Missouri's Traminette Wine and Crab Rangoon Burgers for #WinePW

 #WinePW (wine pairing weekend) is about Midwest USA wines this weekend and I am so excited! Having lived in Missouri my entire life, I am thrilled that this team of bloggers is exploring my little bit of the world.

Missouri is home to our country's first AVA (American ViticulturalArea,) designated in 1980, and Augusta was the home to that distinction, beating out one Oregon and seven California applications.  The Bureau cited Augusta's long wine history and German ties as some of the reasons it awarded the AVA to them.  Napa Valley was the second AVA to be awarded. In 1870 France's vineyards were nearly completely destroyed by phylloxera louse. C.V. Riley, Missouri's first state entomologist, was among the first to discover that Native American grapes were resistant to the pest and Missouri then sent millions of phylloxera-resistant rootstock across the Atlantic, saving the French wine industry.  I think we have a lot to be proud of here in Missouri!

I attended a webinar put on by the Missouri Botanical Gardens centered around the book called The Botanist and the Vinter by Christy Campbell.  Amazon says this about the book:  In the mid-1860s, grapevines in southeastern France inexplicably began to wither and die. Jules-Émile Planchon, a botanist from Montpellier, was sent to investigate. He discovered that the vine roots were covered in microscopic yellow insects. What they were and where they had come from was a mystery. The infestation advanced with the relentlessness of an invading army and within a few years had spread across Europe, from Portugal to the Crimea. The wine industry was on the brink of disaster. The French government offered a prize of three hundred thousand gold francs for a remedy. Planchon believed he had the answer and set out to prove it.  Our panelists for the webinar were Dr. Dean Volenberg, Director of the Grape and Wine Institute at the University of Missouri, and Dr. Wendy Applequist, Associate Scientist at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  Both spoke about the role of Missouri in saving the French wine industry. 

I chose to talk about a winery that is about 30 minutes from my home, Augusta Winery.  It was founded in 1988 by Tony Kooyumjian and is located in the river town of Augusta, Missouri.  It is nestled on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River Valley.  Wines in August are made in small quantities, which allows them to focus their attention on the details that help them win awards across the world. The winery has a wine terrace and a garden that has a 10-foot grapevine-covered arbor.  The shop has items for any wine-lover, including me. I love to see their cute napkins and wine glasses.  The drive to Augusta on Highway 94 is curvy and woodsy, perfect for my husband and me to drive the convertible to a slew of wineries that dot the road.  

Augusta Winery has a summer concert series in July that features special wine cocktails, foods and of course, their Missouri wines.

I chose the Traminette to go with our Crab Rangoon burgers.  It is a dry white that has aromas of peach, citrus, and honeysuckle.  There is a nice finish which is refreshing with a hint of spiciness. You may have noticed our bottle was from 2016.  Typically we wouldn't let this go this long, usually, three years is as long as you want to keep this wine.  However, when we purchased it, the waiter said he thought this wine could go five years, so we marked it and yes, he was right!  The wine was beautiful, probably too good to go with a burger.  Thank goodness we decided to go up the burger game with a little crab rangoon!

Let's talk about the burgers a bit.  We made bite-sized hamburgers that fit the French-style bread we had. We topped it with nice Provolone cheese, added a half slice of bacon and a dollop of crab rangoon spread. I added garlic aioli to mine. The dry wine was a great way to cut the richness of the burger and we enjoyed every bite!  I added my favorite crab rangoon recipe below. 

Yield

18

Author

Terri Steffes

Prep time

15 Min

inactive time

1 Hour

Total time

1 H & 15 M

Crab Rangoon Filling

This is the filling for crab rangoon. We use it so many ways besides just making the popular Chinese appetizer!

Ingredients

• 6 ounces drained crabmeat
• 4 ounces softened cream cheese
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

1. Gently combine all ingredients.  
2. Refrigerate until needed.

Notes:

Bake and use as a dip with fried wonton wrappers as the scoops.

Use a dollop on top of a hamburger.

Use on toast points.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @tsteffes on instagram and hashtag it #OurGoodLifeRecipes

Let's see what the other #WinePW bloggers have to say about Midwest US Wines:

• A Taste of Michigan: Pasties, Black Star Farms, and a Generous Foodie Friend by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Exploring Vitis Vinifera at Vermilion Valley Vineyards by Food Wine Click!
• Get Over Your Skepticism about Illinois Wines at August Hill Winery by What’s in that Bottle?
• Indiana’s Oliver’s Surprising Fruit Wines Paired with Roasted Peach Salad, Berry Galette by Wine Predator
• Missouri's Traminette Wine and Crab Rangoon Burgers for #WinePW by Our Good Life;
• Scottish Smoked Salmon Pate Paired with Midwestern Wines by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Set Up Summer with Illinois Signature Rosé by L’Occasion