Lorrie's Wine and Food World: Wine Review: Lilith 2006 Heathcote Shiraz

This wine has a deep dark garnet color. The nose is beautiful with aromas of dark fruit. The palate has some noticeable tannins, which means it is definitely a food wine, with dark fruit flavors, like cranberries, currants, dark plums and a bit of white pepper. This wine is tight and would be a great wine to cellar for a while or open and decant for a few hours, or in the morning if it is to be served for dinner. This wine is not your typical Shiraz from Australia; it is not jammy and is very balanced. I paired it with my Cranberry Glazed Turkey Burgers; it was a perfect pairing. Note: This wine was a sample from Art + Farm Wine http://www.artfarmwine.com SRP $40.00

Lorrie's Cranberry Glazed Turkey Burgers

Cranberry Glaze Recipe

Ingredients

(1) 14 oz. can of Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce

3 tablespoons of sparkling Cava Brut Rose` or Shiraz

1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

Preparation

In a saucepan add the can of jellied cranberry sauce, crushed red pepper and wine. Cook on medium-low and whisk until the mixture resembles a glaze. Note: Whisk throughout the the entire cooking time. Then reduce the temperature to low and cook for 20 minutes.

Turkey Burger

Ingredients

1.5 pounds of ground turkey (dark meat)

2/3 cups of Italian bread crumbs

1 tablespoon of Ecco Extra Virgin Olive Oil http://www.rutherfordwine.com/products/product.php?productid=16154&cat=258&page=1

3 tablespoons of finely chopped seasoning (sweet onion, celery and Italian parsley)*

1 teaspoon of Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning http://www.tonychachere.com

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh sage, or a pinch more...

1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme (put in the palm of your hand and rub to release the oils and aroma)

Preparation

In a large bowl mix all ingredients together. The mixture will feel very soft and loose; don't worry! In the bowl, with your hands divide the mixture in half and the halves into thirds to get 6 equal size patties. Place patties on a cutting board. The mixture is delicate, so gently place them in a heated frying pan (* flick a drop of water in the pan, if it pops back at you, it is ready for you to fry the burgers) with a little canola oil or grill that has been oiled or sprayed with canola oil and use a metal spatula. Wash spatula or use another metal spatula for cooking the burgers.

Cook burgers until they can easily be released from the cooked side and begin to glaze; cook on medium high at first to get the brown color, then reduce heat to medium to finish cooking. If frying them in a frying pan, as I did due to the summer heat in Little Rock, just glaze the top with a brush about 3 or 4 times; if grilling outside, you can glaze both sides. Cook until both sides are browned and thoroughly cooked inside, about 4-5 minutes on each side; the patties were thick.

I just put them on a bun with a little mayonnaise, because the flavors are so great, you can be a food purist, and not add the usual burger fixings because it is really like a Thanksgiving burger. This burger is like a Thanksgiving dish in the summertime, in the form of a burger. I would serve this with sweet potato fries as the side.

*Note : I put one sweet onion, 2 stalks of celery, cut in thirds, and a third of a bunch of Italian Flat Leaf parsley leaves in a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. I then put the seasoning in a container to use as needed.

This is one of the best turkey burgers that I've ever tasted, if I say so myself. Also, I purchased my ground turkey from my local Fresh Market; their meats are so fresh , it is worth the extra pennies or dollar per pound for the ground turkey.

I also paired it with a rose` Cava that I had open in the fridge. It was an okay pairing, but the cranberry glaze really worked well "Lilith!"

I also think that the label is cool, that you can make them into wine candelabras.