Exploring Marquette Wine Pairings #WorldWineTravel

Today we are exploring Marquette wine pairings, as part of the WorldWineTravel group’s focus on the topic of hybrid wine grapes. Learn more about this grape that flourishes in New England along with pairings to serve with it.

When I saw Jeff announce the hybrid theme for this month’s World, Wine & Travel group, I immediately thought this would be a good chance to focus on Marquette. I have the opportunity to enjoy Marquette regularly as a wine club member of the Southeastern Massachusetts based Westport Rivers Winery. And it would also give me a chance to revisit some excellent Marquette from Vermont.

About Marquette

Before we get into details about Marquette, a word about hybrid grapes. A hybrid wine grape is created by crossing two different grape species or varieties. The goal is often to combine desirable characteristics such as disease resistance and adaptability to different climates. Check out Jeff’s invite post for this event on foodwineclick for more background about hybrids.

Marquette was developed by the University of Minnesota, and is known for its ability to thrive in cold climates. This makes is a great choice for winemakers here in New England, as well as the upper Midwest.

Developed by the University of Minnesota, this hybrid grape is renowned for its ability to thrive in cold climates, making it a favorite among winemakers in regions with harsh winters. Marquette is the cousin of Frontenac, a French-American hybrid, and the grandson of Pinot Noir, according to Wine Searcher.  

I have found Marquette to be medium to full-bodied, depending on the winemaking process used. Cherry and blackberry fruit are common tasting characteristics, and some Marquette can have a rich earthiness.

Overall, I have found Marquette to be a food friendly wine. The pairings I’ve featured here on Cooking Chat before, which I recap in the Vermont section later, focused on pork. So I decided to push the envelope a bit with the new pairing I cooked up for today’s event!

Westport Rivers Marquette

Westport Rivers Vineyard, located in Southeastern Massachusetts, is best known for its excellent sparkling wines. You can learn more about Westport in this Cook Local podcast episode, and my article on Visiting Westport Rivers.

Although Wesptort is renowned for bubbly, they make a variety of good still wines, too. I’m always happy to see that their Marquette is going to be in a wine club allocation. In fact, I had a bottle of Marquette waiting for me in a recent club assortment that I hadn’t picked up when I saw this topic. That prompted me to get it!

The 2020 Wesptort Rivers Marquette (13% ABV) is aged for 18 months in neutral French oak barrels. I get licorice on nose, bing cherry and baking spices on palate. It’s on the light side, compared to other Marquette I’ve had.

The tasting sheet suggests pairing it with BBQ or local game. But the spice notes and lightness of the wine made me think my idea of pairing it with a Moroccan dish might work out nicely.

Cheese pairing

Before trying the Marquette with the main course I was cooking, I poured a little glass to try with our cheese. We had some Sartori Merlot BellaVitano, a creamy American cheese based on an Italian farmhouse cheese style.

No surprise that a creamy cheese made with Merlot went well with another red wine!

Moroccan chicken

The other Marquette pairings I talk about here, featuring pork and cheese, are pretty straightforward choices for a medium to full bodied red wine.

But how about pairing Marquette with a Moroccan chicken dish with its complex blend of spice? It had been awhile since I’d had the Westport Marquette, but my recollection was that it is lighter than some other Marquettes I’d tried, and that proved true in the tasting notes I mentioned above.

So we paired the Westport Marquette with our Braised Moroccan Chicken Thighs with Chickpeas. You might recognize the dish, as I’ve featured it previously with Oregon Pinot as well as serving it with a Moroccan sparkling wine.

Well, add another pairing that works for our Moroccan chicken! The spice notes and light body of the Westport Marquette are a good match for the chicken. I wouldn’t say any Marquette would work with the dish – look for a lighter version. The alcohol level is a good tip off, as the Westport bottle comes in at 13%, compared to the 14.5% Shelburne Reserve discussed below.

Marquette from Vermont

I first learned about Marquette when visiting Shelburne Vineyard in Vermont. As noted earlier, Marquette was developed to withstand cold temperatures, and Vermont certainly has plenty of that! Shelburne is located by Lake Champlain, just a bit south of Burlington.

I had a chance to interview Shelburne’s winemaker, Ethan Joseph, about the challenges of making wine in Vermont. He mentioned that Shelburne Vineyard was one of the first adopters of Marquette shortly after it was developed in 2006.

We enjoyed a couple different pairings with Marquette from Shelburne Vineyard.

Boneless baked pork ribs

We featured the 2015 Shelburne Vineyard Marquette Reserve ($30, 14.5% ABV) with our popular boneless baked pork ribs recipe. We picked this wine up during our 2018 visit to Vermont, and did this pairing after the wine had been in our cellar for about a year.

With cedar on the nose, boysenberry and black cherry on the palate along with notes of caramel, this Marquette is a good pairing with the BBQ flavored pork ribs.

Maple pork tenderloin

I leaned into the Vermont themes when coming up with a pairing for another Marquette based wine from Shelburne.

Their 2016 Crimson Sails is actually a blend of two hybrids, Marquette (73%) and Petite Pearl (27%). This is a fruit forward wine, aged in stainless steel, with notes of blackberry.

Our Maple Pork Tenderloin recipe is made with a marinade that features Vermont maple syrup. It’s delicious along with some sautéed cabbage! And this recipe is another good Marquette pairing with pork!

More about hybrid wine

Check out the other WorldWineTravel articles about hybrid wines to learn more!

• Camilla at Culinary Cam shares “A Taste of the Mid-West: Double-Decker Butter Burgers & A Multi-County Marquette from Wisconsin + Fun House Potatoes from Minnesota“
• Terri at Our Good Life shares “Missouri’s Most Popular Hybrid: the Norton“
• David at Cooking Chat shares “Exploring Marquette Wine Pairings“
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “Marcel Zanolari and PiWi Grapes in the Valtellina Valley“
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass shares “Vidal ice wine brings back memories of NY Finger Lakes” 
• Martin at ENOFYLZ Wine Blog shares “A Taste of Mad Marvlus Wines“
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Enjoying the Hybrid Wines of Old Mission Peninsula“
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator shares “Oh, hi,  hybrids! Adam Tolmach experiments with UC Davis to replant his Ojai Vineyard“
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Marquessa – a Marquette Hybrid Appellation“