Best Wine Pairing for Antelope Loin Ravioli with Tasting Notes
winemaking style reflects her love of wild foods. Taking a minimalist, but detail-oriented
approach, Jessica strives to make balanced wines that express the unique character of
the vineyards she sources from.
Among other outdoor activities, Jessica enjoys foraging mushrooms and hunting upland
game and waterfowl, appreciating the deeper connection to the outdoors that these
pursuits bring. Dedicated to knowing the source of her food, Jessica is an avid cook
who loves pairing food and wine.
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I love making ravioli—it is a slightly challenging yet fun and rewarding endeavor. It’s even more fun if you can wrangle a family member or two to join in and help. Over the years, I’ve landed on a dough recipe that works for me, so I used that one only because I’m very comfortable with it (see recipe to follow). I find pasta dough easier to work with the longer it sits, so I made the dough first and went on to cook the antelope loin and mushrooms while the dough rested. I cut the meat up into very tiny pieces so it would sit better in the ravioli. I also decreased the asiago to ¼ cup because the cheese I used was very strong and I didn’t want it to take over the antelope flavor. I don’t have a ravioli press so the way I made the raviolis was a bit different than the original recipe.
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For the Raviolis:
I use a pasta machine that attaches to my KitchenAid.
- Once the dough goes through the final setting and is very thin, lay out the sheet of pasta dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment.
- Grab your filling and make small piles in one row spaced out enough to leave room between the piles to seal and cut the ravioli.
- Once you have a line of piled filling then you apply a bit of water on the edges and between the piles where you will end up cutting the raviolis.
- Place another thinned out sheet of pasta dough on top of the first one, then press down on the edges and between the piles of filling to create your ravioli.
- Now you can cut the edges and between raviolis with a knife (or a ravioli cutter which cuts in a wavy pattern).
- Place finished raviolis on a baking sheet with lightly floured parchment paper making sure they don’t touch, and continue on with two more sheets of pasta dough. Continue the process until you’re out of filling or dough.
- Once your raviolis are made, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to boil on high heat.
- While you wait for the water to boil, start the butter sage sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat, add the sage and let cook on medium for ~ 5 minutes to brown the butter, you should notice the butter smell turn to a nuttier smell. The butter should be at a light simmer, don’t let it burn. Turn off and keep on the stove to stay warm.
- To cook raviolis, boil for ~ 4-5 minutes at a low boil (if the water is boiling too vigorously the raviolis might break open). You will likely have to cook in batches; the raviolis will float to the top and you only want to have a single layer floating on the top of the water. You may have to turn each one as they are cooking to thoroughly cook each side.
- Once you have cooked the first batch, place raviolis in a bowl and add the butter sage sauce and stir carefully. The butter will keep the raviolis from sticking to one another. Continue with cooking and adding to the bowl, stirring after each addition.
- Carefully stir in the cooked mushrooms and finish with a little more asiago.
Pairing Notes
This dish was well worth the time and effort. I love the flavors of butter and sage combined with the antelope, while the texture and flavor of homemade pasta is unbeatable. This was a standout meal, and pretty versatile for wine pairing. Set aside time on a weekend afternoon to spend with family hanging out and making pasta together. It will be time well spent!
I tasted the ravioli with all our white wines and some of our lighter red wines. All of our Chardonnays tasted nice with this dish, but none of them were spectacular pairings. However, our Fiano was a definite standout. The weight of the wine was complimentary to the butter sauce, and the wine accentuated the antelope’s flavor. The complex flavors of the dish pushed the honey tones of the wine to the forefront. The Fiano is still light enough to allow room for all the flavors in this dish to shine.
When I tried these raviolis with our reds, I found the Zinfandels were a bit heavy and took over the sauce and antelope flavors. However, our Pinot Noir from Russian River Valley was excellent with this dish. flavors in the dish. The mushrooms and the wine create luscious umami flavors together. This Pinot Noir is light enough to allow the delicate sage and antelope to take center stage, while adding a few more layers of flavors in the background.
Jessica’s Pasta Dough Recipe:
2 cups Flour
3 large eggs (room temp)
½ tsp. salt
1 tbs. olive oil
Put flour in bowl and make a well in the middle. Add 3 eggs, salt and olive oil to the middle of the well and mix with fork, breaking up the eggs and slowly adding some of the flour. Once the dough comes together a bit, start using your hands to press dough together, you can turn it out of the bowl onto a clean countertop (it will be shaggy and won’t come together right away). Continue kneading for ~10 minutes. If dough is too dry, sprinkle a bit of water over dough. Eventually the dough will become a cohesive smooth ball. Cover with saran wrap and let rest for half an hour minimum, up to 4 hours.
