"The Wines That Make Ashland Famous!"™

Wine Complement Guide

Ashland Vineyards and Winery is proud to offer this Wine Complement Guide for our online customers. This guide outlines all the wonderful cuisine available to complement your Ashland Vineyards and SHAKESPEARE™ wine purchases, including appetizers, poultry, seafood, meats, cheeses, and desserts.

Cabernet Franc

A spicy red wine bursting with flavors of cherry, plum, and berry that continue through on the finish. 

Appetizers:  Not ideal with first courses.
Poultry:  Turkey or chicken, including barbecue, and duck.
Seafood:  Fish with herbs and tomatoes and grilled salmon.
Meats:  Pork, lamb, rabbit, venison, and cold cuts.
Cheeses:  Bleu, Roquefort, Port Salut, and Stilton.
Desserts:  No ideal matches.
Flavor associations: Lighter and fruitier than those listed for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Ultra-ripe and rich, loaded with supple earthy flavors of currant, black cherry, and wild berry.  Finishes with excellent length and depth. 

Appetizers:  Not ideal with first courses.
Poultry:  Roast chicken, chicken Provencal (cooked with garlic and tomatoes), squab, quail, game hens with spicy stuffing, and goose.
Seafood:  No ideal matches; blackened Cajun dishes OK.
Meats:  Roast beef, beef stews, steak (particularly barbecued), barbecued ribs, roast lamb, mutton, and pasta with red sauce.
Cheeses:  Bleu, Roquefort, sharp cheddar, Brie, and Camembert.
Desserts:  Chocolate.
Flavor associations:  Cherry, plum, currant, chocolate, mint, pepper, tea, bell pepper, herbs, and green olives.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a wonderful white wine that complements a wide range of cuisine. Here at Ashland Vineyards, we barrel ferment and age the Chardonnay on the lees in oak to add complexity, depth of flavor, and just the right balance of fruit, oak, and buttery essence.

Appetizers:  Patés, sauced crab or shrimp cocktails, sauced mushrooms, asparagus, escargot, and crawfish.
Poultry:  Sautéed chicken, chicken in any white sauce, roast chicken, barbecue chicken, turkey, and gingered duck.
Seafood:  Baked halibut, fresh sturgeon, tuna, snapper, swordfish, turbot, shark, lobster, spicy shrimp recipes, scallops in cream sauce, abalone, crab, salmon and pasta with shellfish.
Meats:  Roast pork (any cut), veal roast, veal piccata, and veal or pork chops with cream sauces.
Cheeses:  Port Salut, muenster, Swiss, Gruyére, Gouda, mild Brie, Edam, fontina, and farmer cheese.
Desserts:  There are no ideal matches.
Flavor associations:  Butter, green to ripe pears, oak, vanilla, pineapple, peach, lemon, and roasted nuts.

Merlot

Oregon's Rogue Valley is the growing region best suited to this and all Bordeaux-style varietals. Aged in oak barrels for over three years adds complexity and flavor to the Merlot, giving it a rich and smooth ripe plum and currant flavor that finishes with excellent length and depth. 

Appetizers:  Not ideal with first courses.
Poultry:  Grilled or roast chicken, chicken Provencal (cooked with garlic and tomatoes), squab, quail, game hens with spicy stuffing, duck, and goose.
Seafood:  Blackened Cajun dishes and grilled tuna.
Meats:  Same as Cabernet Sauvignon but also served with robust meats.
Cheeses:  No ideal matches.
Desserts:  Chocolate.
Flavor associations:  Cherry, plum, currant, chocolate, mint, herbs, and tea.

Pinot Gris

A full-bodied wine with good acid levels with hints of passion fruit and kiwi.  Pinot Gris is quite popular throughout Oregon. 

Appetizers:  Smoked salmon, antipasto, calamari, clams, and mussels (stuffed or steamed).
Poultry:  Chicken and Thai foods..
Seafood:  Dungeness crab (cold cracked), sautéed trout, light sole dishes, sautéed smelt, sautéed or baked black cod, ling cod, smoked trout, scallops, lobster, fried oysters and clams, mussels, pasta with shellfish, and Japanese sushi.
Meats:  Veal picatta, veal francaise, and roast pork.
Cheeses:  Goat cheese is a perfect partner.
Desserts:  No ideal matches.
Flavor associations:  Citrus, green pear, tart, vanilla, flint, astringent, and wood.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a wonderful dry barrel-fermented fruity white wine that complements a wide range of cuisines.  

Appetizers:  Any shellfish is ideal, fried oysters, stuffed artichokes or avocados, raw vegetables, marinated herring, bouillabaisse, cheese fondue, and anything salty.
Poultry:  Turkey, chicken breasts with light tomato sauce, chicken with lemon sauce, and Chinese foods..
Seafood:  Mussels, fried clams, calamari, oysters, shrimp, jambalaya, Cajun-blackened fish, Indian curry dishes, catfish, pasta with seafood and garlic/tomato sauce, and crawfish.
Meats:  Veal or pork with tomato sauces, capriccio, or steak tartare (raw beef dishes).
Cheeses:  Bleu, Roquefort, Brie, Camembert, Gruyére, Gouda, and goat cheese.
Desserts:  Nice when sipped with sweetened, fresh fruit salad.
Flavor associations:  Pear, citrus, grass, bell pepper, pea, asparagus, celery, green olive, and smoke.

Shakespeare's Love is a fanciful name for a lovely semi-sweet white wine.  A secret blend of at least seven different grapes, this ever-popular wine is delightfully delicate with a flowery perfume of ripe tropical fruit flavors on a silky frame.

Appetizers:  Seafood items in light cream sauce, nuts, fondue, and lighter patés.
Poultry:  Cold fowl, roast turkey, chicken in light white sauce, and chicken curry.
Seafood:  Mussels, fresh tuna with soy sauce, sashimi, sushi, and shrimp curry.
Meats:  Cold meats, sauerbraten, baked sausage, curried pork, and roast pork.
Cheeses:  All spicy cheeses.
Desserts:  Fresh fruit (non-citrus) as in fruit salad.
Flavor associations:  Jasmine, apricot, spice, banana, baked apple, hay, wood, and earthy.

2775 East Main Street, Ashland OR 97520
(541) 488-0088
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