Food pairing question

Oregon Pinot Noir is a good match for grilled Salmon but I'm not sure how it would hold up agianst the tomatoes. Bi!!

Cherie (I always cringe slightly at this salutation, thinking it too familiar, but oh well!) It's revealing to me that you found the Latour Chardonnay too dry, as I'd suspect that you're not talking about residual sugar (which neither wine should have) but rather the higher acidity of the French wine. Or perhaps it was just lacking in fruit? I've had a few of the Latour Grand Ardeche Chardonnays, and they tend to be (to me) quite like a California Chard, but less opulent than the better ones. You can find opulence in French Chardonnay of course, but you must look to the famous vineyards of the Cote D'Or in Burgundy and pay the price that they fetch (and even then, you need to know the producers and years). Big chardonnays are a great match with salmon, even grilled ones, but you can also try a big scale Austrian Grüner Veltliner (a Smaragd, preferably) or a Viognier (like a good Condrieu if you can find it). Many people like Pinot Noirs with salmon, but I'm not one of them... :(

Mark Lipton

Yes, well, given the fact that it's my NAME, I would rather you not cringe at it! :)

I believe I am referring to the acidity. This is the third time in recent weeks that I have tried a different French Chardonnay, and each time I felt the same, threw my hands up, and reverted back to California Chards. I won't pretend that I am not discouraged, but I do intend to keep trying. For one, I'm looking to expand my horizons, and I also cannot imagine a hot July in the South of France without white wine.

You can find

It looks as though it is going to be "hit or miss" with me.

Thanks, I eat quite a bit of salmon, so it will be fun to try some new accompaniments.

-Cherie

The GV Smaragd will probably be very dry, and so possibly not to your taste? A Rheingau Kabinett might be your kind of wine... anyway it is a traditional recommendation for salmon. (For trout I tend to choose a semidry Mosel Spätlese) Anders

Cherie, french chards require significant willingness to lighten one's wallet, if you want to get any real satisfaction. And I might add, aging is essential. A recent tasting of top flight chablis revealed that some of these wines were not quite ready to drink, even though they were 20-30 years old. You have picked a very difficult type of wine, where you will find a lot of disappointment, but every now and then, absolutely mind-blowing wonders.

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

"cherie" skrev i meddelandet news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com...

As soon as somebody on this NG mentions salmon, sure as ... heck ... up pops the Swedish gentleman and says, Alsatian Riesling. Alsace Riesling tends to have a bit of up front fruit - it is not really a good idea to compare it to German (OR Austrian) Riesling - acidity (as a rule, or guide line) less predominant than in German (OR Austrian) (and I realise that right now I am doing just what I advised against, to wit, comparing them), a very slight amount of residual sugar ... works well for me. And since the tomatoes apparently are very well done, they may co-exist peacably with the Riesling as well. I think.

However, if we are limiting ourselves to Chardonnay, I´d try a St Aubin from Drouhin - small commune, big producer, mayhap not very exciting but fairly dependable, and prices not stratospheric.

HTH

Nils Gustaf

Nothing to do but keep trying, then, I guess. Though it doesn't seem that I will be encountering any mind-blowing wonders with my current strategy (random wines by the glass at good restaurants). I might have to invest in a bottle or two, as I've been doing with the reds, though I'm nervous about the prices I might find! Thanks, Cherie

Cherie, Try a Meursault. You can find them in the $20-$40 USD range at most wine shops. Good Chablis can also be found in that price range also. One could spend quite some time drinking Meursault and Chablis before moving on to the other Villages in Burgundy. Auxey-Duresses is also a good inexpensive place to start but I think that the Meursaults and Chablis will start you a little closer to a profile that is more familiar. One final note on Chablis. They can range from quite acidic and minerally to quite rich so I would ask your wine merchant for his recommendation. Jean-Marc Brocard for instance makes a wide range of Chablis at a wide range of price points but I think his style produces a type of Chardonnay that you might be more comfortable with at first. Bi!!