Pinot Noir

You know, I like Pinot Noir. I liked it before I saw Sideways, too. OK so I buy it a bit more often after I heard the poignant description about the grape's temperment and potential for excellence from Paul Giamatti's character. You gotta respect the opinion of any wine connoisseur who loves the sauce so much, he'll confuse the spittin' trough for a beer bong.

I went to a wine tasting a number of years ago, where I learned that Pinot was a nice accompaniment for pork (among other things). I did find the Pinot is definitely not a cocktail wine - merlot seems the best to suit that purpose among the reds - but once the saliva and acids get going in the mouth, Pinot is tremendous with a nice pork roast, a spicy chicken dish, or even the occasional beef dish. It has a light body but enough acidity to match up to full flavored fare. I'm loving it these days.

My most recent find was an inexpensive 2006 Oregon Pinot called Kings Ridge. Oregon, you say? I've always wondered about those Oregon and Washington wines, but then I realized that, hey, they're right there jostling with northern California, and they're just as liberal. There must be some good wines coming out of there, too.

So my point today is, if you've got a pork tendrloin roast, crack open a bottle of Pinot. You won't regret it. That's what I did last night. Sure, I took it easy by buying a peppered pork tenderloin and baking it with onions, apples, and rosemary. I made a gravy out of the drippings to pour across the basmati rice on the side, and served it with asparagus. It was a pretty simple meal, but the Pinot made it a bit more special.

I even had enough of the bottle left over to use in the marinera sauce tonight. But that's a different story. My ziti awaits!

ciao,
dave