2009 Picos del Montgo Old Vines Garnacha

Uncorked a 2009 Picos del Montgo Old Vines Garnacha tonite to go with some Chorizo and Date skewers that I'll be grilling up shortly. Nice fruit in this Garnache that I found down at my local World Market. The wine is vinified in the Northeast of Spain from a varietal that is called Grenache in France and Garnacha in Spain. The origins of the grape are Spanish and they do a great job of highlighting the wonderful berry flavors in the grape.

Here's a nice review of the wine - Blue State Carpetbagger's Red State Wine Blog

Here's some background on the region and varietal - Grenache Wiki

The recipe for the skewers and couscous to go with it:

Chorizo & Date Skewers With Orange-Cinnamon Couscous

You can replace the orange juice and zest for the couscous with lemons, if you like. Soak the wood skewers in water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

• Skewers
• 12 ounces cooked chorizo sausage links, cut into 3/4-inch chunks (about 24 pieces)
• 8 dates, halved lengthwise and pitted
• 1/2 red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks (or 16 pieces)
• Couscous
• 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup plain instant couscous
• -- Kosher salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• -- Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 
  

Instructions: Preheat the grill to medium-high (about 400-450°).

Thread the ingredients onto the water-soaked skewers in the following order: 1 piece chorizo (pierce through the casing, so that the cut side sits flat on the grill), 1 date half, folded in half again to make it shorter, and 1 chunk of red onion. Repeat once, and finish with a third piece of chorizo. Do the same with the remaining 7 skewers and set aside.

To make the couscous, pour the chicken broth into a small saucepan; bring to a boil, add couscous and salt to taste, remove from the heat, cover, and let steam for 5 to 10 minutes.

Squeeze orange juice over the couscous, and fluff with a fork. Gently stir in the orange zest, cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

Grill skewers until the onions have softened and chorizo has golden grill marks, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat, and serve 2 skewers per person, with couscous.

Cheers!