Pairing: Maine Crab Cakes and 2013 d’Arenberg The Hermit Crab.

Food: Most people have a favorite crab cake recipe. We certainly do … it’s from Todd English’s cookbook, The Olives Table. It’s heavy on the crabmeat (1/2 lb) and light on the fresh bread crumbs (6T or 1 small slice of bread). An egg, some yogurt (2T), dijon mustard (1 tsp), parsley (2T), salt and pepper to taste. Mix together gently, form in a 1/3 cup measure, and saute the formed crab cakes in a little olive oil until golden brown. Yum!! Whenever possible, we try to use crabmeat from the Gulf of Maine. Sanders Fish Market in Portsmouth, NH is a favorite haunt.

Wine: 2013 d’Arenberg The Hermit Crab is from the McLaren Vale region of South Australia. D’Arenberg is a widely known and highly respected winery most noted for its red wines, particularly their shiraz and cabernet sauvignon wines. The Hermit Crab, however, is a white wine made from viognier and marsanne grapes. The proportions vary from year to year, but the 2013 is 64% viognier and 36% marsanne. Year in and year out, this is a consistently great wine and has been a favorite wine of ours for years. And it’s very reasonably priced at $16. Check out their website linked below to learn more about their wines.

Tasting Notes: The Hermit Crab is a pretty, golden-colored wine with lovely aromatics. On the nose one can catch the delightful smells of white flowers, peach, and pineapple. Peach carries over to the palate, along with a touch of honeysuckle and spice.

Other Wine Pairings for Crab Cakes: chardonnay, white burgundy, sauvignon blanc, or a dry riesling.

Other Pairings for The Hermit Crab: lobster prepared most anyway, but particularly fantastic with lobster rolls.

Read About:  www.darenberg.com.au

A Source:  www.wine.com