Behind the Vines

One Meal, Two Wines

by Farley on March 11th, 2008

I hadn’t cooked in a while, what with Open House preparations and after parties, so it was good to get into the kitchen last night.  Cooking, for me, is almost always relaxing.  I decided to recreate the salad we had at the Mendo Bistro in Fort Bragg, so as I made caesar dressing with wasabi added, I cooked polenta and then had it cool in the fridge, while cold water ran over the frozen shrimp.  Then I cut the polenta into small squares and grilled them in the broiler….along with shallots and proscuitto to toss with steamed green beans for a side dish. What to drink? Initially I was leaning towards a Gewurztraminer to go with the spiciness in the dressing and the sweetness of the shallots, but there was none cold.  What I did find, however, was a split of 2006 Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc.  It turned out to be a fairly good choice, as it wasn’t excessively acidic. This wine almost reminded me of a Riesling, in fact. Tasted a slight bit sweet, actually (very round in the middle, and slightly crisp on the finish)—with peach, grapefruit, and melon.    All of this made sense, after looking at the website and finding this:

78% Sauvignon Blanc
22% Sémillon

Appellation: Napa Valley
Harvest Dates: August 25 — September 27, 2006
Average Sugar at Harvest: 23.4° Brix
23 Vineyards Harvested

100% French Oak Château-style barrels (60 Gallons)
30% Barrel-fermented in new oak

We actually tasted a couple of Duckhorn wines on our disappointing visit to Paraduxx, this one included.  My notes from that day were: grapefruit, lemon, floral, then kinda round. 

But I mentioned two wines….. The other one we had was leftovers of the 2005 JC Cellars The Flip Side, which went well with the salty crunchiness of the proscuitto and the grilled polenta croutons.  But I need to get more info on the blend, so I’ll review this one next.

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POSTED IN: Napa Valley, Sauvignon Blanc, especially good meals