It's hard to imagine what vegetarian wine lovers have to go through for one simple reason: What do they eat with your Cabernet Sauvignon?
Considering that Cab and its Bordeaux brethren is what we got the most of in California and that it turns up pretty ubiquitously from France, Chile, Argentina, and Australia (to name a few) we have to devise dishes that accompany it well. But, sadly, to me there's really only one thing that always goes well with Cabernet and it is described in two words: red meat.
One of the things that can make Cab difficult to pair is its inherent herbal, minty and grassy flavors (that is, if you're not drinking overripe, fruity, pruny Cab). Fortunately, these qualities can also sometimes be found in a steak, especially if the cow was grass-fed. Recently I tried one of the tastiest rib-eyes of my life. Purchased at the Prather Ranch (www.pratherranch.com) booth in the Ferry Building, the steak was actually from Oregon, a 100% grass-fed Black Angus from the Knee Deep Cattle Company (www.kneedeepcattlecompany.com) With a simple pan frying in olive oil and garlic, it was juicy, flavorful and went perfectly with the dark, essential fruit and herb flavors of Napa Cabernet blend from Dominus (www.dominusestate.com). And it all only took 5 minutes.
