When faced with a recipe that is very spice-forward, I am sometimes at a loss for the wine selection. Spice, in this case, is all spice and no heat. The hottest spice within the recipe is the dried mustard powder. Ancho chile (sweet, not hot), cumin, coriander, and mustard are the other ingredients in the rub. Without the chile, one would take this for Moroccan or Middle Eastern. Does the addition of the chile make it a Mexican or South American? Or is it just a fusion of complementary flavors? Whatever the case, there is a lot of flavor going on here and the wine needed to be just right.

I called in the pros for a little advice. Susan said that she definitely thought a GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) blend would be good, and I knew she was right. In addition to the spices, it is a good blend to accompany duck, which was the vehicle for all the above mentioned spice. And the sauce was dark and fruity. For the Spiced Duck with Blackberry-Balsamic Reduction, head over to... [...]