I must admit that I have waited a week to publish this blog, as I wanted to make sure that I had a good format in mind, and covered the things that I wanted and needed to be said. Because of that Pairing Reviews #1 to #4 all took place over about a week and a half and I will be publishing them all very close together.
Just a little story about my wine tasting classes in Italy before I give my conclusions of this review. Our guide and teacher Mario Piccinin of Venice Day Trips would say the following before every glass of wine we tried (and we tried a lot over 5 days):
He would look at the wine and say "In the Eye we see........"
Then he would swirl and smell and then say "In the Nose we smell....."
Finally he would sip and say "In the Mouth we taste....."
As my tasting notebook follows these same words, I find myself saying these same phases with each wine I try, sometimes I even catch myself saying them out loud even if no one is around.
So now onto the Review:
Wine Studied: Oregon - Style Pinot Gris
Wine Selected: The Visionary - Eola Amity Hills - 2012 Pinot Gris
Eye:
Color Depth: Deep
Color Hue: Straw Yellow
Clarity: Clear
Nose:
Aroma Intensity: Moderate
Development: Youthful
Aroma: Light Floral
Mouth:
Dry/Sweet: Dry
Body: Medium
Acidity: Crisp
Tannins: Low
Balance: Fair
Flavor Intensity: Moderate
Flavor: Grapefruit & Lite Butter
Finish: Long (5-7 sec)
Style: Modern
Cost: This wine was one of my Provisions Wine Club wines, so my cost was $10. Their non club price is $11.
Food Selected: Moroccan-Inspired Fish with Olives and Lemon
Reference Source: Perfect Pairings by Evan Goldstein - Page 101
(I cannot give recipes as they are not mine to give, but this is a great book if you want to learn about pairings.)
Because I do not normal drink whites I need to really train my taste for them, so I chose this recipe to start with as I knew I would love the fish.
Wine: This wine needs to have 20 mins out of the refrigerator to allow it to open up. The grapefruit flavor was crisp and refreshing.
Food: I used Cod for my fish chose with garlic green olives and I used seafood stock instead of fish stock, these are all slight variations from the books recipe.
The flavor combinations are crazy good; the saffron just adds that taste of luxury, and the acid from the lemons and the salt from the olives hit the spot.
Why this Pairing?: The Oregon Style of Pinot Gris has a lot of tang and needs a richer dish to compliment it. The wine's citrus flavors run in parallel to the lemon on the fish and the spices are just enough to not over run the wine.
Pairing: Wow, I get it right out of the gate. This dish is really heavy in flavor and needs something just as bright to go with it. Cumin is one of those pronounce flavors in the recipe and the Pinot Gris just cuts right through it. It is also on the dry side so it tames the oiliness of the fish and olives. It did its job and cleaned my mouth and got it ready for the next bite.
Rating:
(Remember this is very subjective, as each person will have their own taste)
Wine: ****
Food: *****
Pairing: *****
Conclusion: I will be making this fish again and again, and I will be serving this wine with it. Highly recommend both.
Cheers & Ciao
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