Mmmmmartella Grenache
My past few posts have been grounded in the abstract, so I’m feeling the call to be more specific. And you can’t get more specific than a wine review. Er, well, minus the subjectivity of the whole thing…. I drank the 2004 Martella Grenache the other evening. The grapes come from the Oleta Vineyard in Fiddletown, courtesy of Richard Martella, Michael’s brother. The bottle itself was given to me in exchange for writing some letters or such for Michael. (He’s a great winemaker but he doesn’t like to write, and I don’t mind getting paid in wine). On the nose, and it was a beautiful one, there was cinnamon, cedar box, and plum. More plum, pepper, and a little bit of soy sauce filled the mouth with a nice smoothness. Definitely easy to drink a glass or two.
Without trying too hard, I made for a rather appropriate pairing. I had a couple boneless pork chops marinating in a mixture of soy sauce, orange juice, and garlic for a few hours in the fridge before I even knew what wine I was going to have. With a little salt and brown sugar sprinkled on top, I baked them in the oven (350 degrees for about 20 minutes). The savory quality in the wine was very similar to soy sauce and the slight sweetness to the fruit went nicely with the brown sugar finish. While the sides–asparagus and smoked gouda cous cous–were not as wine friendly, they did help make a great meal.
Hmmmm, I wonder if Michael needs any more writing done.
2004 Martella Grenache, Michael Martella, pork chops
April 25th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Getting paid in wine sounds like a good deal to me! I don’t think I’ve had Grenache yet (just the Grenache Rose I’m drinking as I type, I’m multitalented like that) but one came in the mail the other day, I’m letting it settle before I jump in!
April 25th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Thanks for the tip of pork chop + Grenache. I have always eaten pork chop with Rioja and find that to be a good match. I wonder how a old world Châteauneuf-du-Pape of 100% Grenache would pair with a juicy roasted pork chop.
April 26th, 2007 at 7:00 am
sounds delicious farls……..wish you could have been in my kitchen eating and drinking that with me.
missed you at sante south…..i think i drove michael crazy because i kept going back for more and more gewurtz…….