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| Complex Salad, Complex Pinot Gris and a Mini 3X - 4/2/2008 |
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| Menu
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Sherry Salad Dressing
Pear, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad
Sweet Salty Walnuts
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| Toasted Whole Grain Bread |
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| Wine
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Mueller Pinot Gris 2005
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| Comments
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A beautiful salad graced our table combining curly endive with fresh pear, sweet and salty toasted walnuts plus tangy Point Reyes blue cheese. Fresh chives that pushed up through the leaf cover in the garden this week garnished the top. Reason said that a crisp, dry white wine would make the match, but not so. There was a literal bottle parade across the table with a Viognier, a Fume Blanc, a Pinot Blanc, a dry Rosé and a Spanish blend all auditioning without success. What is going on here? Seems our delicious salad was defying convention and asking for something special. Finally, a bottle of limited production (less than 500 cases) Pinot Gris from Russian River Valley provided the right balance of fruit and acid to successfully make the match.
This lovely wine was noticeably aromatic in the glass, radiating warm tropical notes of pineapple and mango, making a real treat for the nose! The same flavors follow through to the tongue with a vibrant middle note, pleasant minerality and a nice bright finish. This sensual wine had great body with a mouth filling complexity that matched the complexity of our salad. All the elements of the meal were now in harmony, but with the California blue cheese something special was going on. This mild, creamy cheese has a subtle fruit-like quality that synced perfectly with the warm rich fruits in the Pinot Gris. The complete harmony between the cheese and the wine suddenly created that divine 3X flavor that transcended either of the components. When the sweet, crunchy walnuts were added to the mix we had a beautifully perfect mini pairing.
This is an example of the difficulty and the rewards in pairing complex foods with wine. It is very easy to match wine with bland or simple one note food. It is also quite predictable. However, in meeting the challenge of finding a wine that will be compatible with all aspects of a complicated recipe, one discovers some surprising and delightful results. This wine was a good match in flavor and body for our entire dinner, but finding that extra special mating of the wine, cheese and nuts took the meal to another level of excitement beyond that of the usual white wine with lettuce.
From a meal that was basically just a salad and a glass of white wine, we were treated with some delightful discoveries and delicious eating. While appreciating the rich aroma and tasty flavor of the wine after the meal, we decided that there is nothing better than a table top adventure into the wild, complex world of food and wine. It's always a treat to discover a superb food and wine pairing like this one!
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