Alice was reading “Best of the South”, happened upon a picture of the gumbo served at Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe and went to work finding a good recipe which she found at www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/how-to-make-gumbo/. *

Something about a bowl of gumbo with a crab claw sticking out of it intrigued me too. We pretty much followed the recipe, though we did add a smoked turkey leg and some sprightly dried pepper flakes made from a blend of ghost peppers and others grown by our niece and nephew. We also added a dozen large shrimp shelled and cut in half as well as chopped green onion to the parsley garnish. It came out wonderfully rich with that smoky sweet smell of dark roux and caramelized onions. I would probably add more okra the next time we make it. What is gumbo without a piece of okra in every bite? Heat wise, it was just right though maybe a bit too hot to fully appreciate and critique wine. We had planned on enjoying a pair of wines from Trader Joe’s with the gumbo but decided on beer for me and milk for Alice. Though it was not initially hot, it did “build value” as our friend Chef Rudolph VanNunnen used to say. That is, it not only grows in volume but it also grows on you. That was certainly the case here by my third bowl. By the way, the picture from Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe showed a crab claw, but Costco had a good buy on lobster claws, so what the heck!

After dinner we did taste the wines. The first one we had reviewed in a previous vintage (see “Brian’s Cryin’s II” posted on January 6, 2022 for notes on the 2020) 2021 VINEDOS MARCHIGUE Panilonco “Chief of Lions” Carmenere Reserva DO Calchagua Valley CHILE (13.5% abv) $3.99 at Trader Joe’s. It had all of the intense Carmenere varietal character as the 2020 and then some. Maybe it’s a self fulfilling prophecy I’m telling myself that this younger version absolutely defines Carmenere because it is probably young vine Carmenere. I’m actually surprised that Alice likes it as well as I do because she is not normally a big fan of very rustic, slightly green, composty wines. To me this is somewhere between a Michigan Hybrid and a Northern Rhone Syrah in character. And, like its predecessor, I’d give this one a GOLD. We also sampled its stable mate the 2021 VINEDOS MARCHIGUE Panilonco “Chief of Lions” Merlot-Malbec DO Calchagua Valley CHILE (13.5% abv) also $3.99. It is a nice enough well balanced enjoyable wine but after the Carmenere it seemed pretty shallow. The fruit is pleasantly fresh and the grip stays well into the finish, but there is no substitute for gusto and this one does not have much of that. Even at $3.99, I really can’t go over bronze. On second thought, make that a NO MEDAL.

Enjoy in Good Health! A. Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner

*When you click on “Cajun Chicken and Sausage Gumbo Recipe”, you’ll need to scroll way way way down through all the helpful tips to to get to the actual recipe.