We all know how stressful meal plans can be. School never prepared us for the pressures of having to decide what to eat. Every. Single. Night. But luckily, Alto Wine Estate in Stellenbosch understands our pain and comes bearing recipes – and wine.
Discover eight dishes you can comfortably create at home, and that are specifically selected to pair with one of Alto’s exceptional wines.
Alto Wine Estate has built a reputation as one of the most respected and oldest red wine producers in South Africa. The estate has been stretched out along the steep northern slopes of the Helderberg mountain range for more than one hundred years.
They boast with an impressive range of wines that are known for their collectability, quality, heritage, tradition, and most importantly, their full-bodied characteristics. Their wines have won countless awards over the decades.
Not that you need any more reasons to love Alto wines, but here are eight dishes you can enjoy at home while sipping your favourite Alto wine:
Alto Estate Blend
paired with smoky braaied chicken with rooibos, lemon and rosemary
Sundays are the perfect day for braaied chicken. This recipe combines smoky South African flavour from the braai with the earthiness of rooibos and rosemary and the bright acidity of lemon. A kettle braai works best to smoke and roast the chicken simultaneously, but the chicken can also be cooked in an oven if more convenient. The ultimate comfort food, few dishes can please like a roast chicken can.
The prep time for this dish is about 15 minutes, while the cook time is between 40 to 60 minutes. This dish serves about four people.
Read the recipe here.
Alto Shiraz
paired with steak prego roll
This is an easy recipe that will come in handy on those weekday nights when food needs to be on the table quickly. An iconic Portuguese street food, the prego roll as we know it in South Africa gained its spicy flavour from fiery Mozambican peri-peri sauce. This is a sauce recipe you will definitely use time and time again.
The prep time for this dish is 25 minutes, while the cook time is about 20 minutes. The recipe is enough for two people but can be doubled easily.
Find the recipe here.
Cabernet Sauvignon
paired with smoky chorizo and prawn paella
In need of something to host a dinner party with? This paella and Cabernet Sauvignon pairing will sweep anyone off their feet. Paella is a celebratory combination of strong Spanish flavour and is one of the most popular “surf & turf” dishes. Featuring smoky chorizo, crispy pork belly and juicy prawns, this richly flavoured recipe holds up to being paired with a robust red wine like Alto Cabernet Sauvignon.
This dish will require 10 minutes of prep and about 40 minutes of cook time. It can serve up to six people.
Read the recipe here.
Alto Rouge
paired with grilled lamb chops with anchovy, parsley and caper gremolata
Dress up your lamb chops with this quick and easy gremolata. Full of Mediterranean flavour, gremolata is an Italian herb sauce redolent of lemon zest, parsley and garlic. Delicious with most meats, the salinity of anchovy and capers works particularly well with the richness of lamb rib chops.
The prep time for this dish is a quick 15 minutes plus marinating, while the cook time should be about 10 minutes. This recipe is enough to serve four people.
Read the recipe here.
Alto Rouge
paired with cheesy garlic dip with crostini
Serving appetisers? Nothing beats a cheesy garlic dip paired with an Alto Rouge. The ripeness and sweetness in Alto Rouge will balance the flavour of smoke, heat and spice. This full flavoured wine will also stand up against the added weight and texture derived from chargrilled meat.
Read this easy recipe here.
Cabernet Sauvignon
paired with sweet and spicy ostrich kebabs
Ostrich may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but paired with an award-winning Alto Cabernet Sauvignon, it will go down like a dream. Salt, especially when combined with rich fatty foods, softens tannins in bold, full bodied wines such as the Alto Cabernet Sauvignon.
Read the recipe here.
Alto Shiraz
paired with Alfresco platter
Alto Shiraz; with its good tannic back bone can also bear the added weight that the smokiness lends to any dish. The delicate spicy quality, married to a dark fruitiness, makes it the perfect accompaniment to the smoky biltong. This recipe includes baked feta and red pepper hummus with hazelnuts.
Add fresh veggies, charcuterie, cheese, pita breads, capers, nuts, droë wors and grapes to create a visually beautiful and delicious platter.
Read the recipe here.
Alto M.P.H.S
paired with mushroom and prosciutto pizza
This one has strong weekend vibes. Learn how to make all elements of this dish, including the pizza base and the tomato base, and reward your hard labour with a glass of Alto M.P.H.S. Fermentation releases more umami flavours in full bodied, well-aged wines like the Alto M.P.H.S. The intensity of flavour in this rich wine is well matched with umami foods like the Alto Red Wine Biltong with Parmesan and White Truffle.
Read the recipe here:
Deciding what to eat during the week does not have to be stressful or difficult. Pick one of these scrumptious recipes, open a bottle of Alto wine, and allow yourself to be rewarded for a hard day’s work with a feast of flavours.
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Picture: Alto Stellenbosch