Recommendations
Cured ham and melon with Graham’s Blend N° 5 White Port
The plate holds wedges of ripe melon, each wrapped in a thin slice of air-dried ham. The port sets a medium-dry, chilled glass against it that picks up the salt of the ham and sharpens the melon.
From the shelf
The bottle
Blend N° 5 is the white port of the house of Graham’s from the Douro, made from Malvasia Fina and Moscatel Galego. The house's technical sheet gives the style as meio-seco, medium dry, and puts the wine at 19 percent alcohol; the bottle holds 75 centilitres. Unlike most white port, this wine goes into the bottle after only about three months of rest, so there is hardly any ageing in wood and the fruit takes centre stage. The house itself serves it mostly with tonic and ice, but as a table wine with a cold starter it works just as well. For white port the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto recommends a serving temperature of 6 to 10 degrees.
The combination
Why this works together
Melon and cured ham work on the difference between sweet and salty, and that is exactly the difference this port is going to stand between. The ham is salty and has a thin layer of fat that lingers on the tongue; the taste study by Green and colleagues from 2010 shows that sweetness considerably suppresses saltiness, so that the ham comes across as fuller and less sharp. Because the Blend N° 5 is medium dry and not markedly sweet, it stays close to the melon without drowning it out; a truly sweet port would make the fruit watery. The low serving temperature and the alcohol content of 19 percent clear the ham fat between two bites. And in terms of weight it stays in balance: a cold starter of two ingredients calls for a glass that is fresh and has not lain on wood.
At the table
The dish
- For 4 people
- Ready in 10 minutes
- Type starter
What you need
- 1 small netted melon or cantaloupe of about 800 g
- 80 g air-dried ham in thin slices, about 8 pieces
- a handful of rocket, if you want to serve the melon on a bed of it
- a few basil leaves
- freshly ground black pepper
How to make it
- Halve the melon and scoop out the seeds. Cut each half into four wedges, leaving you with eight wedges.
- Cut the peel off each wedge and, if necessary, cut each once more, until you have eight to sixteen pieces.
- Carefully separate the slices of ham from each other so they do not tear.
- Wrap half to a whole slice of ham around each piece of melon, depending on how thick you want the layer of ham.
- Place the pieces on four plates or on a platter on a bed of rocket, scatter the basil over it and add a twist of black pepper. Serve immediately.
In the glass
Serving
Pour the Blend N° 5 between 6 and 10 degrees, the range that the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto uses for white port. Use a small tulip-shaped wine glass and fill it to a third, so the wine stays cool. Decanting makes no sense for this style, because it has no bottle ageing behind it. According to the same institute, a modern-style white port keeps well for eight to ten days after opening, provided you store the bottle closed in the fridge.
All about Graham’s Blend N° 5 White PortBack to Recommendations from ’t Bockje
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