Food / Wine Pairing

My wife and I love Cajun Cuisine. Unfortunately in Germany it is very difficult to prepare something similar to the dishes you get at the "Bless My Soul Cafe" in Eureka, California. I love this style of Cajun food with the Californian touch. However with some tricks you can bring back the vacation feeling on the table. And my wife did. She prepared a traditional Gumbo with chicken, shrimps, garlic sausage and rice.

For the wine I decided to go the traditional way: Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. But of course I tried the "cross-over" pairing: I opened some bottles of these varietals from German producers.



2011 Knipser Sauvignon Blanc (87/100)
Laumersheim, Pfalz, Germany
10.9 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-08-17

Pale yellow green, a little bit sparkling. Very intensive aroma of green pepper and some immature kiwis in the background. Extremely fresh. In the mouth a nice and pleasant acidity paired with some spices. A summer wine at its best. Still very young. Will keep its freshness for another two years minimum. Sensational bargain (I paid 10 Euro at the winery!). Wonderful with cold fish dishes or Asian food.

2008 Balthasar Ress Assmannshausen Höllenberg Spätburgunder (89/100)
Rheingau, Germany
12.5 % Alcohol
Tasted 2014-08-17

Clear and light garnet red. The wine is already dominated by the secondary aromas of earthy notes and wet wood (oak tree); some strawberries in the background. In the mouth strong with a good spine. A little bit too acidic at the end of the long finish. But that can be changed by waiting a while. In a difficult phase and so decanting makes sense what I did. Already during decanting more strawberries available. Let's see. After one hour completely different view. The Pinot is now smoother, creamier. Without losing its strength. However I believe after holding another two years the wine will be more open (again). So wait a little bit. Pairing with food? Difficult to decide at the moment. Indeed the pairing with the Gumbo was sensational. See below.

The Gumbo tasted fantastic. And both wines were very good partners - with some pros for the Pinot. The Knipser Sauvignon Blanc added some citrus fruit tone to the dish. The one and only problem was that taking a sip directly after some Gumbo a little bit overlaid the flavors of the dish. So you should wait perhaps for 10 seconds before taking a sip. The Ress Pinot in contrast strengthened the aromas of the Gumbo and was growing together with the dish. Wonderful pepper aromas arose and the whole mouth was filled with a very rich feeling. Pairing at its best. The wine was fundamentally better with the Gumbo than alone.

One sunny Saturday afternoon my wife and I had the idea to prepare a small but nice degustation menu and to pair the different courses with some "summer" wines. With this term I don't mean the typical "easy-to-drink" white wines. I mean complex wines which challenge the tasters without being too heavy.

We decided to prepare the following courses:

1st Course: Tortelli Ricotta with Citrus Carbonara and Rocket
2nd Course: (Not too rich) Salmon Cream Soup with Dill paired with cold Herb Prawns
3rd Course: Small Meat Balls scalloped with Feta Cheese paired with Salads from Feta Cheese and Bulgur

We decided to open two different white wines and one very special red one. The idea was to select the wines exactly for the dedicated course, but to pair it also with the other ones to see if the selection was the right one. We selected the following wines:

- 2010 Thomas George Estates Sauvignon Musque (for the Tortellis)
- 2010 Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay "Russian River Valley" (for the Salmon Soup)
- 2006 Cline Cellars Small Berry Mourvèrdre (for the Meat Balls)

And of course we first tasted the wines alone.



2010 Thomas George Estates Sauvignon Musque (89/100)
Brian & Janice Schmidt Vineyard
Dry Creek Valley, California
13.6 % Alcohol

Pale yellow. Aromas of grapefruits and pineapples. Very intensive. On the palate the pineapple dominates. Nice acidity. Medium-long finish. As expected a very good partner for any kind of food with "citrus-style". On the top. Don't wait any longer.



2010 Ramey Wine Cellars Chardonnay "Russian River Valley" (90/100)
Russian River Valley, California
14.5 % Alcohol

Nice golden yellow with green reflexes; wonderful aromas of pineapple and lychees with a touch of vanilla and oak. On the palate citrus fruits dominate; crispy and also a little bit salty. Incredibly long finish. Fascinating. Still young and in the evolving phase. So wait another two years to drink the wine on the top. Then it will hold the quality for another six years minimum. Pair it with salmon.



2006 Cline Cellars Small Berry Mourvèrdre (89/100)
Contra Costa County, California
16.0 % Alcohol

Light cherry red. Classical mint aroma paired with overripe blackberries. The mint dominates also the palate. Very refreshing with a wonderful sweetness. The high alcohol is not noticeable. Medium to long finish whereas the sweetness is available up to the end. The team of Cline Cellars recommends the pairing to "roast leg of lamb, garlic and pepper studded rib roast or ratatouille". I fully agree, but for me this is a perfect candidate for an "American-Greek-Crossover-Pairing". Therefore the selection. The wine is on the top, but due to my great experience with the 1999 Small Berry Mourvèrdre I could bet that it will hold this quality for another four years.




After tasting the wines alone we already expected that we did the right selection. And indeed each of the wine paired strongest the designated course.

Tortelli Ricotta with Citrus Carbonara and Rocket
The wonderful Sauvignon Musque from Thomas George improved the citrus aromas of the carbonara sauce to a wild mix of exotic fruits and didn't kill the rocket. A wonderful dish paired with a perfect partner from one of the hidden treasures in the Russian River Valley. You should consider this winery when visiting the area next time. The two other wines didn't reach this quality with the Tortellis. The Ramey Chardonnay was still OK as partner but far away from the finesse of the Sauvignon Musque. And the Small Berry Mourvèrdre? A typical and very good example for pairings which do not work. The problem was here the citrus on the one side and the mint on the other one. Don't try this.

Salmon Cream Soup with Dill, paired with cold Herb Prawns
As mentioned before we prepared the soup not too rich. The Ramey Chardonnay punctuated the creaminess of the soup in a wonderful way. The wine lost a little bit its lemon aromas and transformed them to a more creamy, buttery one. Different with the prawns. Together with the herbal style of the prawns the wine showed its tremendous freshness. And the combination of both? Sensational! Took first one of the prawn and then some soup. This itself is already fantastic. After ten seconds a sip of the wine. In the mouth you have now a sensational spicy note paired with some exotic fruits. Neverending finish. And the two other wines? The Sauvignon Musque was a little bit lost with the creaminess of the soup, but worked absolutely fine with the prawns. The Mourvèrdre harmonised surprisingly well with the dish. So if you don't like white wine this is an interesting combination. The mint aromas of the wine gave the soup a little bit a caribbean style.

Small Meat Balls scalloped with Feta Cheese, paired with Salads from Feta Cheese and Bulgur
Together with this "Greek Style" dish the Cline Mourvèrdre offered all its strengths - with the single parts as well as with the combination of all parts. With the meat balls some spicy notes came into the foreground whereas the salads were wonderfully paired by the mint aromas. Especially the Bulgur and the Mourvèrdre are an unbeatable duo. Here the two white wines had no chance. They were simply lost in the Greek aroma combination. Only the pairing of the meat balls together with the Ramey Chardonnay worked.

In total a nice experience of a summer food tasting. All dishes were not too heavy and the selected wines increased the pleasure of the menu. A very good Saturday afternoon...