Alcohol: 13.5%. Price: $9.99 at Grocery Outlet.

The pairing: As Fiona promised, Manchego is an excellent match for Spanish red wine. This gourmet grilled cheese sandwich is a treat – in any season. Instead of the fig jam, which may have been too sweet for the wine, I spread the sourdough bread with olive tapenade. Yum!

Here’s the rundown of bloggers posting this month:

• A Grenache Mutant and a Grilled Halloumi Salad by our host, Culinary Cam
• Bitto and Wines from Valtellina by Avvinare
• Franco-American Wine and Cheese Pairings That Span The Globe by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Gruyere Cheese Wine Pairing by Cooking Chat
• In praise of Manchego cheese and Navarra wine by My Full Wine Glass
• Italian Wines with Italian Cheeses and Fontina Gnocchi by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley
• Looking for the Perfect Turkish Wine and Cheese Pairing by The Quirky Cork
• Triple Aged Cheddar Cheeseburger and a Bottle of Cabernet by A Day in the Life on the Farm