A wine deserving of the Pope's title

The world has a new pope, as announced recently by white smoke emanating from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. [As they say at the Vatican--loosely translated--"white means pope; black means nope."]

Since the announcement, speculation has run rampant regarding every attribute of the new pontiff, except one. Though it has been noted that while archbishop of Buenos Aires the new head of the church often cooked his own meals, little else has been unearthed about his food habits and preferences.

Yet such considerations can be important, for the Apostolic See has frequently influenced our culinary customs, and not merely through its calendar of fasting days. For example, the tradition of the Christmas Eve feast can be traced to the 15th-century dessert-loving pope, Alexander VI.

So, for those of us for whom food is often a religious experience, it's important to consider, from a gastronomic perspective, just what kind of vicar this new pope will be. Will he be a confirmed dieter like Pope Sixtus IV, the architect of the inquisition? Will he be given to fasting like the hermitic Pope Sylvester I or merely austere like Pope Innocent III who insisted that only a single dish be served at his table?

Or will he reveal an epicurean bent like Pope Martin IV, nicknamed the gluttonous pope, who often ate to the point of discomfort and died of indigestion, or Pope Clement VI, who had 50,000 pies baked for his coronation, or Pope John XXIII, the "Kitchen Pope," who often had to have the waistline of his vestments let out?

A humble dish of braised chuck roast is elevated when paired with wine, especially if it’s Chateauneuf du Pape, one of noblest of all wines. (TOM HARTE)

We won't know the answers to these questions for a while, but one thing is sure. This new pope is probably no stranger to what is thought by many to be the noblest of all wines and surely one of the 10 greatest wines of France, Châteauneuf du Pape. A vintage highly prized by the noted wine critic Robert Parker [who, not coincidentally, holds honorary citizenship in the village where it is made], it is indelibly connected to papal gourmandizing, as its name signifies.

Châteauneuf du Pape translated means "the pope's new home," and in a namesake French village that is precisely where its roots literally lie. It is a town just north of Avignon where for nearly 70 years during the 14th century the papacy resided. The situation resulted when a previously deadlocked conclave elected a Frenchman, Clement V, as pope and he refused to move to Rome, transferring the papal court to Avignon instead. He and the subsequent "Avignon Popes" loved wine. Apparently in the course of a week it was customary for the papal entourage to quaff more than 2,500 gallons of the stuff. Not surprisingly, they promoted viniculture in the area, and Châteauneuf du Pape, its bottles embossed with the keys of St. Peter, is their legacy.

Selling for upwards of $30-$50 a bottle, Châteauneuf du Pape is probably not an everyday wine, but it's a memorable one, not least for its historical connection to the papacy. For many of us, it may be the closest thing we'll ever get to a papal blessing.

Chuck Roast Braised in Red Wine

This simple dish, adapted from Gourmet magazine, might be something the new pope in his archbishop days would have prepared for himself, an unassuming man living in the beef capital of the world. Wine is a central ingredient here, so use a good one, but not Châteauneuf du Pape. As Doug Hileman, certified wine specialist at Schnucks, advises, that would be sacrilegious. Instead, drink the papal potion as an accompaniment.

2 pounds beef chuck roast

2 tablespoons oil

1 pound coarsely chopped onions

1 pound baby carrots

1 bottle dry red wine (750-ml)

6-8 strips of orange zest

Salt and pepper

Cut chuck across the grain into 4 pieces. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Brown beef in oil over medium-high heat. Remove from pan. Add onions, carrots, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Add wine and zest and bring to a boil. Add beef, return to boil, cover, and braise in a 350 degree oven 2-4 hours until meat is very tender.

Tom Harte's book, "Stirring Words," is available at local bookstores. A Harte Appetite airs at 8:49 a.m. on Fridays on KRCU, 90.9 FM. Contact Tom at semissourian.com or at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0699.