Avalon’s Senior Editor Christina Kelly chose this dish to pair with Evesham Wood’s Le Puits Sec Pinot noir.

Tasting note: Fresh black cherry and raspberry, with a dusting of Christmas spice towards the back of your palate. The heart-melting interplay of sweet fruit, juicy acidity, a savory-resin awesomeness and classic Le Puits Sec dried herbs whisks you away. I can talk about a food match (duck confit, anyone?) but this is comfort food in a glass. – Marcus

Ingredients

Pork:

1 five-pound (more or less) pork loin roast

A handful of sage, (all to taste) leaves chopped

A handful of thyme leaves chopped

1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 (12-ounce) bottle hard cider

1 cup chicken broth

1 lemon, juiced optional

Apples:

8 Honey crisp or other sweet apple

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 large corn muffin, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup golden raisins

6 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup (more or less to taste) hard cider

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the pork roast in a roasting pan with the ribs facing up, braced against each other. Add sage and thyme to olive oil. Brush the pork roasts with oil mixture and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Roast the pork loin for 2 1/2 hours, until the skin is crackled. (Put the apples in the oven along with the pork roast in the last half hour of cooking.)

Remove the pork roast to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving. Pour out some of the excess fat from the roasting pan and put it on the stove over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour into the hot pan juices, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. Cook and stir the roux until its light brown. Add the cider and continue to stir to incorporate. Pour in the chicken broth; boil and stir for 5 minutes until the sauce is thick. Check for seasoning – add lemon juice if necessary. Serve the cider gravy with the pork roast and baked apples.

To make the buttered apples: Core the apples with an apple corer, making a good size cavity to hold the stuffing. Douse the cut sides of the apples with some of the lemon juice to prevent them from browning while you make the stuffing. In a mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, muffin crumbs, raisins, sage, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Spoon the stuffing into the cavities of the cored apples; stand them up, side by side, in a baking dish and sprinkle the tops with the reserved muffin crumbs. Pour the cider around the apples and bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 375 degrees F, until soft when pierced with a knife. Place the warm apples in the center of a round serving dish. Spoon the cider sauce around the apples and serve with the pork loin.

Served with braising greens or Swiss chard.