WBW #66: Your Tenderest Two-Some, Dessert & Wine

Argyle Brut Rosé (2007)
Argyle Winery
52% Pinot Meunier | 48% Pinot Noir
Dundee Hills, OR

So today is Wine Blogging Wednesday #66 which is being hosted by Jennifer Hamilton, The Domestic Goddess. Combining two of my favorite things, Jennifer has joined WBW with Sugar-High Friday for today's challenge. We were asked to come up with a dessert and wine pairing.

Desserts can sometimes be difficult to pair with wines, and I think many of us first just jump to sweeter wines. Rule of thumb there is to make sure your wine is as sweet of not sweeter than your dessert, otherwise it'll taste sour. Also keep in mind tangy/tart flavors vs. savory/milky ones in your desserts. Based on that (is it apple pie or chocolate mousse?) you'll want to pay attention to the wine's acidity.

Since I tend to gravitate towards more acidic wines, and away from overly-chocolate'd (I know, there's not supposed to be such a thing... just think, more chocolate for you!) desserts my thoughts got a little bubbly. Lucky for us, Argyle is less than 30 minutes from here!

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Napa: No Chard, No Cab, No Problem

Napa Valley, California is world renown for their full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and massively oaked Chardonnay. Varying from every part of the region, both make excellent wines to pair with food. In an attempt to bust out of the expected repertoire of sunny Napa, the team at Whole Foods Cedar Center's Osteria put together a fantastic dinner pairing nouveau American cuisine with unusual Napa wines.

Schramsburg, Mariabelle Brut NV ($25.99)
Proscuitto, arugula, pistachio, green apple & Laura Chenel chèvre

Pale golden yellow sparkling wine. Moderate aromas of apple, citrus, pear, and minerality. Dry, medium body with lively acidity and flavors of apple and lemon with full mousse. Great to pair with creamy cheeses, salty meats, and savory olive oil.

Stag's Leap Viognier 2006 ($26.99)
Braised radicchio, morels & sea scallops with apple-bacon vinaigrette

Pale, golden, clear wine. Light, youthful aromas of citrus, apple, and floral. Dry with smooth acidity and soft flavors of oak and lime, slightly balmy. Bland light wine accentuated very well by bitter greens and vinaigrette.

St. Supéry Virtu, White Meritage ($29.99)
Thyme crusted cod, cranberry, bean & squash ragoût, rapini, preserved lemon aiolo

Pale yellow wine. Moderately aromatic aromas of oak, yellow apple, and orange blossom. Dry, medium body, smooth acidity and flavor of oak, butter, and citrus. Characteristics bursting through when paired with lemon, herbs, and high acid fruits.

Domaine Chandon Pinot Meunier 2006 ($32.49)
Poulet ballentine, sourdough, sage, currant & apple with caramelized brussel sprouts & pan jus

Pale garnet red wine - similar to Pinot Noir. Moderate, youthful aromas of cherry earth, strawberry, orange, and licorice. Dry with crisp, lively acidity, soft tannins, and flavors of cherry and currant. Balanced well with roasted foods and vegetables.

Kuleto Sangiovese 2004 ($32.49)
Slow braised oxtail, root vegetable & pork belly hash, mushroom bordelaise

Deep, ruby red wine. Developing, moderate aromas of mushroom, earth, herbs, oak, and dried fruit. Dry, full bodied wine with high acidity and medium tannin. Flavors of oak, black fruit, and game. Braised meats and root vegetables softened tannin and bolstered fruit.

Robert Pecota Muscat Canelli 2005 ($19.99)
Fromage trio: Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog and reduced grapes, walnut, honey; Pt. Reyes Blue and cardamom poached pear, moscato sauce; Vella Dry Jack and fig & marsala preserves

Medium green-gold wine with noticeable viscosity. Fully aromatic with some age, peach, pear, straw, floral, honey, and olive characteristics. Sweet, medium bodied, with powerful flavors of apple, peach, pear, honey, and floral. Fantastic contrast to salty and tangy flavors of bleu cheese, and compliment to fruit.

Overall another awesome Counter Culture wine dinner! Since I'm a vegetarian I wasn't able to have all of the meat-laden dishes listed above, but the Osteria's Chef Eric did an incredible job of making substitutions to my courses. Next month they'll be featuring Cajun food paired with different beers in celebration of Mardis Gras, so if you're local you should certainly check it out.

Cheers!

Sparkling wines for more than just holidays & special occasions

Recently I attended "Counter Culture: Fizz-tivity," a wine and food pairing dinner at my local Whole Foods Market. Every month these dinners are held at the Osteria, a free standing cafe within the specialty foods department which serves fresh prepared foods to customers at a long, curved counter - thus the event name. December was all about sparkling wines getting everyone well prepared for the holidays.

Sparkling wine is an interesting segment of the wine world. Many of us think of sparkling wine as something only for special occasions - anniversaries and New Years Eve. Unfortunately that means that everyone only gets to enjoy it twice, maybe three times a year. Isn't that just utterly disappointing? Luckily there are many different styles and types of sparkling wines to suit any occasion and this dinner was a perfect opportunity to explore them.

We started with a cheese course consisting of Robiola, a sheep and cow's milk soft cheese, served with dried currants, fresh raspberries, and almonds. Paired to this was a special beverage called Deus Brut de Flandres Cuvée Prestige 2006. Surprisingly not a wine at all, this was a specialty Belgian Ale which is unique in that it follows the Traditional method for making Champagne. This barley ale was a light straw color with aromas of ripened pear and honey. The pairing with the cheese board was great, and I can understand why they market this as "the Dom Perignon of beer." Check out the brewer's lively website here: Brewery Bosteels

After our cheese and Belgian/French ale we transitioned to a more Mediterranean course with Presto Prosecco Brut ($10.99) served with a zippy roasted tomato fondue. Prosecco is an Italian white variety and is used to make really fun sparkling wines. The Presto was gold in color and had fresh aromas including citrus, yellow apple, and pear. A dry wine with similar flavors it offered nice crisp acidity which simultaneously paired very well with the acid from the tomatoes and cleansed the creaminess of the cheese from my palate. For the price this is a great wine to serve to friends. It's mild-mannered and easy to drink - definitely a great everyday bubbly to consider.

Next up on to French Champagne with Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Extrem' ($39.99) paired with pan seared pierogies with spinach, fontal, and roasted pear. Sadly the first two bottles we opened were corked but the third was in much better quality. Nothing you can do, right? I'd say create a synthetic Champagne cork but the French would never go for it. Golden in color with aromas of citrus, cooked apple, almond, and a soft yeastiness. The best match from our dish with this Chardonnay was the poached pear, making a perfect compliment to the lemon and citrus flavors. This makes for a great sparkling wine to pair with food.

An American-made rosé accompanied the next course, Gruet Brut Rosé ($17.99) made by Gruet Winery in New Mexico. Clear and with a soft salmony pink, this wine boasted mostly red fruit aromas like raspberry and cranberry with softer fragrances of apple and grapefruit. As expected from the nose I wasn't disappointed by the crisp acidity from this wine. More of the red fruits and a soft citrus made this Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend very refreshing. The paired dish offered grilled swordfish, winter greens, root vegetables, and a blood orange reduction. Very, very cool! This was probably the best pairing of the entire dinner.

Our fifth wine was another French Champagne from Bouzy, Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix ($42.99). This was paired with chicken and boursin roulade, proscuitto, ratatouille crepe and reduced cream. The Oeil de Perdrix is a blanc de noir (white from black) Champagne made entirely from Pinot Noir grapes, so it has a very pleasant peach color. Aromas were concentrated around tart stone fruit (peach, apricot), apple, citrus and raspberry. It also had a distinct minerality, offering a nice sense of terroir. The rich ratatouille crepe and reduced cream stood up well to the crisp acidity, full body, and refreshing citrus on the palate. This was my second favorite pairing of the evening.

The final course of walnut encrusted lamb chops with green lentils, beet, and feta salad was paired by the intriguing Australian Shingleback Black Bubbles Sparkling Shiraz ($24.99). Deep purple ruby with very small bubbles made for one of the more interesting sparkling wines I've seen. The aromas were reminiscent of any other big Aussie Shiraz - black cherry, plum, licorice, and spice. Plum also dominated the palate and was a great match to the lamb and lentils. More rich flavors of chocolate and coffee lingered on the finish. For being named after an animal also known as a skink I always enjoy the wines Shingleback makes.

Completing our dinner we were served a decadent double chocolate cake with espresso mousse and cherry compote. What kind of sparkling wine would you possibly pair with this to make it better than it already is? Cinzano Brachetto D'Aqui DOCG ($19.99), a sweet sparkling wine from northern Italy. Made from the Brachetto grape - known also as Braquet in France - this wine is a bright pomegranate red in color and displayed aromas of cherry and strawberry, as well as honeyed and floral notes. All these followed through to the palate and made a remarkably good pairing with the chocolate, espresso, and cherry dessert.

This Counter Culture was a truly delightful experience and I was so pleased to be able to try so many different types of sparkling wines. In an unabashed plug for Whole Foods, if you're local and interested in coming to one of the dinners just call the store and ask for someone in the specialty department. Cost is usually about $45 and is entirely worth the amazing food and wine that is served - and is a great reason to have dinner cooked and served to you! A huge thank you to wine specialist Maggie Harrison and chef Eric Colby for making a great evening for all of us attending.

So when you go out to grab your bottle of bubbles to celebrate the beginning of 2009 check out some of the others sitting there on the shelf. Nothing needs to be expensive - just ask for a recommendation and you should be able to find some great sparkling wines for everyday enjoyment.

Cheers!