Wine Maker's Dinner

     Saturday evening was a first for two of the winos (Mary Jo was busy having a fun weekend with her hubby in Beverly Hills), we had our first ever “Winemaker’s Dinner” featuring Cobblestone Ridge Pinot Noir, that our husbands produced in my basement. Our guys were excited to try out their first batch of wine, but a little anxious as well. So we decided what better way to try their new wine than pairing with a great dinner and throw in a blind tasting to boot!

 

    

     Before we sat down to dinner, we decided to match the Cobblestone Ridge up against two other moderately priced Pinots from California. We chose the 2010 Castle Rock Mendocino County Pinot which came in at just under $15 and a 2011 Carmel Road Monterey Pinot priced at about $20 a bottle. Mike and Bart were a bit nervous trying their wine at such an early stage (only 6 months in the bottle), but they were hoping to learn from their first batch to improve future wines. And what better way to learn than tasting and experiencing! To make the tasting more interesting, we decided to invite our neighbors and friends, Jim and Carla, to get an unbiased impression. Each couple had three small carafes labeled a, b, and c filled with the three wines. We had time to examine the color both in the carafes and in our glasses, the nose, and finally the taste. We all made sure to save a bit of the wine to try with the dinner as well! When the results were in Mike and Bart were pleased. Although most were able to determine which wine was The Cobblestone, they felt it was very close quality to the Castle Rock wine which has had more time to mature. It will be interesting to let the wine sit 6 more months and see how it changes.

 

     Then it was time to eat! Everyone was starving after smelling the wonderful aromas from all food preparation. In deciding on the menu for the evening we tried to choose dishes that would pair well with Pinot. Bart made a fantastic pork loin rolled in spinach, spices, cheese, and pork belly! He found the recipe in the Wall Street Journal, Pragmatist's Porchetta. I made my Smoked Gouda Risotto with Spinach and Mushrooms (Cooking Light 1999 and myrecipes.com). There were plenty of green vegetables and Greek salad to top things off. Everything tasted fantastic and paired nicely with all of the Pinot Noir. We also enjoyed opening a 2008 J Vineyard Pinot, a 2011 Decoy Pinot, and to top things off a 2009 Elk Cove Shea Vineyard Pinot (thanks Bart and Lisa)-just to get the comparison of between Oregon and California Pinots. For dessert we had Bissinger’s Porcini Truffles. If you ever have a chance to pair those truffles with a Pinot-don’t miss out.

     What more can you ask for in an evening? We had great friends, wonderful conversation, delicious food, and fantastic wine. In the process we all learned a bit more about wine and the care and time it takes to make good wine. It really makes you appreciate all those hard working growers, pickers, winemakers, and all the support people it takes to make the wine we love to enjoy.

 

Cheers,

Beth

 

Wine Word of the Week

 

 

Deacidify -winemaking process undertaken only after very cool summers whereby the acidity of a wine or must is deliberately reduced, usually by adding calcium carbonate (chalk) or occasionally water.