Wine With…Gorgonzola Burgers

Wine With Gorgonzola Burgers

by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas    

A beautiful September evening on the East Coast.  The humidity is down, the mosquitoes have gone into retirement.  The fountain is burbling on our small patio, the roses are still in bloom, and the nighttime air is suffused with the mouthwatering aroma of burgers sizzling on the grill.  But these are no ordinary hamburgers:  they are studded with chunks of gorgonzola cheese and savory bits of sun-dried tomato.  And we’ve got fourteen bottles of red wine open and ready for sampling with them.

One of us assembles his burger on a bun with the ‘works’ (ketchup, mustard, raw onion, lettuce and a slice of tomato), the other goes for laying the meat unadorned on a grilled English muffin to let the flavorful meat juices absorb into the soft bread.  We’d feared these two diverse approaches might lead to different results with the wines, but to our surprise we were in agreement with just about every one of them. 

We’d assumed (correctly, as it turned out) that heartier wines would work best, so our sampling therefore did not include Beaujolais, Pinots or other more delicate wines.  And indeed, in every case, power won out.  We immediately eliminated a Valpolicella and a Dolcetto from Italy, both of them excellent on their own but lacking the brawn these powerhouse hamburgers required.   For these were burgers on steroids, with the melting, rich piquancy of the blue cheese and the concentrated sweet/salty bites of tomato melding deliciously with the smoky char of the meat.  Once we’d removed the weaker contenders from the vinous lineup, we were challenged to select five top labels, for every one of the heftier wines (other than a too-sweet California red blend) was a winner. 

One of the most fascinating aspects of this exercise was that wines we’d felt were slightly flawed in one way or another on their own were delicious with the burgers.  Too much taste of American oak in that wine?  Bring it on!  Alcohol too high?  Yesss!  No wine seemed too big, concentrated, or oak-heavy when paired with this variation on the hamburger theme.  One interesting side note: all our selections were New World wines.  This is not to imply that a heady Priorat or Super Tuscan (for example) wouldn’t have worked beautifully, but our goal was to find wines that were available for $25 or less.  And at that price point, New World muscle won out.

Selection

Approx. Price

Comments

Beringer, Napa Valley (California) Merlot 2005

  $20

Though you might think Merlot would be too soft a choice for this supper, this particular Merlot turned out to be a rich, succulent, and plenty powerful wine.  We also admired its balance, and judged it the classiest of the five we’re recommending. 

Bogle, Merritt Island (Clarksburg, California) Petite Sirah ‘Reserve’ 2004

 $18

Only 500 cases of this ‘Reserve’ were made, so finding a bottle may be difficult.  The search, though, will be worth making, for the wine’s deep flavors and almost inky character made it a great partner for this extremely flavorful dish.

Grant Burge, Barossa Valley (Australia) Shiraz ‘Miamba‘ 2005

(Imported by Wilson Daniels)

 $19

This is a meaty wine, almost chewy in texture, with deep flavors and plenty of muscular power.  No surprise, then, that it performed so well with these burgers. 

EOS, Paso Robles (California) ‘The French Connection’ 2004

  $25

About a third of this wine was aged in American oak, and the dill pickle aroma that those barrels impart seemed distracting when we sipped it before dinner.  But any distraction disappeared with the meal, as the wine rose successfully to the challenge of enhancing the food.  (It’s a Bordeaux grape blend , with a bit of Petite Sirah as well.)

Simi, Sonoma County (California) Zinfandel 2005

 $23

A softer, suppler Zin than many now on the market, this wine still exhibits plenty of the varietal’s charms – ripe berry fruit flavors, a briary edge (especially in the bouquet), spicy undertones, and pliant tannins.  When well made, Zin never tastes completely tame, and the hint of wildness in it made this rendition work especially well with this meal.