Late Summer Pairing with Rodney Strong Chardonnay

Earlier this month I riffed on a recipe from the book Down Home: Downtown – Seasonal Recipes fromTwo Sonoma Wine Country Restaurants that Robert Larsen of Rodney StrongVineyards had given me at the Wine Bloggers Conference in July.

I got busy with Regional Wine Week and forgot that I had never published my review of the wine and the pairing. It was still late summer-like when I made the dish, a broiled salmon with a Panzanella salad, which is quite different that the weather today after our first snow and with temperatures in the 40’s. I guess this is my subconscious hoping for what is evident to be just a dream, but alas winter is coming.

You can find the original recipe I worked from on page 97 of Down Home: Downtown. One thing to note is that there isn’t a recipe for the drizzle shown on the fish in the book’s pictures so I can’t say what the exact flavors were intended there. Here’s what I did:

For the salmon I used an olive oil rubbed cast iron skillet over medium-high heat to cook it to browned on both sides. I then transferred the salmon to a 400 degree oven to finish the cooking. This takes 2-3 minutes per side. This method is dreadfully easy and ensures your salmon has a bit of crisp on the outside but is gently cooked inside.

For a drizzle I made a poor-mans Aioli with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic and salt.

The Panzanella salad was absent of the corn from the original recipe, contained white onion and had two kinds of sweet heirloom tomatoes from a local farm.  The dressing was made as it was described using balsamic vinegar, garlic, shallot, olive oil, salt & pepper.

Having recently perfected the above cooking method for salmon there is no way that part of the dish could have been better. The faux-Aioli was excellent and the pairing with the wine really did work. That said, I would have used red onion in the Panzanella salad. White onion was what I had and it just didn’t measure up. There was nothing wrong with the salad, I’m just imagining home much more I would have enjoyed it. The addition of the corn would take it up a notch as well, so do it if you make this dish, or something like it.

The Rodney Strong Chardonnay suggested in the book and that I paired with the dish is from the Sonoma County series and is easily accessible in my local state liquor stores. The nose is spicy with a bit of buttered toast. I also picked up lemon and pear. On the palate the pear came back but with more of a baked slant to it. The oak is nicely balanced to be more on the spicy and not overtly woody side. The acidity of the wine is healthy enough for a clean finish.

The wine and the fish were a great combination, the roasty crust on the outside of the salmon was balanced by the oak and the acidity of the wine helped offset the subtle fatty character typical of salmon.  The wine and the salad weren’t as well made of a match, but there was nothing off-putting when they were combined; there just wasn’t any magic.

If you are dealing with the onset of winter like we here in New England I hope this late summer meal offered a welcome distraction for just a moment. If not, go out and cook something befitting warm weather just because you can.

Cheers!

Jason

Summer of Riesling Pairing – Chilean Sea Bass & Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling

The 2011 Summer of Riesling is winding down, but I’m not quite finished yet! This week I paired the Chateau Ste. Michelle (CSM) 2009 Dry Riesling with a pan roasted Chilean Sea Bass for some late-summer magic.

Dry Rieslings are very versatile wines, pairing well with a wide range of flavors and textures. Without the sugar of their more casual drinking oriented peers these wines are easy partners with savory dishes that don’t go too heavy on sauces or earthy flavors. I wouldn’t try to put a dry Riesling up against a steak or pasta dishes with lots of red sauce, but I would go out on a limb with spices, white wine braises, salads and as I did this week, fish.

I had never had the Chateau Ste. Michelle Dry Riesling before opposed to being no stranger to their sweeter wines. The standard CSM off-dry Columbia Valley Riesling is the first wine that both my wife and I can remember drinking together who knows how many years ago! We visited CSM in 2010 during our extended trip out west for the WineMaker Magazine conference in Stevenson, WA. Moving beyond the Rieslings we found single vineyard gems like the Wahluke Slope Syrah and the Canoe Ridge Merlots, including the Ethos Reserve Merlot that really knocked my socks off. I’ve enjoyed both the Indian Wells Cabernet and Eroica Riesling several times, and highly recommend all of these wines if you want to see what CSM brings to the table as a winery.

The wine pours a light gold color and brilliantly clear. It offers up peach and tropical notes in the nose, with a hint of petrol to round it out. In the mouth I picked up much more peach and citrus, with the citrus riding along for the finish. I did experience some sulfur aromatics during a few sips, but it wasn’t consistent. The wine is nearly dry with 0.76% residual sugar so just a touch of sweetness comes through if you focus on it.

Preparing Chilean Sea Bass at home was another first for me. This could also be the first time I have ever had it as well, but I can’t specifically remember whether I have had it or not, so I won’t make that claim.

The preparation of the fish was dreadfully simple. I started by slicing half of a white onion, half of a red pepper and thinly slicing two small garlic cloves.  I also preheated the oven to 450 degrees. The veggies were sautéed in an oil coated pan just until they began to wilt. I deglazed the pan with dry sherry and then added vegetable stock, salt and pepper, cooking it until it thickened. While the sauce thickened I heated a cast iron skillet over medium high heat with a tablespoon of oil until it just started to smoke. I salted and peppered the clean fish and placed it in the skilled skin side down for 4 minutes. After four minutes I flipped it, allowing it to sear for 1 minute longer. I then transferred it to the hot oven for about 2 minutes until the fish was a healthy golden brown. To serve the fish I placed half of the vegetable mixture on each of two plates, laying ½ of the fish on top of the vegetables. I light dusting of salt and pepper is all that was required to season it to taste.

The fish melted in my mouth like butter and the nuance from the sherry and stock in the vegetables was a killer combination. The wine accented this dish with the fruit flavors and a touch of acid to make everything pop. I honestly believe this is one of the best food and wine pairings I have ever executed, one I will look forward to repeating and riffing on in time.

Next week brings the end of this ride for 2011, but not without some renewal . On Wednesday I am going to taste and share the Inniskillin Riesling Ice wine for my sweet finish. I’ve had this wine before and drool every time I think about having it again. On Thursday I am going to participate in the Riesling Hour virtual event which heralds the arrival of the 2010 vintage of Finger Lakes Riesling. Having just returned from the Finger Lakes I have several 2010 bottles to choose from when I go to raise my glass!

Cheers!

Jason