JANUARY PAIRING WITH MERE: Toasted Pecans to Pair with Pivot Merlot

Can’t Have Just One Toasted Pecans

If you’re looking for a simple snack to start the evening or finish the evening, these flavorful pecans are the perfect pairing for the Crush Collection’s Pivot Merlot. Since nuts, like pecans, have tannins, they provide a complimentary pairing to the Pivot Merlot with soft tannins. Together they make the red fruits in the Merlot pop!  I have to give a shout out to Jill Silverman Hough, who introduced me to this recipe during a wine and food paring class she taught at Sonoma’s Ramekins Cooking School.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups shelled pecans (ideally halves)
• 1 to 1 ½ tsp of coarse kosher salt
• Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°F
• Place shelled pecans on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Bake pecans for about 9-10 minutes (once you start to smell them, they’re done)
• Let cool slightly, but while still warm place into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, top with salt and mix
• They’re delicious served warm with the Pivot Merlot!