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Archive for March, 2011

Halibut and Grüner Veltliner

Posted in Gruner Veltliner, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Rating: 5/5

Halibut, pan-heated then baked with dill, cracked pepper and sea salt.  Sided with wasabi sour cream, a red pepper vinaigrette and dill and paprika spiked couscous.

Wine: Loimer Grüner Veltliner “Kamptal” 2006

Notes:

To get this out of the way up front, this pairing was amazingly fantastic! But on to other important issues, like what is that thing on the logo?

I’m completely vexed by this thing and couldn’t stop staring at it all the way through dinner.  An inquiry has been sent to the folks in Austria because this is a “need to know” item.  I’ll update the post as soon as I get a response.  Back to the pairing though: Grüner Veltliner, known as “GruV” over in Austria where it is top dog is one of the few wines I’ve found that work great with spicy asian foods (thai, sushi, etc.).  It’d probably work pretty well with some Indian food now that I think of it.  However, for this meal the fantastic acid in this wine cut through the spice of the wasabi sour cream (just mix wasabi paste into sour cream and stand back) and the spicy red pepper vinaigrette.  The body of the wine perfectly stands up to the dish. With flavors of green apples, lemon peel and some great minerality every bit of this dish was complimented.  I even got every element of the dish into my mouth with the wine at the same time to fully appreciate this. A big nod goes to this wine’s wonderful balance.  I need to go get another bottle or 6.

UPDATE: Straight from Birgit Loimer, that bad boy on the label is in fact a fertility god.  Hopefully, they don’t have troubles selling this wine to the people of Alabama like some wines do.

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Coq Au Vin Goes Boom Boom (Syrah)!

Posted in Syrah/Shiraz, tagged , , , on March 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Rating: 4/5

A quick and dirty, Aaron Berdofe branded version of Coq Au Vin (Translated: rooster with wine) made with braised chicken thighs, leeks, yellow onion, golden beets, crimini and oyster mushrooms, shallots, cajun chicken sausage, tomato paste and of course, red wine.

Wine: Charles Smith’s Boom Boom Syrah 2009

Notes:

Most of the time I prefer to buy wine that’s restricted to a particular region.  This generally ensures that the quality will be acceptable.  However, occasionally I break from tradition if the winemaker behind the wine knows a thing or two.  Enter Charles Smith; the guy out of Washington state that makes quirky wines with iconic b&w labels that make hipsters swoon. You might have passed by his Velvet Devil Merlot in the wine shop a few times, but now you’ll be able to spot it as a Charles Smith wine from afar just by the label.  Boom Boom, I believe takes grapes from three different areas in Washington thus giving it a Washington State designation and not say a Walla Walla designation.  Anyway,  I can’t really use the word “explosive” with this wine like every other regurgitated wine review you’ll see on this.  I can however, tell you that the experience you’ll get is much more akin to taking a dose of Pop Rocks in your mouth, sans soda pop of course. This wine bursts at irregular intervals with blackberry, spices, roasted meats and violets which makes you take a moment, let out a sigh and say, “Cool.”  The oak on this wine is nice and smooth which makes me think it was French. In other words, it was a delightful accompaniment to my updated Coq Au Vin.  I really didn’t know what to expect from either of them so the unpredictable-ness of the whole thing just kind of worked out into something warm and fuzzy.  The only reason I didn’t give this a full 5/5 rating was because I had some thoughts on a few other wines that I would pair with the dish that would be enjoyable too while experiencing the Boom Boom Coq Au Vin. Speaking of Boom Boom, I had to listen to Sean Hayes’s “Boom Boom Goes the Day” while enjoying this.  Here’s an acoustic (and less upbeat) version of the song:

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Errazuriz Syrah and Ribeye Steak

Posted in Syrah/Shiraz, tagged , , , , on March 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Rating: 5/5

A nice thick Ribeye Steak marinated and seasoned then put on the grill with a side of steamed broccoli and wheat berries.

Wine: Errazuriz Single Vineyard Syrah 2007

Notes:

Holy buckets was this steak delicious!  100% pure grass-fed beef and grilled to the cooked side of medium-rare.  The meal itself was fairly simple and the marbling on the steak softened so nicely that it didn’t require an overly tannic red to enjoy.  A great piece of steak that is cooked to that melt-in-your-mouth perfection really doesn’t need a Cabernet Sauvignon with it no matter what you’re friend’s cousin thinks who claims to know everything about wine.  Tannins, those polyphenols found in the solid parts of grapes (and thus in red wine) and from oak aging help break down the fatty parts of meats.  Too much tannin and too little fat results in that cottony feeling in your mouth and too much astringency.  Too little tannin and too much fat results in you chewing on that gristle and hoping you don’t choke.  Given the prevalence of bad steaks cooked in America, I believe the over-generalization of having a Cab. Sauv. with your steak came about.  While you certainly want a big Cab. Sauv. with a big, tough steak, my ideal piece of red meat lays in succulence.  Marinade and/or slow cooking is the only way to go if you have a good cut.  However, if you’re invited to a backyard BBQ and you’re uncertain of the hosts grilling skills, bring a varietal Cabernet Sauvignon.  You can at least cover the taste if you have to choke it down.  However, the Single Vineyard label from Errazuriz produces a delicious Syrah with a bit of complexity behind it and a decent finish to add to the succulence of a perfectly cooked steak.

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Maquis Lien and Aaron Berdofe!

Posted in Music, tagged , , , , on March 4, 2011| 1 Comment »

Rating: 5/5

Aaron Berdofe’s new album: Rising

Wine: Maquis Lien 2006

Notes: It’s the first crossover post!!!  This will be posted in conjunction with the Aaron Berdofe Music blog. So the new album is officially done.  In the can.  Mastered.  Boom.  And I bet you didn’t think you could pair wine with music.  Well you can.  There are actually people in California (where else?) studying this and trying to boil it down to a science much like pairing wine and food is.  Did you think I would just sit and listen to my new album? No! I’ll have a wine that is silky smooth, but has some complexity to match the music I’m hearing.  I am continually searching for a Syrah/Carmenere blend from Chile here in the good ol’ U.S of A. because I was blown away by them down in in the land of good Pisco.  However, about all I can find are the Syrah/Carmenere/Cab. Franc/Petite Syrah blends that Casa Lapostolle made world recognizable in 2008.  Maquis Lien is one such blend of the four grapes so I decided to pair it with my final listening session merely an hour after I bounced my last mastered song off of my upcoming album: Rising (due out very, very soon).  Unfortunately, the locale of the release party does not carry this wine, but they do carry some other tasty ones.  So stay tuned for upcoming dates!  And for those food/wine purists out there: have this wine with a spicy burger and some avocado on top.  But go listen to the music while you’re chowing down!

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