Graf Hardegg with Hard Boiled Egg

The Graf Hardegg label really caught my eye when the entries came in for The World’s Finest Glass of Bubbly Awards 2018 – I immediately said to myself, I need to pair this sparkling wine from Austria with some kind of dish combining the odd hard boiled egg or two.

Firstly, the winery, holding a total of 35 hectares and producing 160,000 bottles annually and mostly out to countries such as USA, Belgium, Canada and Japan. Located in Weinviertel which is just 75km north of Vienna and close to the Czech border. The name of the label is taken from the owner, DI Maximilian Hardegg.

Graf Hardegg produce two sparkling wines:

2014 Brut Sekt (Silver Medal Winners Sea Breeze 2018)

2014 Brut Rosé Sekt (Highly Commended Sea Breeze 2018)

For our tasting and pairing, I wanted to look at using the rosé and a dish that would enable the freshness of the wine and it’s red berry fruits to shine through and including hard boiled eggs within the dish.

Tuna & Hard Boiled Egg Salad paired with Graf Hardegg Rosé 2014

Ingredients:

Tuna
Eggs
Lettuce
Cucumber
Cherry tomatoes
Celery
Sweetcorn
Cheese
Light olive oil

Method:

Boil some eggs and leave to cool.
Chop up lettuce, cucumber, celery and mix together.
Cut tomatoes in half and add to the salad with the sweetcorn.
Cut cheeses into small cubes and add to the salad.
Slice the boiled eggs and add to the salad with the tuna.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the salad and serve.

Graf Hardegg 2014 rosé: “A salmon pink almost orange coloured rosé. Creamy, candyfloss and strawberry nose, a touch yeasty too. Initially dry then smooths into light pastry, raspberry, pink grapefruit flavours. Light and crisp, most enjoyable.”

Food pairing notes: “A most enjoyable dish. The rosé from Graf Hardegg enables an even lighter and fresher feel to the dish, crisp raspberry flavours from the wine appear cleansing the palate of the oily texture from the added olive oil. A light and refreshing combination and a great match – I can easily picture enjoying this pairing whilst sat at the table for lunch in the garden enjoying a warm summer’s afternoon.“