Homesickness and wine that may have gone bad
Talking to my family on the phone the other day really got me missing them.
Aside from feeling sad, I also realized I had a bottle of wine in my inventory that may be past its prime. Most whites aren’t meant to be aged, but sometimes Semillon is the exception to the rule, especially from certain parts of Australia (Hunter and Barossa Valleys). So I had a bottle of 2002 vintage Peter Lehmann that I was planning on keeping for a few years. Until I looked it up on Wine Spectator Online and realized it should have been drunk last year.
So since my family had been eating my mom’s chicken and dumplings when I talked to them and weather on top of the mountain had been cold and foggy, I decided to follow suit. And open that bottle to go with it.
Well, the chicken and dumplings were delicious and almost did the trick to cure my blues. And the wine itself wasn’t bad, per se. But they definitely didn’t go together. The wine was way too crisp and herbal to go with the creaminess of the food. Maybe better with grilled chicken, which I would have known had I looked on the back of the bottle.
But life is about learning–the good and the bad. And the in between.
semillon, Peter Lehmann, food and wine pairing
October 18th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
Speaking of white wines, do you have a favorite pinot grigio?
October 19th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
Elisa,
I’m not the biggest Pinot Grigio fan, though I do like Pinot Gris which is what it’s usually called outside of Italy. Of course, there are exceptions to that…one being the Saddleback Pinot Grigio from CA, which is very tasty. As far as Italian whites go, Tocai Fruilano is a refreshing one similar to Sauvignon Blanc.
October 20th, 2006 at 10:52 pm
Thanks for the tip!
You see, I am particularly fond of butternut squash ravioli at Pasta Pomodoro…and they keep offering me Pinot Grigio to go with it…so I got to wondering about that sort of wine.