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Recipes & pairings

Pairing Shiraz Red with saffron rice

A dish from one grandmother, a wine from a continent away, a pairing that has no business being this good.

Pairing Shiraz Red with saffron rice — cover

The dish is tahdig — the golden crust of saffron-stained rice at the bottom of a Persian rice pot. The wine is our Shiraz Red. The pairing should not work; the wine is built for grilled lamb and the rice is built for nothing at all except being the best part of the meal. But they meet in the middle — the wine’s black pepper picks up the rice’s smoky edge, the rice’s saffron makes the wine taste sweeter than it is, and the whole thing turns into a quiet argument that you’ll be having for the next two hours.

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