wine pairing

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What a heavy week. The anniversary of the Boston Marathon brought a lot of heavy heartedness to the city, and another suspicious backpack brought flashbacks and nerves. I hope the rest of the week brings peace and cheers and at worst sore muscles as we look forward to welcoming the Boston Marathon back.

Before the week began, I got away to enjoy some seriously warm temperatures (80 degrees!) and belated birthday celebrations with my family in NJ. Originally we planned on going out to dinner, but when the weather turned out to be perfect, we decided to grill at my sister’s.

I knew I wanted a luscious white for sipping on the backyard swing while my brother-in-law kindly cooked dinner, and I was pretty sure it had to be a Viognier. Luckily the Wine Chateau, a store near my mom, offered a good selection, including my choice, this 2010 Fess Parker Viognier from Santa Barbara County.

Fess Parker Viognier

Just as you would expect from a Viognier, this wine was full of stone fruit flavor like ripe peaches. The mouth feel on a Viognier is such a huge part of its beauty, and this one certainly had weight, along with slight oak and vanilla notes. This Viognier goes perfectly with sunshine. I also highly recommend pairing it with a grilled dinner.  We had a serious feast of grilled shrimp, chicken sausage, lobster, mushrooms, asparagus, corn, and salad, followed by homemade chocolate ice cream. It was pretty much the best birthday dinner I could have asked for, and it was a nice preview of summer.

grilled lobster

Tags: Summer wine, Viognier, wine, wine and food, wine and food pairings, wine of the week, wine pairing, wine tasting

Riesling #WineChat

When you think of Riesling, what passes through your mind? The first word you associate with this wine might just be sweet, and in many cases you would be correct. This past Wednesday, however, I participated in a Twitter #WineChat that featured drier Rieslings and compared Riesling from Germany, the Alsace region of France, and Austria. It was a delicious and interesting chat about wine, and it was fun to compare the three side-by-side.

Riesling tasting

Riesling tasting

vineyards of Alsace

German Riesling

all about Riesling

Summer of Riesling may be over, but this white wine is versatile and the perfect pairing for many, many food choices. We tasted the following wines:

 

2011 Selbach Riesling Dry, from the Mosel region of Germany

This wine featured lots of dry mineral notes with a hint of ginger spice and apple, along with some fresh herbs. It offers lots of acidity and mouthwatering fruit flavor.

2011 Domaine Ehrhart Riesling Vieilles Vignes

Lime zest, honeysuckle, and bursts of citrus filled this glass. While nicely acidic, this Riesling was richer than the first, with a more luscious mouthfeel, almost toward a Viognier to me, which I absolutely love.

Salomon Undhof Steiner Kogl Riesling

One of my fellow #WineChat participants used the words “lemon doughnut” to describe this wine. I loved the rich, toasty brioche notes along with the citrus flavors; the description was really spot on.

As I mentioned above, Riesling is incredibly food-friendly; someone on the chat noted it does NOT go well with beef or chocolate. I like pairing Riesling with Thai or Indian food the best, though we paired ours with a spiced tomato compote and triple crème cheese. A dry Riesling is also a perfect wine to bring to Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks to the Wines of Germany, Wines of Austria, and Wines of Alsace for inviting me to participate in this chat. The wine was complimentary; all opinions, as always, are my own.

Tags: Alsace, Austria, Germany, riesling, tasting notes, wine, wine pairing, wine tasting, winechat

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