Farmers' Market Eggplant and a Favorite Recipe

I love eggplant.

I especially love small, tender young eggplant!  I don't know the names of these varieties, but I know they are among my favorites, and I bought some at a recent Farmers Market.

One of my all time favorite eggplant recipes is Sweet-and-Sour Eggplant with Ricotta Salata.  See the link for the recipe; here's what I did.

I caramelized sugar in some water in a saucepan, and then added vinegar, tomatoes, garlic and oil.  I seasoned with salt and white pepper (the white pepper really makes a difference).  This simmered for about 1/2 hour.
 

Meanwhile, I sliced up my eggplants, laid the slices out on a baking sheet, brushed them with oil, seasoned them, and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, turning them in the middle.
 

I then spooned tomato sauce over it to cover, and baked it for 20 minutes more until it was bubbling and browning.  When it came out of the oven, I sprinkled over the mint and cheese.  I substituted a Greek feta - I've used this substitution in the past, and it works just fine if ricotta salata is difficult to find.
 

The finished dish can be served, hot or room temperature, with any remaining tomato sauce on the side.  I think the flavor is beyond compare - the combination of the sugar and vinegar in the sauce taste almost candied, and the slightly bitter and salty flavors from the eggplant and cheese soften the sweetness.  It's a wonderfully rich taste experience!

While the recipe suggests serving this with a Sicilian white or a Pinot Grigio, I really love it with a medium bodied red, such as a Chianti or Barbera.  Enjoy!

The Great July Supper Club Antipasto Challenge!

Back in 2000, Food and Wine magazine sponsored an Antipasto Challenge between none other than famous chefs Mario Batali and Michael Chiarello.  The magazine declared the competition a draw – you can read the article here.

Our amazing supper clubbers decided we would attempt to reproduce the challenge and see if we could determine a definitive winner.  We made a few substitutions due to dietary issues, and prepared 8 dishes total – 4 Batali and 4 Chiarello.  For pairing, we served the 2005 Milliaire Winery Primitivo Jeunesse, a very food friendly Zin from Amador County, and the 2007 Robert Sinskey Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, an equally lovely food wine.  This is a chronicle of our noteworthy (if I do say so myself) efforts!

Batali presents first!

We enjoyed Batali’s Grilled-Fig Salad with Prosciutto, and as you can see, Rose’s presentation was gorgeous!   Figs and prosciutto are a classic combination, and this dish was rich and earthy and paired nicely with the Sinskey, though the Primitivo worked as well.  Rose felt the dish could actually have been improved by a bit less arugula so that the flavors of the fig and prosciutto were truly at the forefront.

Also in the line-up was Batali’s Roasted Squash with Red Onion, Oregano and Mint, prepared by yours truly.  This dish was easy to make, well received, and one I know I will make again and again.  If I had an improvement to suggest, I think I might slice the squash thinner than called for (which will likely reduce the cooking time), to create smaller servings.  I actually liked this dish with both the wines.

Our next Batali dish was a substitution – Black Kale with Ricotta, prepared and modified a bit by Bon Vivant.  I loved the freshness and simplicity of this dish, and it was a hit as well!  I liked it with the Primitivo; it was very nice with the Sinskey too.

Last up for Batali, and my personal favorite dish of the day, was the Goat Cheese Truffles with Peperonata.  We had fun discussing which of the three truffle flavors we liked best – I favored the fennel pollen, but many preferred the sweet paprika – all three were killer!  I loved this dish with the Sinskey, but the Primitivo paired nicely with it as well.  Richards thought she would make the truffles a bit smaller next time (again, it was a large serving), and several of us thought that while the peperonata was delicious, the truffles were the main event and could easily stand on their own with the arugula (again, less of it) to garnish them.

 
On to the Chiarello dishes!

We loved the Marinated Vegetables – one half was prepared largely as written but with tuna substituted for the anchovies, and the other half omitted the tuna.  Both versions were great – I liked the one with the tuna best.  My opinion was that, perhaps due to the vinegar, neither wine paired especially well with it.  Also, BV reported it was quite time consuming to prepare – but well worth the effort I say - delicious!
 

Then we had the fabulous Italian Tuna Mousse!  This dish had a perfect texture, light, airy and delicious, and I thought the Mousse with the Sinskey was the most perfect pairing of the evening!
 

The Wild Mushroom and Tomato Panzanella is a most unusual and interesting version of the classic Italian bread salad (and a recipe I have actually prepared numerous times, though I didn't prepare it this time).  It was beautiful and tasty, and paired particularly well with the Primitivo.
 

And our last Chiarello dish – and the favorite of many in the group (the dish we all had seconds of!) – was Zucchini Saltimbocca.  Each bite was a treat, with an intriguing balance of flavors, and I loved it with the Sinskey although it certainly stood up well with the Primitivo as well.

Because Supper Club isn’t Supper Club without dessert, although not a part of the official challenge we had a melt-in-your-mouth delicious Berry Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream – it doesn’t get better than that! 

So what were the votes?  Well, we had three votes for Chiarello and four for Batali, but all agreed that it was very close, and that every dish was interesting and delicious.  In fact, we wondered whether, if our club had 8 rather than 7 members, we wouldn’t have come up with a tie as well! 

My own vote (for Batali) had nothing to do with the relative quality of the two sets of dishes, because both were superb, with beautiful presentations and an intricate balance of flavors.  For me it simply came down to food preferences.  Winter squash, figs, goat cheese and kale are simply among my favorite foods on earth to eat.

Regardless of the votes, we had a splendid time enjoying amazing antipasti dishes and lovely wines out on the patio on a gorgeous Napa summer day!

Wine and Food Pairing Party Redux: Pinot Blancs and Pinot Gris

The Format:

As at my last pairing party, guests and I provided wine and food items.  This time the theme was Pinot Blancs and Pinot Gris or Grigios from around the world.  I wanted to see how these two different varietals compared both with each other, and within their regional examples.  We shared food items which we hoped would pair with one or the other varietal.  Interestingly, several foods paired well with both.

As it happens, these varietals are related.  Pinot Blanc is, in fact, a mutation of Pinot Gris, which is in turn a mutation of Pinot Noir.  Widely cultivated in the Alsace region of France, Pinot Blanc is being produced in a number of other regions, including Monterey County, where our domestic example hales from.  While its profile differs depending on the terroir and winemaking style of its region, Pinot Blanc often produces fairly full bodied wines with higher acidity.  Pinot Gris, also produced in Alsace, has taken hold in a big way in Italy, and of course, in California and Oregon.  Oregon growers such as our example below tend to produce medium-bodied, aromatic wines, while Italian examples tend to be crisp and light-bodied.*

The Wine Lineup:

2007 Graff Family Chalone Pinot Blanc (100% Pinot Blanc, French oak fermented and aged, 14.3% alcohol) – creamy, floral, hint of tangerine, hints of smokiness and something woody

2007 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Pinot D’Alsace (blend of Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc, biodynamically grown, 13.5% alcohol) – herbal, a bit floral, hints of lemon

2008 Willamette Valley Elk Cove Pinot Gris (stainless steel fermented, 13% alcohol) – tangerine (some said naval orange instead) and green apple, bright acidity, mineral notes

2008 Bivio Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie (100% Pinot Grigio, stainless steel aged, 12.5% alcohol) – meyer lemon, nutty, a bit herbal

2008 Motos Liberty California Pinot Grigio – our bonus opening wine had honeysuckle in the nose, notes of melon, honey, citrus

The Cuisine:

A lovely goat cheese with crackers

A tasty pâté

Prosciutto, Ricotta & Arugula Crostini

Grilled Ahi Tuna

Smoky Citrus Shrimp with Parsley

Sour Cream Herring

The Votes:

As before, our pairing preferences varied in an ever fascinating matter.  However, here are some generalizations.  The Graff Family Pinot Blanc paired particularly well with the ahi and the crostini.  The Zind Pinot d’Alsace was exceptional with the pâté, and was also quite good with the shrimp.  The Elk Cove Pinot Gris was wonderful with the goat cheese, but also stood up well with the ahi, shrimp and crostini.  Finally, the Bivio Pinot Grigio was excellent with both the crostini and the pâté, but complimented almost all the food items nicely.  We all agreed that the sour cream herring – which had been a bit of an experiment on my part – didn’t pair very well with the wines, although the Graff Pinot Blanc handled it better than the others.  There was also a bit of a consensus that the Bivio Pinot Grigio was an excellent food wine, pairing pretty well with all of the food items.

Once again, a fun experiment, and a good time had by all!

*  Wine descriptions come primarily from The Oxford Companion To Wine, Jancis Robinson editor, 2d ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press (1999)

Sauvignon Blancs From Around the World: First Wine/Food Pairing Event

The Objective:

I want to experiment over the next few months with home wine and food pairing events, so that I can try to develop a workable model for a marketable business involving food and wine pairings in the future.  Lucky for me, I have several wine loving friends who are enthusiastic about joining into my experiments!  I recently hosted my first such event, and here's the report.

The Format:

Four guests and I brought wine.  The only criteria were that the wine be a Sauvignon Blanc varietal, and be above a certain modest price.  Three guests and I prepared food we thought might pair well with Sauvignon Blanc.  There was a sea of glasses on the table, because the five wines were served in flights.  Guests were invited to take their time, first sampling each wine without food, and then trying each of the wines with the food offerings.  All were provided with charts on which to take notes if they wished.

The Wine Lineup:

• 2007 Domaine Cordaillat Reuilly "Les Sables"  12.5% alcohol
• 2007 Highfield Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) 13.0% alcohol
• 2008 Domaine Patrick Coulbois Pouilly-Fumé "Les Cocques"  12.5% alcohol
• 2009 Guenoc Lillie's North Coast Sauvignon Blanc, California.  13.5% alcohol
• 2009 Aresti Reserva Sauvignon Blanc D.O. Curico Valley, Chile.  13.0% alcohol
   

The Cuisine: 

A young goat cheese gouda with crackers

Potato Chips with Chèvre, Pepper Jelly and Bacon

Basil Leaves Stuffed with Chèvre and Pine Nuts

Herbed Tomato and Zucchini Gratin

Asparagus Salad with Herbs and Parmesan

Grilled Shrimp with Citrus-Sambal-Oelek Dressing

Smoked Salmon with Crème Fraîche and Capers

And for dessert,

Marcia’s Zippy Lemon Bars (Recipe below)

The Votes:

There were wild and interesting variations in individual pairing preferences, which was a lot of fun.  However, here are some generalizations:  The Chilean wine got raves with the goat gouda.  The two chèvre appetizers got votes with the New Zealand wine, although they also got some votes paired with the two French wines.  The two vegetable dishes were favored with the Guenoc.  And there were several votes preferring the shrimp and salmon with the two French wines.   

A couple more personal pairing notes:  I thought the shrimp dish paired nicely with all of the wines, and was not surprised at that.  However I was somewhat surprised to find that Ialso enjoyed the Asparagus Salad with most of the wines - I expected that to be a tougher pairing.  My favorite wine to just sip was the Pouilly-Fumé ( a view not shared by all), but interestingly, the Guenoc and Chilean wines I thought were the best food wines overall, working with the largest number of the foods, even though they were the ones I enjoyed a bit less on their own.

Parting Thoughts: 

It is endlessly fascinating to me, observing the different taste notes people will pick out of  various wines and pairings, and the different preferences guests experience.  After the obvious pleasure of enjoying great wines with great food, this is the most exciting thing to me about wine and food pairing events: the subtle differences in people's palates, and the things I can learn from others as we discuss what we taste!  We all had a great deal of fun, and we're all looking forward to the next party!  Here is a final picture of a well used table!

Marcia's Zippy Lemon Bars

Prep time approx. 40 minutes.

BASE:
2 c flour
½ c powdered sugar
1 c butter (softened)
 

Mix above and press into 9 x 13 pan. Bake 20 minutes @ 350 degrees. Let cool a little. Top should be slightly browned with a bit of lighter color showing thru. Watch the corners and edges for faster baking than the middle.

LEMON CUSTARD TOP:
4 beaten eggs
2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp lemon juice and a bit of rind

Mix well and pour over warm base. Bake 25-30 minutes longer until top is slightly browned. Cut while slightly warm. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar by hand or w/sifter when cooled. Top must brown before removal from oven. Custard topping may be quite runny if undercooked or cut while hot. Let it cool and settle before cutting. Seems to form a bubbled up thin, caramelized crust w/even browning.

NOTES: I stick to basic baking practices not outlined in the original recipe: I blend the butter and sugar first, add the flour in stages, etc. I use my fist and arm to spread out the base in the pan. Otherwise it is a bear to spread out with a spoon or scraper. I use a whisk on the eggs and remaining ingredients. Meyer lemons don’t have enough zing and acidity, use regular lemons. I don’t measure the amount of juice. I’ve used b/w 1-2 lemons in the past to no measurable difference in texture or flavor. Same with the rind. The more fresh rind, the better though. I use a Pyrex baking pan. Metal seems to induce more dry out in the baking process. I cover all with foil for keeping for a few days. I’ve heard it helps to dip a knife in hot water to aid in cutting, but I’ve no definite answers this works great. Just be gentle.

Book Review

What a long time since my last blog post!  My energies have been focused on business, and on my Sister Blog, Sonoma Freelance.  However, I am returning to the blog to report on a wonderful book that has stimulated a lot of thought of late, particularly in my thinking about some food and wine pairing events I’m planning (about which, stay tuned for future posts).

Mock Turtle gave me this lovely gift (thanks again, MT!), and I’ve really been enjoying reading through it.  It’s What to Drink with What you Eat, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (New York: Bulfinch Press, 2006).  This fascinating and beautiful book (absolutely stunning photos) contains a vast wealth of information on food and beverage pairings, incorporating contributions from sommeliers and restauranteurs from across the country. 

There is a very useful chapter called “Food and Beverage Pairing 101” that lists very practical considerations to help the reader analyze various wine and food characteristics that help inform pairing decisions.  Fascinatingly fun are the encyclopedic chapters called “What to Drink with What you Eat,” and “What to Eat with What you Drink.”  Each is comprised of an alphabetical list of foods and beverages, respectively, and the beverages – or foods -  that might compliment each.  Ever wonder what to drink with, say, celery?  Sauvignon Blanc, apparently!  Or tortillas?  Chardonnay, especially from New Zealand!  Naturally, the lists of possible beverages for certain foods are quite long; the list for oysters, for example, goes on for pages.  These chapters also include interesting quotes from chefs and sommeliers, and even the occasional delicious sounding recipe.

The last two chapters may be the most fun of all.  "At the Table with the Experts" contains descriptions from famous chefs of their restaurant pairing menus and the strategy that went into them.  Last is the fabulous “Desert Island Lists” of leading experts who were asked the question, what 12 bottles would they take with them to the proverbial desert island.  Their comments - and lists - are highly entertaining!

I’m going to be studying this book for some time to come, but here is a thought which I found so arresting, I had to bounce it off Bon Vivant after her fabulous Michael Chiarello inspired "Wines of the World" dinner party over the weekend.  One of the sommeliers interviewed states that it’s more important to match a wine to a person than it is to match a wine to the food.  Creating a memorable food and wine experience for others isn’t about displaying your own knowledge; it’s about making your guests happy.  There is a huge emotional component to enjoyment of dining experiences that might be colored by one’s comfort level with particular varietals or styles, or any number of other things.  If we ignore that emotional component and focus just upon the “science” of what pairs best with what, we may fail to create the enjoyment we’re aiming for.  The sommelier went on to give the example of a customer who really wanted a big, bold red wine because that was his idea of the best wine in the world.  So the sommelier served him the monster Cabernet with the caviar first course (Bon Vivant and I were appropriately aghast), and the sommelier kept his own preferences to himself.  Because it’s about making the guests or customers happy, not about imposing wine pairing rules on them.

This resonates with my belief that successful entertaining is not merely, or even primarily, about preparing the perfect food and pouring the perfect wine, even though we strive for that.  It is about creating the perfectly magical, memorable dining experience, the laughter and conversation and sharing and joy that can come from sharing a great meal with others.  And creating that experience is my goal when I entertain.

(Nevertheless, take note friends: there will be no big Cabernets served with caviar at my parties.  Just sayin’ . . . .)

The Host, Toast & Post Assist!

While not an official “Poster,” I was given a delightful opportunity by my friend and fellow blogger, Bon Vivant, to co-host a dinner as part of the 2009 Nine Vines Holiday Challenge.  Bon V.’s excellent post on our dinner can be found here, but I shall add a few notes of my own (however I will steal Bon V.’s pictures!).

We began with the 2008 Nine Vines Grenache-Shiraz Rosé, which by itself had pretty notes of not over-ripe strawberry, raspberry and kiwi.  By itself, the wine was very fruit forward, but Bon V.’s inspired Grilled Shrimp Ceviche really brought out the acidity of the wine, softened the fruit, and created more balance in the mouth.  I’d call it a highly successful pairing!

Next came the 2007 Viognier, a light and fragrant wine with notes of baked green apple and lychee.  I will confess here that my first vote for a pairing with the delicious Linguine and Clams Bon V. made would have been something a bit less fruity and more acidic, like a Pinot Gris, so the success of this pairing was a lovely revelation for me!  The pairing accomplished the dual tasks of creating a rounder, creamier mouth-feel in the Viognier, while accentuating the fresh brininess of the clams, and it really worked beautifully!

Last came the 2008 Shiraz-Viognier, which by itself had notes of pie cherries.  We paired the Shiraz with both grilled Ahi tuna steaks served with a wild arugula salad, and lamb shoulder chops served with a fennel relish.  We wanted to experiment with both a conventional (lamb) and unconventional (tuna) pairing for this wine, and it was a fun experiment.  Personally, I preferred the lamb and fennel with the Shiraz – the lamb brought out the fruit, while the fennel brought out notes of raisins and cassis.  Meanwhile, I really loved the Viognier with the tuna, and I really liked the arugula salad with the rose!  Go figure!

What emerges for me are these thoughts:  These three wines formed an excellent grouping for creating a very diverse meal.  They had been very well described by the distributor, making our pairing task easier – all of the pairings worked wonderfully.  In fact, most of the dishes worked well with more than one of the wines, which is an indication of the versatility of these particular wines!  Most important, it was an example of the magical evening that can be created by this kind of intentional pairing!  The wine pairings evoked a great deal of lively conversation among our guests, and everyone participated in offering opinions about the wines and food.  We all tasted slightly different notes, and had different preferences about the pairings, which was simply a lot of FUN!  And this, at the end of the day, is what I truly love about entertaining.  I love the camaraderie, the friendship, the smiles and the laughter created by coming together over a shared meal.  It makes it all worthwhile! 

For recipes of all the dishes, see Bon V.’s post, and my heartfelt gratitude to her for the chance to join in the fun!

Mock Turtle's Birthday Dinner

I don’t usually write restaurant reviews – and well, this isn’t so much a restaurant review, although Mock Turtle’s Birthday Dinner did occur in a very enjoyable restaurant.  It’s really more a tale of a fabulous wine and some interesting wine pairings.  It all happened in December, in celebration of Mock Turtle’s Birthday, at Garcon! in San Francisco.  http://www.garconsf.com/index.html

MT brought along her bottle of Artiste Winery’s Reflection – an amazing blend of Pinot Noir and Syrah which they bottled in 2007.  MT and I visited the Santa Ynez Artiste Impressionistic Winery and Tasting Studio during our annual New Year’s wine trip which rang in the year of 2008.  http://www.artiste.com/  During that visit, we enjoyed a number of Artiste’s delicious wines, but were particularly enamored of the Reflection bottling, which turned out to be the standout wine of that trip.  It was a stunner of a wine to bring to the Birthday Dinner, and we were excited to see how it would pair with our dishes.

The wine was tight at first, but softened and improved over the course of the meal.  It had notes of big red currant and black pepper, perhaps a hint of cranberry in the finish, and a lovely texture.  It paired beautifully with MT’s French Onion Soup Gratinee – the wine and soup each improved with the pairing.  Meanwhile, my Lychee Martini actually paired pretty nicely with my Beet Carpaccio Salad with goat cheese and fennel relish. 

This salad had delightfully fresh flavors, not too tart, perfectly dressed and balanced.  We also decided that the salad would be wonderful with a Pinot Blanc, or perhaps a Sancerre.  Our waiter, Josh, brought us a taste of the 2008 Domaine Auchere Sancerre to test this theory.  We enjoyed the Sancerre – it had honey in the nose, a round mouth feel and notes of pear and Meyer lemon. 

MT ordered the Chef's Menu salmon on a mushroom duxelle with truffle oil, served with pearl onions and Brussels sprouts.  It was amazing how well this dish paired with the Reflection.  The dish softened the wine so much, it was like a pillow in the mouth, and brought out notes of cocoa.  Delicious!

The wine paired reasonably well with my outstanding Coq au Vin.  This dish was a true taste treat, the chicken and vegetables melt-in-your-mouth tender, the sauce thick and rich.  I adored it so much that I vowed to make Coq au Vin my next recipe test.  We thought it would pair a bit better with a cabernet franc or Bordeaux blend.

The meal was capped with a lovely Crème Brûlée, silky smooth, swimming in vanilla, the caramel topping perfectly crunchy.  In yet another gesture of generosity, Josh brought us samples of a wonderful Muscat which was perfect with the brûlée – very floral, imbued with orange blossoms.

We went home full and happy, having enjoyed a wonderful wine and food, as well as superb service from Josh at Garcon!, and grateful to have shared birthday wishes and great friendship.

Visit Artiste if you can!  Go to Garcon!  And feel free to send me your favorite Coq au Vin recipes – I promise to try them!

Weekly Winery Adventure

I set out for my winery adventure yesterday with a list of errands to run after my visit - errands which didn't get accomplished.  Who knew I would wind up spending a happy 1 1/2 hours relaxing, chatting with chefs and fellow tasters, and sipping great wine!  It seems that's what one does at the Mayo Family Winery Reserve Room in Kenwood.  http://www.mayofamilywinery.com/mayofamily/page/reserve_room.jsp   Mayo also has a tasting room in Glen Ellen, I discovered, but the Reserve Room is the one I drive by frequently, so it's the tasting room I stumbled into, and boy am I glad!

The Reserve Room does Food & Wine Tastings, in which their chef and his crew prepare interesting small bite dishes to pair with each of their wines.  I only did a wine tasting there, but will certainly want to go back for the food and wine tasting in the near future, because all the dishes looked and smelled fabulous, with innovative flavors and interesting pairings.

I enjoyed every wine I tasted, but there were some standouts.  The 2007 Saralee's Vineyard Viognier was quite amazing - a delicious nose, a very smooth and full mouth feel, lots of butterscotch with hints of vanilla and tangerine.  I loved it; I bought one, and can't wait to serve it.  Chef Max even gave me his crab cake recipe to pair it with!

The crew also let me have a little vertical tasting, so I could compare the 2006 and 2007 Ricci Vineyard Zins.  Wow!  I loved them both.  They were each quite spicy, the '06 showing more black fruit (cassis, leather, hint of vanilla in the finish, very smooth), while the '07 had more red fruit notes (red currant, rasberry) and was perhaps a bit more complex.  I was particularly intrigued by the dish being paired with the '06 Ricci Zin - Shaved chicken breast with smoked heirloom tomato salsa cruda - I asked Max about this, and he explained it's the smoked tomatoes that pull it all together with the Zin.  An idea to experiment with!

Finally, I loved the 2005 Los Chamizal Cab Franc, soft and luxurious, with currant notes.  Max brought me a sample of his Niman ranch skewer with molé spiced shell (yes folks, that's chocolate covered beef - how creative is that?), which was incredibly delicous, and a perfect match with the wine!

All in all, a very enjoyable winery visit, and my thanks to Noah, Max and Khambay at Mayo Family Winery Reserve Room.

Pork and Pinot

Well friends, in a previous post I said I would test the 2007 Schug Carneros Pinot Noir against a really nice pork dish, and here is the report. For this pairing I brought out the big gun: my favorite Crispy Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder (Food and Wine Dec. 2003). I love this dish. I first made it for Christmas dinner in 2006. Since that time, my dear friend GourmetGal (http://thefrugalgourmetla.blogspot.com/) has stolen it from me after I served it at a dinner party – she makes it much more often than I do – but nonetheless, I still count it one of my favorites. The garlic and ginger caramelize after the long roasting, yet the meat stays really moist. Yummy!

So I prepared this dish with some rosemary roasted potatoes and a lovely spinach salad. I have to say that I did enjoy the wine with this dish. It showed notes of dried cherries, which rounded to more of a black cherry over the course of the evening. It’s really a delicious Pinot.

And it was a really fabulous meal! I wouldn’t say it was the perfect wine-food pairing however. The spices in the meat produced just a hint of harshness in the wine. There are many other wines I’d like to try with this dish. Possibly a Zin. Or even a substantial Gewurztraminer!

And of course, now I'll have to buy another bottle of the Pinot in order to continue my search for its perfect pairing! I'll keep you posted!