Patrick’s Seven Spice Moroccan Lamb Rub Recipe
Food and wine pairings are kind of our jam. As lovers of the wine country lifestyle, our ideal weekend is spent in the kitchen, seasoning and sipping new recipes and old favorites too.
We’re excited to open up our recipe collection to share with you our favorite things to nibble alongside Sea Bird Wines, courtesy of our winemaker, Patrick Durbin! Here’s the recipe for his (not-a-secret-anymore) Seven Spice Moroccan Lamb Rub:
2 Tbl turmeric
2 Tbl smoked paprika
1 Tbl cumin
2 tsp garlic powder or two cloves minced garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
Salt to taste
Mix together and rub lamb chops on all sides. Refrigerate at least six hours or up to day.
Grill (or bake in the oven at 400) about 8-10 min or until chops are 140 degrees at their thickest part.
Enjoy paired with any vintage of our Sea Bird Pinot Noir, though it is particularly delicious when paired with our 2014 Sangiacomo Robert’s Road Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. Everything to love about California Pinot Noir is bottled up here, with polished tannins, lush red fruits and hints of leather and cocoa as the wine has aged gracefully, with its greatest years ahead!
When pairing food and wine, you want to looks for things that balance each other. That's why we reach for a our Pinot Noir with these bright and vibrant spices. As a rule with spicy/spiced foods, you can always depend on either off-dry whites, dry whites, and light reds. A Pinot Noir is a perfect light bodied red option, as the lighter tannins will let the food shine while the bright acidity will highlight the unique earthy tones of the spices like turmeric and allspice.
Want to see the recipe in action? Check out our Instagram Reels to see our spice mixing yourself!
Taste With Our Winemaker + Samantha Sommelier!
We went vintage for this tasting hosting by Millennial Wine Competition
The Millennial Wine Competition is a fresh take on wine tasting competitions, and we are excited to see the results come through when the judges sip and score some of the hottest new wine and spirits brands on August 26th this year.
We had the chance to treat one of the competition judges Samantha Capadli, AKA Samantha Sommelier in a live Instagram tasting with our winemaker, Patrick Durbin. We dug a little into our cellar to bring out a couple of really great bottles. You know, for quality control purposes! And also because we love seeing our wine “grow up” and sharing it with new friends!
2015 Robert’s Road Chardonnay – Sonoma Coast
Coming from the Robert’s Road Vineyard grown by the Sangiacomo Family, this special lot of Chardonnay has routinely been a “crowd-pleaser” scoring us high-fives from friends, and awards from judges.
Grown the the northernmost vineyard at the base of Sonoma Mountain and at the North End of the Petaluma Gap, this fruit gets incredible influence from the ocean, resulting in bright acidity and perfectly balanced Sonoma-style fruit. It’s what we refer to as a Burgundy style wine from Sonoma Coast.
Patrick’s Perfect Pairings:
- September Oysters
- Seared Muscles
- Grilled Chicken w/ herb butter
Samantha’s Perfect Pairing:
- Oysters (or any type of shellfish)
- Creamy Chicken Pasta
- Roasted Turkey
- Cheeseboard before dinner
2014 Broken Rock Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley
The 2014 is what we can confidently refer to as “the vintage of the decade” due to its perfectly balanced tannins and plush fruit when it comes to Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
We’ve sourced this Cabernet Sauvignon from the Broken Rock Vineyard in Napa Valley, located just off the Silverado Trail at the foot of Atlas Peak. This west-facing vineyard plot soaks up all that lush afternoon Napa sunshine while still benefitting from it’s slope location, lending to the perfect balance of “mountain fruit” structure with rich Valley floor fruit.
Patrick and Samantha unanimously agree that this wine (and frankly, all red wines) are best served with a little chill, shooting for 55-65 degrees, which is essential right out of wine fridge temperatures.
Patrick’s Perfect Pairing:
- Moroccan Lamb (grilled) to play with the baking spices coming through
- “Slab & A Cab” AKA any grilled red meat
Samantha’s Perfect Pairing:
- Netflix (but be careful with it or the alcohol will catch up to you!)
- Anything on the grill
This wine is showing lovely with lush velvety tannins without too much grit, and just a little touch of baking spice and oak leaving you balanced.
Top takeaway from Patrick & Sam? Leaves your Chardonnay a little less chilled & chill your red just enough.
Click here to watch the tasting over on the Millennial Wine Competition Instagram page!
Want to know the final scores from the competition in August? Make sure you’re signed up on our mailing list where we’ll release scores and new wine releases to The Flock! Simply fill out the contact form below and we’ll add you to the list.
Read All About It! | The Vintner Project
"Vineyards are humble, rustic places that bring us back to our connection to Mother Earth.”
The Vintner Project is an online sourced dedicated to exploring the diverse world of wine in an approachable way, focusing on the stories of wineries and the people behind them. It’s something that’s close to our hearts and we are excited to dive deep into the story of Sea Bird Wines and our dedication to preserving marine wildlife by taking great vines to great times with every bottle!
In this article, Joe Campbell and our Winemaker Patrick Durbin share some behind the scenes insight into our passion for the ocean, coastlines and marine wildlife. It’s this passion that inspires us to share our story and our wine day after day. As a native East Coast-er, Patrick spent his summers on the New Jersey shore. But year after year he noticed less wildlife and more trash washing up on the beach.
When Patrick and his wife Becky decided to explore their passion for wine by launching a new wine label, they knew that the wine would be great, and the profits from the wines would do good in the world too. When you buy a bottle of Sea Bird Wine, we give back 100% of the profit to marine wildlife non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving the coastlines. It’s a great reason to sip on with your loved ones!
Without a healthy coastline, we couldn’t make great wine. As an artisanal micro winery, we source our grapes from premier vineyards across California Wine Country to make limited barrel productions each vintage. Each vineyard in California benefits from the Pacific Coast influence, lending foggy mornings, warm, ripe afternoons and cool evenings that develop the most iconic California wines year after year. We currently produce Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast AVA and Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.
Click Here To Read The Full Article On The Vintner Project