A Match Made in Heaven; Jurançon Sec and Instant Pot Shrimp Boil #Winophiles

This month our  French Winophiles  blogging group takes a virtual trip to the lesser known  French side of the Basque region where the Pyrenees Mountains form the natural border between France and Spain.

While the Spanish side is well-known (it has the highest per capita concentration of Michelin star restaurants in the world), the French offers a stark contrast of picturesque towns, and farms  isolated by the Pyrenees. It’s claim to fame is that it offers starting points for the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage from France to SpainIt is also where you will find the wines of Irouléguy (ee-RHOO-lay-ghee), the only wine truly from the French Basque region. It’s a small region that is about as far south in France as it is possible to go before crossing the Pyrenees into Spain.

Since the wines can be difficult to find, we’re expanding our focus a bit for this month to include the Jurançon region.

Like  Irouléguy, Jurançon a sub-region of the larger South-West wine region.  Not only are the two regions part of the network of appellations found in the large South-West wine region, the white wines are made from the same grape varieties –  Gros manseng, Petit manseng and Petit courbu, as in Jurançon.  The region produces both sweet and dry white wines (Jurançon and Jurançon Sec, respectively).

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The Wine

The 2016 Domaine Cauhapé Jurançon Sec Chant Des Vignes is a blend of 60% Gros Manseng and 40% Camaralet de LasseubeThe grapes were crushed and destemmed, then macerated on skins for 12 hours before pressing.  Thereafter it was cool-fermented in stainless steel and matured on lees for 5 months.

Color – Pale yellow with green hue
Aromas – Quince, cantaloupe, apricot confit, lemon, with hints of fennel,white pepper and wet stone
Body – Medium bodied, with very fresh mouth-watering  tangy acidity and a very appealing waxy texture
Taste – Apricot, lemon, quince, and golden apple with melon flavors nicely accented a wet stone minerality and a hint of herbaceousness
Finish – Medium

13.5% abv|SRP – $14|89pts

This wine offers wonderful value.  We’ve already ordered more!

The Wine and Food Pairing

As serendipity would have it, we received an Instant Pot that had been on back-order for some time, the same day that I capitalized on a BOGO for 2lb. bags of frozen raw shrimp, and I’d picked up the aforementioned wine a day or two before. Anxious to take the Instant Pot for a spin, I googled “Instant Pot + shrimp”.  At the top of the search results was an Instant Pot Shrimp Boil from Damn Delicious.

The food and wine universe had spoken to me!  I listened.

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The recipe turned out great ( it was my first time using an Instant Pot). The Shrimp Boil was well…damn delicious, and came together fairly easily and quickly.  It’s definitely a keeper in my book and I’ll be making it again.

As for the pairing, it was a match made in heaven!  The wine’s vibrant, tangy acidity cut though the spiced butter slathered vegetables and shrimp, it’s waxy texture and weight were complemented the “weight” of the Shrimp Boil, and its herbaceous notes worked very well with the spices in the dish.

Be sure to check out what my fellow French Winophiles discovered during their French Basque region exploration:

And if you’re up early enough, please join our chat on Twitter on 17 August at 8am PDT. Just search for the hashtag: #Winophiles

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15 Comments

  1. As luck would have it, we recently got an Instant Pot, too! Recipe saved, and shrimp on sale at Sprouts this weekend! Cheers!

    1. WordPress.com Support says:

      If you like Shrimp Boils, Then definitely try the one I used! Cheers!

    2. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. Hope you had a chance to take your instant pot for a spin!

  2. culinarycam says:

    What a great pairing! I am pretty sure I have that bottle of wine, too. I’ll look.

    1. WordPress.com Support says:

      I think a few of us have the same bottle. Juraçon wines seems to be challenging to find too!

    2. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks for the kind words Cam! Cheers!

  3. Love the combination of opportunities that made this meal happen. We were very skeptical of the Instant Pot, until we got one as a gift and took it for a spin. Never looked back! Welcome to the Pot Heads club (more like cult, really).

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks for the kind words. Our limited experience has been the same. We’ve been using it regularly and it works very well!

  4. Payal says:

    What a delicious pairing! The shrimp boil looks terrific!

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks Payal! It was surprisingly easy to make and turned out great! Definitely a keeper recipe!

  5. I have been on the fence regarding Insta pots…I think this set me over the edge. This looks delicious! How long did it take to cook?

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      I hear you on the Instant Pot thing. The only reason we purchased this one is because of a deep discount! So far, so good though. We’ve been using regularly and it works well!

  6. I haven’t taken the Insta Pot plunge yet, but a shrimp boil is right at home here in the south. Looks like a yummy pairing.

    1. Martin D. Redmond says:

      Thanks for the kind words Jane. It really was a great pairing!

Comments are closed.