Cline Mourvedre a juicy foil for burgers

Our Wine of the Week, Cline Family Cellars 2014 Ancient Vines Mourvedre, is lush and lusty, with big flavors of plum and cherry, high notes of cranberry and pomegranate and mid-palate threads of toast and chocolate.

Acid brightens the darker flavors, and it all comes together in a lovely and lingering finish. It’s remarkably complex and sophisticated for its price, yet also accessible and delightfully drinkable.

As a beverage to go with burgers and other classic Fourth of July fare, this wine has wide appeal.

All manner of burgers - classic beef, duck, lamb, bison and even ostrich - pair well with the wine, and vegetarians will enjoy it with grilled portobello mushrooms and eggplant burgers.

You’ll find recipes from previous burger wine pairings at Eat This Now, pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.

One way to ensure that everyone at the table will be happily fed is to offer a selection of foods from the grill that includes at least one vegetarian option along with large lettuce leaves that those on Paleo or gluten-free diets can use in place of bread, and to tie things together with condiments.

For today’s recipe, Santa Rosa plums provide the foundation for a delicious ketchup-style sauce that works beautifully in place of traditional ketchup and has the added benefit of syncing up deliciously with the wine.

Santa Rosa Plum Ketchup

Makes about 2 to 2½ cups

2 pounds Santa Rosa plums, quartered and pitted

1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into small dice

3-4 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1¼ ounce, approximately, fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated

1 cinnamon stick

1 whole star anise, optional

2 pinches each of ground clove, cardamom and allspice

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 cup red wine

½ cup apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste

¾-1 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar

¼ -½ teaspoon chipotle powder or ground cayenne

Put the pitted plums into a medium saucepan, add the onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, anise, if using, ground spices, salt, white pepper and wine and stir.

Set over medium-low heat and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the heated fruit begins to soften and relax.

Cover the pan, remove from the heat and let steep for 30 minutes.

Return the pan to medium heat and simmer gently until the wine is nearly completely evaporated.

Add the vinegar, sugar and chipotle powder or cayenne, stir and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until the fruit is very soft and the mixture has begun to thicken.

Use tongs to remove and discard the cinnamon and anise.

Remove from the heat, cool slightly and puree with an immersion blender or in a standard blender.

Return to medium heat, taste, correct for acid, sugar and salt, and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture is quite thick.

Remove from the heat, cool and pour into glass jars. Store in the refrigerator for one to two weeks. The ketchup can also be frozen; to do so, pack into smaller freezer bags, seal and set flat in the freezer.

For optimum taste and texture, use within three months.

Michele Anna Jordan is author of the new “Good Cook’s” series. Email her at michele@saladdresser.com or visit her blog at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.