Alexandra and Stéphane, both fine gourmets and wine-lovers, own Les Paillottes Paillotes camp-site in Ruoms, gateway to the Ardèche Gorges.
« In our "Guinguette" (an informal outdoor restaurant), the Merlot 2006 from Domaine des Crès Ricards is a wine our customers appreciate very much. Classically, it is the ideal accompaniment to our simple but high quality dishes, such as grilled entrecote steak or three-peppercorn kangaroo kebabs.
For a more exotic combination, we like to serve it with our special house paella, every Thursday during the summer.
To the surprise of our customers, who would usually serve paella with rosé, we believe that the simplicity of this varietal wine and its perfect balance adds to the convivial aspect of this Spanish dish.
Visually, the beautiful bright crimson colour of the Merlot and the vibrant medley of colours in the paella mean that this food/wine pairing cheers up our guests’ tables.
And as for the taste, the paella’s spicy saffron and sweet peppers are complemented by the cinnamon notes of the wine.
The sweetness of the onion does very well with the stewed cherry notes of the wine. The length of the Merlot is not at all undermined by the mixture of seafood, chicken and chorizo.
In short, we find this pairing as unusual as it is perfect! »
Special “Paillotes” Paella
For 6 people: 6 pieces of chicken (drumsticks or thighs), 180 g of peas, 300 g of cuttlefish or squid in strips, 450 g of seafood cocktail, 12 whole mussels, 6 large whole prawns, 150 g sliced onions, 18 slices of strong chorizo, 600 g of rice (we prefer Camargue rice for slow cooking), a tin of whole peeled tomatoes, fish or seafood stock, 1 sweet pepper, 1 lemon, olive oil.
Fry the chicken and chorizo in the olive oil in a large frying pan, add the peppers and onions and fry until golden, then add the peeled tomatoes with their juice. Once the tomato juice and tomatoes have reduced, add the fish stock, then the peas, followed a few minutes later by the squid and the seafood cocktail, then reduce for 30 minutes. Add the rice and cook for 20-30 minutes, then add the mussels and prawns.
Remember to stir often.