Tonight we celebrated a Sardinian friend's recent PhD defense and appointment to a faculty position by having her and her family over for a dinner of lobster paella. I went to Indianapolis to get some supplies for the dinner and also looked for a suitable wine to accompany the paella. Apropos of Dale's recent thread, since the paella would be quite aromatic with fennel, saffron and tarragon, I decided that a light bodied, crisp white of the not-so-aromatic sort was in order. Ideally, I wanted to get a Vermentino for her, but none were to be found in my usual haunts. The Riesling selection boiled down to a '04 Selbach-Oster Wehlener-Sonnenuhr Kabinett for $25, a decent Albariño for $20 or (my eventual choice):
2006 Alois Ladeger Pinot Bianco Alto Adige nose: perfumed, slightly floral with minerals and white stonefruit palate: crisp acidity, light body, lovely minerality, delicate floral fruitiness
This wine was lovely and a big hit with all and sundry. It didn't overwhelm the lobster but wasn't overpowered by the saffron or fennel, either. Jean gave it her highest accolade: "get more of this!"
We started the meal with olives, cornichons, bread and two cheeses (both Spanish, one an aged, pressed goat cheese; the other a Basque sheep cheese). With them, we had a very decent NV Mumm Cuvée Napa Brut that was crisp, fresh, decently fruited with a fairly refined mousse.
Mark Lipton