Curried Potatoes with Cabernet Franc

With all of our stories, it seems like we go out to eat often. But really, most nights we eat at home. And since having a bottle of wine at home with dinner is a less expensive endeavor, we are often willing to experiment a little more, both in the recipes with choose, and the wines we pair with them.

Of course, sometimes the recipes get a little complicated. Looking for a hearty meal one night, the ingredients started piling up. Potatoes as the base, but that seemed a bit too bland, so added some curry spices to liven up the sauce. Mushrooms, to give the meal a bit more body. And the sauce seemed a bit thin, so some Roquefort cheese to give it a bit of richness. That was an odd combination of flavor, with lots of earthy flavors, so we looked for a red wine to match. A bottle of Cabernet Franc seemed like a good idea; some earthiness to complement the mushrooms, some fruitiness to bring out the sweetness of the Roquefort, and maybe that hint of green vegetable to play with the curry.

Surprisingly, the dish ended up light in flavor. Maybe it needed a bit more time to stew, to allow the potatoes a chance to really absorb the flavors, but improvised recipes are always a learning experience. The flavors worked, but it turned out that the wine was a bit too powerful, and kind of overwhelmed the food. It seems like that can be a problem with Cabernet Franc. Very dependent on the vintage, it can be a light bodied wine with some delicate flavors, or a deep, powerful wine. It pays to know the details of the bottle you plan to open. Or you can just sit back and enjoy it, no matter what the outcome.