Karel Doms, our conscience when it comes to wines (and other delicious boozy beverages), and thoroughbred Antwerpenaar, shares his thoughts to accompany that most Flemish of dishes; stoemp. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out that these wines and beers will work with other similar culinary traditions such as Irish dishes featuring champ.
Karel says...
"In the words of Jacques Brel:
'Ça sent la bière,
de Londres à Berlin;
ça sent la bière,
Dieu! qu'on est bien'
"Indeed, some kind of native reflex says beer with sausage and stoemp; mind you, I do mean decent beer, worthy of the name. We’ll come to that later.
"First, some musings from the Stoemp Diary. Ken’s take on the classic is succulent, just make sure you noticed his remark in the first sentence: can be reapplied in many different ways… Indeed, stoemp is versatile and can come in many variations, which may also make it the ultimate leftovers cuisine.
"Here are a few more natural stoemp allies of the potatoes, then. Spinach and garlic, where you can cook a clove of garlic with the potatoes so that it is soft and can be mashed with the rest. Either savoy cabbage, red cabbage or, of course, glorious spruitjes, yes that’s Brussels sprouts (anyone looking upset now has never cooked them as they should). With the spinach, the savoy cabbage or Brussels sprouts variations, add nutmeg to taste. You can even do broccoli and mash with premium (!) extra virgin olive oil instead of butter (okay, not really a Flemish classic anymore); the same can be done with spinach. If you accompany a red cabbage stoemp with some beautiful rashers of bacon, you can add the frying fat to the mash and reduce the butter accordingly.
"Back to Ken’s interpretation.
"The recipe undoubtedly sets the stage for red wine on account of the sauce. My first choice is pinot noir and, with a Flemish classic, I insist it should be Burgundian. A few must-drinks are recommended with Ken’s Herefordshire steak as well but this would also be the hour of really good Côte de Nuits Villages and Côte de Beaune Villages as well as the Hautes Côtes of of both Nuits and Beaune.
"Domaine A. Chopin & Fils, Côtes de Nuits Villages or Côte de Nuits Villages Vieilles Vignes, both 100% pinot noir. A bit of a hidden treasure in the middle of the Côte d’Or (sorry, no website of their own it would appear). This kind of wine looks tailor made for the dish. Both excellent, I’d go for the more substantial Vieilles Vignes.
"Dominique Laurent, Côte de Nuits Villages Vieilles Vignes, 100% pinot noir (no website of his own and wine-searcher doesn’t know this particular wine, hence other links). I need to mention this, ahem, impressive man at least once. You may not always find the same range of wines, but whether it is under his trading house label or the recently established Domaine Dominique Laurent Père & Fils, all wines are of very high quality, very savoury and exemplary for their appellation. What's more, prices are remarkably approachable (for Burgundy). If you can’t find this wine, feel free to go any direction in his portfolio’s hierarchy, the stoemp will follow and you’ll be happy.
"Laurent Roumier, Hautes Côtes de Nuits 'La Poirelotte', 100% pinot noir. A Hautes Côtes from soils within the village boundary of Chambolle-Musigny. Vibrant wine, spicy with fine acidity.
"Camille Giroud, Hautes Côtes de Beaune 'Au Crêtot', 100% pinot noir. Fond memories, always very “racy” wines from this house; excellent.
"Bruno Clair, Marsannay, 100% pinot noir. The entry into a truly superior winemaker’s world. The generic red Marsannay will set you back around €30. Since 2018, a new lieu-dit is bottled: 'La Charme aux Prêtres' (not yet tried) that, presently, you may be able to find at the same price level, which would be great. I point this out because the other lieux-dits 'Les Longeroies' (simply superb!), 'Les Grasses Têtes' and 'Les Vaudenelles' are a considerable step up, but you will most likely never find those below €40 you decide …
"Pierre Morey, Monthélie, 100% pinot noir. Another splendid wine by another winemaker primarily famous for his whites—from Burgundy’s very top of quality that won’t break the bank. Its humble appellation defies its quality. There is also an inevitably more expensive Monthélie 1er cru. The sheer gourmandise of both is just lovely. Remember to give Pierre Morey’s wines a few years if you can.
"Clos Salomon, Givry 1er cru, 100% pinot noir. My own favourite in the Côte Chalonnaise, where you’ll find rather more affordable wines than those of the illustrious Côte d’Or wines. If one cares to choose carefully, great wines and, moist certainly, great value wines are produced in Givry, Mercurey and Rully.
"As a general remark when it comes to Burgundies, you may also want to consider two houses of outstanding quality that have the advantage of being much more widely available, namely Faivelay and Louis Jadot; one can hardly go wrong with any of the wines in their respective portfolio.
"If for whatever reason pinot noir is not the right grape variety for you, have a closer look at barbera from Piemonte.
"Coppo, Barbera d’Asti 'L’Avvocata' or 'Camp du Rouss', both 100% barbera. Both are baffling overachievers, 'L’Avvocata' is the fresher style, very “juicy”, nice acidity, 'Camp du Rouss' more concentrated with a touch of wood. You may have guessed it, the difference lies in their aging: stainless steel vs. wood. Tremendous value here!
"Bruno Giacosa, Barbera d’Alba, 100% barbera. There you go, with Pierre Morey and Bruno Clair, we are now in the presence of three giants. Bruno Giacosa is certainly the most "visible“ personality worldwide. Sadly, Bruno passed away in 2018; his daughter Bruna is now in lead of the estate. Though his reputation does something to prices, it is great to know that everything from entry level to the most stellar wine is great here, always. So yes, a more expensive Barbera but worth every cent or penny. Add €10 and get Barbera d’Alba 'Falletto di Serralunga' if you like. (Since the estate’s webpage stays black, presently, here is some information.)
"Elio Grasso, Barbera d’Alba Vigna Martina, 100% barbera. An excellent one from a great producer with a mid-20-euros price-tag.
"Other excellent producers that must be mentioned without any hesitation are Olim Bauda (excellent value Barbera d’Asti wines here), La Spinetta (great Asti Ca’ di Pian, sumptuous Asti Superiore Bionzo) and, arguably, the godfather of Barbera d’Asti: Giacomo Bologna’s Braida
(great wines that come with a price-tag, but I vividly remember 1990 Bricco dell’Uccellone as well as 1997 Ai Suma, just fabulous!)
"Now, when it comes to beer, something remarkable happens. Whereas the sausages’ red wine sauce restricts the choice of wine, it actually opens it up to some extent for beer. In general, with the stoemp, bitterness is welcome; overt sweetness should be avoided. So, you can choose a tripel or IPA style beer from the ones available where you live for a perfect pairing.
"In my particular case, that would mean Duvel (I assure you, this is not a running gag, living in Germany, I buy it online in Belgium; it is that indispensable), Straffe Hendrik Tripel, Westmalle Tripel Trappist or, in another vein, Aecht Schenkerla Rauchbier Weizen (wheat smokebeer).
"The red wine sauce gives it a twist that allows for a certain integrated sweet note. Again, not overt but in a part-of-the-package way, opening up pairings with e.g. Chimay Trappist Red (but not the denser, sweeter Blue label), Westmalle Dubbel Trappist (but not the voluptuous Straffe Hendrik Quadruple) or Hopus.
"If you like the discreet smokiness of wheat smokebeer, the more pronounced smokiness of Aecht Schenkerla Rauchbier Märzen also enters the realm of possibilities. Finally, the more frequently tasted, widely available Erdinger Dunkel may work as well, though it would not be my first choice if e.g. Chimay Red were available.
"As you will have noticed already, availability and visible presence of the beverage make the beer recommendations always rather more restricted and repetitive. So you cool cats may have to translate the foregoing in locally available beer at your end. Enjoy anyway!
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