What wine to serve with venison?

This is deer hunting season in northern Ohio.  And while I personally am not a huge fan of Venison, everyone in our neighborhood and all our adult kids and teenaged grandkids look forward to the meat harvested by the men in our family.  So, for those of you that enjoy some yummy cold weather meals made from those hunts, here is a recipe from www.allrecipes.com for venison chili that they love.

Ingredients:  4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 chopped red onion, 4 cloves minced garlic, 4 tablespoons dark brown sugar,  3 cups red wine, 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 4 tablespoons tomato paste, 4 cups low salt chicken broth, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, a pinch or two of salt, 4 tablespoons canola oil [or olive oil], 10 slices crisply cooked bacon, 2 pounds venison stew meat, finely diced and  1 can black beans, drained well.

Melt the butter in a large pot, stir in onion and garlic.  Sauté 3-4 minutes.  Stir in brown sugar, sauté another 2-3 minutes.  Add red wine, vinegar, tomato paste, chicken stock, cumin, cayenne, chili powder, cilantro, and salt.  Simmer 30-35 minutes. 

In a large skillet, heat the oil, stir in the bacon and fry until well browned.  Slide the bacon to the side of the skillet and add venison.  Add another pinch of salt, and sauté for 15 -20 minutes.  Transfer the meat mixture into the large pot.  Simmer together for another 20 minutes.

Serve with some crunchy French bread and a tossed salad.  For the accompanying wine?  Pinot Noir would be a perfect choice.

Some additional hints:   Typically, chefs recommend that person cook with the same wine that will be served in a glass at the table.  In this case, however, I would not want to invest $25 or $30 in a lovely bottle of Pinot Noir to go into the simmering pot.  So, for the sake of this recipe, I would look for an inexpensive, mostly dry, nice red blend at an affordable price to use for the 3 cups necessary for the chili.  It will be reduced and impart good flavor profiles without sacrificing a special Pinot. 

For the table?  I would surely find a lovely Pinot Noir.  Why?  Venison is very rich but has a bit of a gamey flavor [probably the reason I do not necessarily like the taste].  But venison has very little ‘umami’ or fatty mouth fee.  And since venison does not typically like big tannins [according to several recipe articles I researched] Pinot Noir, with its earthy and smoky flavors can be the perfect compliment.

Pinot Noir is sometimes called a first cousin of Chardonnay.  However, while Chardonnay is comfortable in a myriad of growing conditions worldwide, Pinot Noir is usually described as "persnickety" or "shy."

It is a very tough grape to grow. [Very much like it is difficult to harvest that trophy buck.] Winegrowers need to pay special attention to be successful with the variety.  It is not especially vigorous by most standards and is sensitive to wind damage and spring frosts.  Its clusters are small, and berries are tightly packed, making it susceptible to disease.  It needs to be watched to fully ripen, especially in cooler climate areas where there are significant swings in seasonal growing conditions.  It is low in tannin and sometimes can be insipid in color.  It has minimal acids, low tannins and rather than showing intense, fruity aromas its "nose" is often more nuanced.  All reasons it will be a lovely complement to that locally harvested venison.

For additional information:  dwinchell@OhioWines.org