Inspired by the movie Julia and Julia and my wife and I having resided for many years just a stone’s throw from Julia Child’s Cambridge home, Rosalee, ordered the original Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louise Bertholle and Simone Beck.  The book, which used to be in a single large volume is now in a set of two.  Armed with proper cookware and ingredients gathered, she set out on preparing Julia’s storied Boeuf Bourguignon.  This is as authentic a French dish as you could prepare, a hearty beef stew in red wine with bacon, onions and mushrooms.  Rather than recite the recipe here, it is very easy to resource it on line.  Searching for Julia Child Boeuf Bourguigon will bring up several sites detailing the recipe. 

As you might imagine, this is not one of those throw together, last minute dishes that I so often share in this segment. The preparation is a bit time consuming, requires careful attention and in all, from start to plate ready, takes about 4 and ½ hours time.  Trust me when I tell you that the time and effort spent (by my wife) yielded an over the top, savory dish with beefy and bacon aromas that seemed to fill every nook and cranny of the house.  This is a dish that’s made for our winter season and coupled with a roaring fire, sets the stage for a cozy evening at home.  Best yet, Julia’s recipe is for six.  With three at the table, the next serving for three (now freezer bound) will truly make a Dinner Tonight meal.  So where did we go for a wine?

Well, a French wine was a no brainer.  I would have gone with a Red Burgundy but I have exhausted my meager supply.  I would have loved to have stored up on more years ago, but by the time I discovered my attraction, the pricing was just too stratospheric.  If I’m lucky, maybe the pricing will soften a little more and let me in.  A Northern Rhone would have been a winner but my stock is not yet quite ready for drinking.  So, I turned my palate toward another logical French star……..Bordeaux.  Searching in my cellar, I found a 1999 Chateau Haut Brion, one the 1rst growths.  While the 1999 vintage was ordinary, this wine proved once again that a top quality vintner, so well capitalized with funding and human resources, can rise to the top even in a mediocre vintage.  I decanted the wine for a couple of hours (no sediment visible) to let it open up and then the time had come for the test.