Summer Pairings for American Pinot Noir

Here in the Pacific NW we often match grilled or herbally sauced salmon to PN.

You're going to get suggestions of salmon (or other seafood) but I would rather have the bratwurst and not get that "tin can" taste from combining red wine with fish.

Roast chicken is a good match for Pinot Noir, be it domestic(US), from New Zealand or Burgundy.

Tom S

I don't get "tin can", so I'm with the salmon-suggesters.

A good OR PN or Burg is a fantastic match with earthy mushrooms. I'm less enthusiastic with most CA pinots.

I'd agree with Tom roast chicken is a good match. But the thing that really makes me go "Pinot!!!" is duck.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

ABSOLUTELY!!!!! Copper River is in season right now and although pricey, it will enlighten anyone who thinks salmon is that pink, insipid, $4/pound stuff in the shrink-wrap at the local supermart.

I also like Russian River or Williamette Valley PNs with duck, rare lamb and spicy shrimp dishes. (Although the spicy stuff more often gets a hearty Zinfandel out of the cellar.)

Ed Rasimus Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret) "When Thunder Rolled" Smithsonian Institution Press ISBN #1-58834-103-8

Everything.

Dana

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comdamnspam (Dale Williams) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m12.aol.com:

Put me in the minority, non-salmon-suggesters! Unless the Pinot has a pretty high acid level (where I agree that it does go well with salmon), I also get some "tin can" qualities. Not to the same level as mackerel and merlot :(, but enough that I usually think white wine with salmon.

I certainly agree. Duck is my favorite food pairing with Pinot Noir. Pan seared duck breasts, slow cooked duck legs, duck confit (with anything), Peking Duck, smoked duck legs - yum, yum, yum. It was the reason for learning how to cook duck at home! Mushrooms are not far behind.

Dick

Maybe that's the reason I like the combo- I'm of the acid-is-good crowd, and don't tend to buy the fat-gobby-fruit Pinots! Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

I *wish* it was as pleasant as "tin can." To me, even an acidic Pinot tastes "fishy" when paired with salmon. De gustibus...

Duck and Pinot is a great match, but at dinner with Jean, Ian and Jacquie 3 years ago, I discovered that squab and Burgundy is an absolutely inspired match. Jean, who had the duck that evening, agreed.

Mark Lipton

Nothing. :-)

-- Robert

I'd forgotten about that one. Duck with Pinot Noir _is_ excellent! Come to think of it, I'll bet goose would be as good or better, and turkey not too bad either.

FWIW, the best I ever had was the duck breast that Ian prepared, baked in kosher salt with egg whites and herbs. Simple but elegant dish and soooo _tasty_! I'd like to see him post the particulars.

Tom S

Salut/Hi Dvorak,

le/on Tue, 25 May 2004 02:45:45 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Hmm, not sure that I'd have thought of that match, but hey!! whatever turns you on.

I've not had enough West Coast PNs to make any generalisations, though I'm hoping to remedy that this fall/winter! I've had one Cal/Oregon mix called D'ici Là-Bas which was excellent and very Burgundy-like, and Tom Shudic's marvelous PN that he would be happy to tell you about privately (poor lad he can't really say much here) and that too was pretty Burgundy-like, though softer and with a touch more acidity. He has served that to us with a BBQ salmon, and while it was good as a match, I would have preferred a very full slightly more acid white, like a dry (but not unripe) Chenin. The D'ici La-bas (I can't tell a mixed company what the winemaker (forget name) called it, but for (very) broadminded readers, will share by email!) had less acidity, and I've had it with a Xmas roast goose, which it accompanied to perfection.

I'm not a great fan of salmon and reds. Especially tannic reds. As TomS said, there seems to be a sort of "tin can" taste that oily fish develops with them. Given that there are so many other wonderful matches for Salmon, I prefer to keep to safer ground when sacrificing such a costly bottle.

Obviously, SO much depends upon the Burgundy. Just as Cal Zins and Cal Chardonnays vary wildly from one winemaker to another, so do Burgundies, and it is hard to generalise.

My rule of thumb, therefore is as follows.

The older the wine (once it's reached its peak) and the lighter the wine, the simpler and plainer the meat (yes, meat though there are a couple of specific fish dishes you could perhaps risk with it). So for a light style elderly Burg, go for a plain roast chicken (of quality, this goes without saying). As the wine gets a bit more robust, you can move to Guinea Fowl, Pheasant, Pigeon, Duck, Goose and so on. A big but soft Burgundy can take the more highly flavoured sauced poultry and feathered game.

when you're looking at the big blockbuster quite tannic burgundies beginning to reach full maturity, such as a '90 Clos St Jacques or Chambertin from someone like Leroy or Rousseau, you're looking at quite a different match. My personal favourite, because it combines both power and excellence with a cleanliness of flavour is a well hung (sorry, but that's the right word) rib roast of Aberdeen Angus or Limousin beef from a properly grass fed animal at least 5 years old, cooked rare. That is pure magic. For those less privileged who don't have access to such fine meat, nor any way of ensuring that it's been hung/aged like it should be, then red deer (also properly hung/aged) will be wonderful. Another classic - duh - is Beef bourguignon.

Basically (and generalising wildly), when matching really great wines, I think it's a mistake to have food that is too complex. You really want the wine to be the star. So KISS.

All the above "in my opinion", natch.

Thanks Ian, I've filed away your message as I think it really makes a lot of sense (and thanks everyone for the suggestions). I'll be on the Pinot/Bratwurst thing again this weekend...but I've no got lots of idea. Yes, I serve Pinot Noir every year with "the bird" at Thnxgiving; it just that I don't personally consider that summer food. The duck idea sounds wonderful. I couldn't shoot an innocent little duck myself, but I do know a lot of people who do!

Regards, Joe

Barbecue, Barbeque, BBQ,

The old Grimer,

The Propane Pustulator,

Seared Sophistry Steered Sacriligious,

Vegan Halloween, Gary Null's Anti-Christ, Cardiologists' Caribean Cruise Kitty,

Magickal Mephisto & Beans,

Spices Gone Wild,

Schubert's Unfinished Gastronomic Symphony,

Waltz of the Dangerous, Hot, and Proud antithetical Kitchen Back-shelf Items and In-laws

Membrances of Friends Distance and Awaitng Our Return to their Buxom.

Memorial Day. It aint just for merely Food and Wine anymore... but good food and good wine and good friends and Fond Memories are meet. ========================= (-->>BeTTeR LiVinG Thru BetteR LiVING !!