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This is part of a series of posts offered in explanation of the pairings we put together for the Marx Foods ecookbook. The series is intended to give insight into how wine nerds like us think about pairing food and wine. You can find the recipe on pg 19 of the cookbook.

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Ok, so how often do you get to pair wine with kangaroo?! To be honest, most of the pairings we deal with in our lives as sommeliers are, relatively speaking, fairly straightforward. Though most chefs aren’t thinking about whether or not their latest creation will work with wine, a good sommelier should be able to come up with a serviceable pairing for pretty much anything that’s thrown at them. That said, even when working in restaurants that feature the most innovative cuisines, you don’t often get dealt the kangaroo card!

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This pairing isn’t really all that difficult so much as it is uncommon. The easy choice would be to throw a high-quality Aussie Shiraz at ‘er and call it good, but we thought that’d be a little clichéd. The first thing I address when considering a dish is the main component. Kangaroo meat, particularly when grilled, gives a smokey-sweet, beefy flavor. It is fairly sinewy, slightly gamey, and protein-dense. That protein richness calls out for a wine that is relatively high in tannin, which helps break down the protein. This is a little gross, but I’ll mention it anyway: tannin, when combined with saliva, actually begins the digestive process in your mouth! Ahem, moving forward:
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The marinade on this dish is an additional concern, though it shouldn’t change our minds about a tannin-rich wine. The garlic and oregano will impart flavor, though by the time the meat comes off the grill, that flavor will not be dominant. The juniper berries will add a hint of piney herbaceous-ness, though, again, this is a secondary element. And, of course, there is that slaw to consider; for the most part, we want to be certain that the wine has enough acidity to not be run off the table by the vinegar.
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Syrah makes sense because it has plenty of tannin (good for the protein), often shows notes of game and smoked meat (compliments the smoky gaminess of the kangaroo), and can have decent acidity (won’t get killed by the vinegary slaw). French syrah would work as well, though we went domestic here because the fruit tends to be richer in Cali and WA, which we thought would be appropriate to the slightly sweet meatiness that kangaroo shows. We chose Loire Valley Cabernet Franc for it’s tannin structure, it’s vibrant acidity, and for it’s trade-mark tobacco-leaf character, which compliments the pine note from the juniper berries.

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