We have a devil of a wine recommendation for Ann Vogel’s deviled dishes. As Vogel points out in her recipe column, “deviling” in the culinary sense means to highly season the food you are preparing.
This has the potential to make wine pairing tricky, depending on what seasons are chosen when preparing the food.
For Vogel’s deviled eggs, chicken and ham, mustard and cayenne make up the spiciness, which means we need a fruity wine to offset the heat.
The other ingredients — capers, mustard, celery seed and paprika — get along great with sauvignon blanc, and riesling or a sparkling Saumur would also pair perfectly as well.
But we’re not going to recommend these latter wines.
Instead we’ve opted to stick with Vogel’s “devil” theme and want to introduce you to Chilean winemaker Don Melchor’s Casillero del Diablo.
Founder of Chilean winery Concha y Toro, in 1891 Melchor reserved some of his best wines produced only for his private cellar. Concerned about thieves trying to get their hands on the crème de la crème of his collection, Melchor spread a rumor that the devil lived in his cellar.
Since then those wines have been called “Casillero del Diablo”, or the Devil’s cellar.
From the Casablanca Valley Appellation of Chile comes the subtly green-hued Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada Sauvignon Blanc. The wine is made from a selection of grapes from the Limarí Valley, one of Chile’s most northerly wine regions. Cool mornings and warm summer days help to produce grapes with fruity flavors and crisp acidity.
This wine is the quintessential sauvignon blanc with citrus and herb aromas and mouthwatering flavors of grapefruit and lime. It is 100 percent fermented in stainless steel and aged for 4 to 6 months sur lies. This means it’s crisp, while the sur lies aging gives it body.
The perfect pair for any of Vogel’s deviled dishes this Easter.
