TNs on my search for the ultimate Crab Cakes food/wine matchup!!!

....plus a good reason to drink up some of the whites I have been rotating to drink up!! Any suggestions welcome naturally.

WTN: `01 Verdiccio dei Castelli di Jesi "San Sisto"--Fazi Battaglia, Marches.

My second bottle, previously tasted a year ago. East of Tuscany, this wine has a good following altho` generally Verdiccio has a sort of low-end feel about it. 13.5% alc, barrel fermented so lets take a trip over the Apennines!! This might work quite well as it should have some richness and a lingering citrussy finish.

Color. Deepish yellow w. light gold tints. No green left this time around.

Nose. Some tropical fruits with hazelnuts, citrus, aromatic. Quite distinct and sharp.

Palate. Initial entry thoughts are some citrus, nutty, pineapple and green apple. Off-dry and some buttery tones still, assertive, wonderful acidity. Not the Verdiccio from my college days!
Easy drinking finish and matches the cakes quite well. Could stand up to some real spice, more minerally after an hour.Must look around for some more like this!

Cost was $20 Cdn.

*****next up, the Esporao from Portugal.

[David M. Bueker]

Sounds good. How are you making the crab cakes? That will certainly influence the match.

Bob, I am a huge fan of cru Chablis, or a nice Meursault with east coast style crab cakes. If curry and other potent spices get mixed in I tend to reach for an Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Of course I don't really need much of an excuse to reach for an Alsatian Gewurztraminer anyway.

. . . east coast style crab cakes. . .

Uh, Sam, I think you mean Maryland-style crab cakes. Even the often benighted folks in our neighboring states call them that. With a little Old Bay in the mix, my go-to wines are Riesling and dry rose, but in a pinch I could give Mersault and Chablis a go.

By the way, what your favorite beverage with that "Midwestern" hot dog delicacy, the Red Hot?[/i]

Unfortunately, a lot of restaurant Maryland crab cake is no longer produced from Maryland blue crabs, but the ones I've had are still well paired with Chablis, Muscadet Sur Lie, Dry Riesling (but what isn't?) and Pinot Bianco or Lugana.

Incidentally, Clinton, I spent a number of years in MD--Andrews AF Base and U of M College Park. I do know the blue crab and am saddened by its gradual disappearance from the marketplace and its price creep. Someone once made the mistake of taking me to an all-you-can-eat crab place for one of my birthdays. I ate way too many...

Uh, Sam, I think you mean Maryland-style crab cakes. Even the often benighted folks in our neighboring states call them that. With a little Old Bay in the mix, my go-to wines are Riesling and dry rose, but in a pinch I could give Mersault and Chablis a go.

By the way, what your favorite beverage with that "Midwestern" hot dog delicacy, the Red Hot?

Oops! I couldn't come up with the locale. For reasons unknown my brain was going for "Boston-style". In order not to offend anyone I went for the generic "East Coast". I do prefer Chablis over Riesling with Maryland crab cakes. The minerality really enhances the crab flavor in my opinion. Mersault is a close second.

The definitive drink with "Red Hots" in the midwest is Old Style beer, preferrably consumed while watching the Cubbies at Wrigley Field on a bright summer afternoon. Accept no substitutes!

Uh, Sam, I think you mean Maryland-style crab cakes. Even the often benighted folks in our neighboring states call them that. With a little Old Bay in the mix, my go-to wines are Riesling and dry rose, but in a pinch I could give Mersault and Chablis a go.

By the way, what your favorite beverage with that "Midwestern" hot dog delicacy, the Red Hot?

Oops! I couldn't come up with the locale. For reasons unknown my brain was going for "Boston-style". In order not to offend anyone I went for the generic "East Coast". I do prefer Chablis over Riesling with Maryland crab cakes. The minerality really enhances the crab flavor in my opinion. Mersault is a close second.

The definitive drink with "Red Hots" in the midwest is Old Style beer, preferrably consumed while watching the Cubbies at Wrigley Field on a bright summer afternoon. Accept no substitutes!

Sam,

You can get minerality in Riesling from Keuka Lake--Vinifera Wine Cellars, Heron Hill, or Ravines.

[James Roscoe]

Okay, Maryland Crab Cakes, forget all other imitators, are great with a dry rose. I think a nice Riesling would do in a pinch. I might go with the other recommendations. When picking Blue Crabs, aka Jimmies, a nice draft beer is pretty much required. Yuengling would be my first choice if no German pilsner were available. I might go with a nice local micro brew too. (Fordham is excellent.)

I will admit that I have never tried crab cakes with a dry Rose. I will give it a shot.

Sounds good. How are you making the crab cakes? That will certainly influence the match.

Dungeness crab and a recipe from the Grill that includes red peppers, green onion, garlic, cream, flour and so on. I mixed in some chopped scallops for good measure!!

I think the idea of a rose is good, also Pinot Gris from Alsace.

Yes, dry rose works too. Don't like the Pinot Gris from Alsace--usually too powerful a wine. Instead, try a Pinot Grigio or Bianco by Terlano.

Good point Thomas, how about GV?? Sure has developed into an interesting thread.

[James Roscoe]

Bob, if you are going to use some lesser crab such as dungeness, then maybe it needs some spice to give it taste. Therefore perhaps a GV might fit the bill exactly.

[David M. Bueker]

If it's got red pepper and garlic in it then it's not a crab cake.

WTN: `01 Verdiccio dei Castelli di Jesi "San Sisto"--Fazi Battaglia, Marches.
generally Verdiccio has a sort of low-end feel about it..

There is definitely more than just low-end Verdicchio, I had the below specimen the other week and highly recommend it as both a serious and refreshing wine. Would probably work well with crab cakes although I agree with some of the posters that crab cakes don't really seem to be the most flattering way to show off the taste of what is in my opinion perhaps the most sublime seafood, best eaten without adornement, next to the ocean..

2005 Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Matelica
Piercing, intense, floral and juicy. Citrus and vegetal flavors are mixed with a luscious body and a steely backbone, plus the tactile chalk. And the minerals. This is great fun at $14.

[James Roscoe]

If it's got red pepper and garlic in it then it's not a crab cake.

Quite frankly, he's not using a blue crab, so technically it's not a true crab cake. To be honest, I'm not sure the crab can come from anywhere other than the Chesapeake or its tributaries although I might allow for the eastern U.S. Atlantic coast. I say knock yourself out Bob. Use whatever ingriedients turn your palate on. don't let a grumpy crab cake snob like me disuade you from your choices.

I used the recipe from the Grill after the Mishy offline when the dish was a hit with a couple of the whites that we tasted...including the Esporao. I took out a book from the local library and it featured 50 different recipes, many from the south.

So here is the next wine that I opened to go with the cakes. Last month at the Mishy offline here in town,the Esporao went well with the scallops wrapped in bacon, as well as the crab cakes.

WTN: `02 Herdade do Esporao Branco--Alentejo, Portugal.

Managed to find three bottles to stash away after the Mishy do!! 14% alc, Australian winemaker, grape varieties are local...Vare Antao Vez, Roupeira, Arinto.

Color. Deep yellow, almost verges on a gold. This is quite advanced after the other bottle last month.

Nose. Very expressive with vanilla and creamy remnants of oak. Some tropical fruits include papaya, peach and melon. Goodnesss me, chardonnay....nagh!

Palate. Rich and full-bodied w.hint of residual suger and some oak. Big, long finish and a splash of citrus with pineapple and some minerally tones. It actually does work with the cakes!! I enjoyed the spice that was present and the overall feel.

Cost was around $25.00 Cdn.

WTN: `04 Quinta de Ameal Vinho Verde Loureiro.

This one was not a big success after the oak influenced Esporao. Medium lemon color w. greenish tinges. The nose was pear, crisp, floral, lime. On the palate, the initial entry thoughts were spritz, crisp, minerally with tart apple and peach. There was a refreshing lemony finish but lacked complexity. With shellfish, might have worked better and seemed to open up if not served too chilled. Good wine though in it`s own right.

Cost was $19.00 Cdn.

My Mom makes wicked devilled crabs, and the recipe calls for Sherry, so I discovered a glass of dry Fino, Manzanilla, or Dry Oloroso (Palo Cortado) Sherry, compliments the dish nicely.

Salute

Here is the latest installment in my ultimate quest for the best matchup around. This one worked really well in the opinion of my small tasting panel in the Grill lounge!

WTN: `04 Arneis Cascina Bongiovanni--Langhe, Italy.

Perhaps a little bit of local history first, from Nic Belfrage book. "Low yielder and tends to lose acidity rapidly near ripening time.........prefers the light chalky/sandy soilof the Roero hills.....production has doubled in last ten years".

IMHO, not a wine to cellar away but household rotation rules in effect!! Purchased over a year ago for around $20 Cdn.

Colour. Deep straw, no sign of any lemon, nice clear hue here.

Nose. Pear and almonds. Nice perfumed floral hints, no honey.

Palate. As expected a tad low on acidity but the spice of the cakes really improved the finish that is really quite buoyant. Light medium-bodied, crisp, spritzy at first, pear and citrus. Without food, one-dimensional to some but it sure worked with food!!

Bob, I am a huge fan of cru Chablis, or a nice Meursault with east coast style crab cakes. If curry and other potent spices get mixed in I tend to reach for an Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Of course I don't really need much of an excuse to reach for an Alsatian Gewurztraminer anyway.

Talking Chablis Sam, the `04 from W Fevre was one of the top wines tasted at the Team Challenge here in town. $24 Cdn and a very nice wine but needed 2 hrs to get going. A few got it, I somehow changed my mind about halfway thro` the first round!!...and thought low-end Canadian chard from BC!! Initially announced to my team..."could be Chablis".

Thanks Bob. I have tasted a 2002 Domaine Fevre Chablis. It's funny that my notes say "Considerable warming in glass required to kick start. Should be served at red temps." Once it got going I did really like it. Didn't taste it with crab cakes though.

PS: It seems that you should have gotten partial credit for identifying it as a Chardonnay.

This did turn out to be a fun thread, and Victor with that sherry--right on! I'd forgotten about how good a dry sherry can be with all kinds of seafood.

Oh, and I agree with James--if it ain't blue crab it may be a cake, but not a crab cake

T....Considerable warming in glass required to kick start. Should be served at red temps.... Chardonnay.

I've always considered Chardonnay the most "red" of whites (different from other whites) and contrarily, I've considered Gamay (and lighter PNs)the most "white" of reds.