February ’26 Drink Better Wine Club Food Pairing Recipes
For every wine club selection, we love to offer food pairings that allow you to experience the wine at its fullest potential: alongside a great meal. These recipes were created, by Sally, to complement the unique character of each wine and to bring a restaurant-quality experience right into your home.
What we enjoy most each week is sitting down to a well-prepared meal with a wine we’ve hand-selected not only for its quality and value, but for its place at our own table—whether it’s a relaxed weeknight dinner or a weekend celebration. The true pleasure of what we do is sharing that same experience with you: food, wine, company, and the simple luxury of a well-balanced and thoughtful meal.
Plus, I never seem to run out of dinner ideas, and if this makes your life any easier with a few new dinner inspirations, then hell yeah! I worked in restaurants for many years and I love sharing that meal inspiration with our community.
My intention when making the recipes is to create relatively approachable, seasonal and unique dishes that are not too complicated but super tasty!
February ‘26 Drink Better Wine Club Recipes
Tagliatelle al Ragù Bianco with Porcini, Fennel & Rosemary
(Serves 4 generously)
Ingredients
Ragù
• 1 oz dried porcini
• 1 1/4 cups hot water (for soaking the porcini)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, very finely diced
• 1 small fennel bulb, very finely diced (reserve fronds)
• 2 small carrots, very finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, very finely diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 lb ground pork (not too lean)
• 3/4 lb ground veal (or more pork if needed)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups rich chicken stock
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt + freshly cracked black pepper
Pasta
• 1 lb high-quality tagliatelle (fresh preferred)
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Lemon zest
• Fennel fronds, chopped
Method
1. Porcini
Soak porcini in hot water 20 minutes. Lift out, chop finely. Strain and reserve the soaking liquid (filter out any dirt).
2. The soffritto (do not rush)
In a heavy Dutch oven, heat olive oil + butter over medium-low.
Add onion, fennel, carrot, and celery with a generous pinch of salt.
Cook 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully softened and lightly golden. This is building depth.
Add garlic. Cook 1 minute.
3. Brown the meat properly
Raise heat to medium. Add pork and veal. Season well.
Let it sit and brown before breaking it up. Develop real color.
Cook 10–12 minutes until deeply savory.
Stir in tomato paste. Cook 1–2 minutes until it darkens.
4. Deglaze and build
Add white wine. Reduce until nearly dry.
Add chopped porcini, 3/4 cup of the porcini liquid, stock, rosemary, and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Lower heat. Cook 45–60 minutes, partially covered, stirring occasionally. It should reduce to a thick, glossy ragù.
5. The enrichment
Stir in milk. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add cream. Simmer another 10–15 minutes until silky and cohesive.
Taste and adjust salt. Remove bay leaf.
The sauce should be rich but not heavy—coated, not swimming.
6. Pasta
Boil pasta in just enough aggressively salted water.
Reserve 1 cup pasta water.
Add pasta directly to the ragù with a splash of pasta water.
Toss over low heat until the sauce clings and emulsifies.
Turn off heat. Add Parmigiano. Toss again. Adjust with pasta water if needed.
Plate.
Top with more Parmigiano, fennel fronds, and fresh lemon zest. The lemon is not garnish—it sharpens the entire dish.
Pork Chop with Rosemary, Roasted Shallots, Aged Balsamic & Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Serves 2
Ingredients
Pork & Sauce
• 2 bone-in pork chops (1–1¼ inch thick)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• 6–8 shallots, peeled and halved
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (or light chicken stock)
• 1–2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Potatoes
• 1 lb small Yukon Gold or baby potatoes
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Optional: pinch flaky salt to finish
Method
1. Boil the potatoes
Place potatoes (whole) in a pot and cover with salted water.
Bring to a boil and cook 15–20 minutes until fork tender.
Drain and let steam dry 5 minutes.
2. Smash and roast
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Place potatoes on a sheet pan.
Gently smash each one with the bottom of a glass.
Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Roast 25–30 minutes until deeply golden and crisp at the edges.
3. Roast the shallots
Toss shallots with 1 tbsp olive oil, rosemary, and a pinch of salt.
Roast on a separate pan at 425°F for 20–30 minutes until caramelized.
4. Cook the pork
Season pork generously with salt and pepper.
Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium-high with remaining olive oil.
Sear chops 3–4 minutes per side until golden.
Transfer skillet to a 425°F oven and cook 5–8 minutes until internal temperature reaches 140–145°F.
Remove and rest.
5. Make the pan sauce
Return skillet to medium heat. Set pork chops aside on a plate and keep warm.
Add white wine (or stock) and scrape up browned bits.
Reduce by half, 4–5 minutes.
Stir in aged balsamic and simmer briefly.
Whisk in cold butter to make an emulsified pan sauce.
The sauce should be balanced — lightly tangy, not sweet.
To Serve
Plate crispy potatoes.
Place pork chop on the plate alongside potatoes, add rosemary shallots on top and spoon balsamic pan sauce over.
Wine Note
The crispy potatoes absorb the balsamic reduction. Rosemary and caramelized shallots highlight the wine’s herbal lift and red fruit, while the pork matches the Nebbiolo structure. Savory, composed, elegant. Elevate your weeknight dinner with this dish!
Chicken Schnitzel with Lemon and Cucumber–Dill Salad
Serves 2
Ingredients
Chicken schnitzel
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 cups fine breadcrumbs
• Neutral oil for frying (canola/grapeseed/avocado)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Cucumber–dill salad
• 1 large English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp sour cream or Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• Salt + pepper
Method
1) Cucumber salad
Slice cucumber thin. Toss with a pinch of salt and let sit 10 minutes, then blot dry.
Mix sour cream, vinegar, olive oil, dill, salt, and pepper. Toss with cucumbers. Chill while you cook.
2) Prep the chicken
Slice each chicken breast horizontally into two thin cutlets.
Place between plastic wrap and pound to an even ¼-inch thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
3) Bread the chicken
Set up three shallow bowls:
1. Flour
2. Eggs whisked with Dijon
3. Breadcrumbs
Dredge chicken in flour (shake off excess) → egg → breadcrumbs. Press crumbs in firmly.
4) Fry
Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add about ¼ inch of neutral oil.
When hot (breadcrumbs should sizzle immediately), fry schnitzel 4ish minutes per side until deep golden. Don’t crowd the pan.
Add butter during the last minute and baste briefly for extra flavor and sheen.
Move to a rack or paper towels. Lightly salt immediately.
5) Serve
Plate schnitzel with lemon wedges and the cucumber–dill salad.
Squeeze lemon right before eating.
Wine note
Schnitzel is a Germanic/Austrian classic—traditionally veal—so chicken is the practical home-cook version that still delivers the same crispy, buttery, lemony profile. Federspiel Grüner Veltliner is a perfect match for that cuisine: its brisk acidity cuts through the fried crust, its peppery spice echoes in the cucumber salad, and its clean citrus lift makes the lemon squeeze feel required (because it is). This pairing is a no brainer!
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