Thursday, December 9, 2010

#138 - Seafood Sausage In Red Thai Curry Sauce With '07 Reichsrat Von Buhl


We're going to learn German wine label terms as we go today.

We've had probably three German wines in the last three years so when I look at wine labels from Germany, my head tilts and turns like my dog's head when I say something in a tone that sounds like something she wants but doesn't quite understand.

Last night's wine coupled with a soon to be discontinued favorite Trader Joe's product of ours - seafood sausages.

Good stuff, those. And frankly ridiculous with Crios torrontés.

We weren't in the mood for floral last night and with the spice level involved in the Thai curry sauce, something with a little sugar was warranted to balance things out.

Food: Seafood sausages with green beans and rice and red Thai curry sauce

Coming off asado negro and zinfandel two nights ago, a lighter meal with white wine seemed appropriate, if only for a juxtaposition. But in reality, it's freaking cold in Chicago right now so leaving the house brings an added nuisance and we should clean out some things in the freezer.

Asian all the way. Red Thai curry paste made into a spicy liquid sauce. Green beans sautéed in sesame oil and sesame seeds. White rice as a base. Seafood sausage done up with more sesame seeds.

Everything had what we wanted. Good balance, solid spice, clean flavors, typical Asian done on the cheap. Sort of a bamboo earthy note from the sesame seeds. Spice and a touch of sugar from the curry paste, something green and a crunch from the green beans, an almost umami from the sesame oil and starch from the rice.

Nothing fancy but we were happy.

And the wine played a role.

Wine: 2007 Reichsrat Von Buhl Riesling Deidesheimer Herrgottsacker Trocken Pfalz ($20 - WDC)

Grape: Riesling
Vineyard: Deidesheimer Herrgottsacker (near the town of Deidesheim, hence the name)
Region: Pfalz (large region, warmest in Germany, more diverse grape varieties grown, just south of Rheinhessen and southeast of the Mosel)
Style: Trocken, meaning dry. More of a comparative thing. Some sugar will be present just not nearly as much as other classifications
Vintage (WS): 95 Classically proportioned, with ripe, complex fruit and mineral flavors; density with elegance

There. That wasn't so hard. The interwebs ARE good for something.

Some age showing with this one, something that could be detected from the canned peach juice note I got right away. Not unpleasantly, when I was six in the late 70s growing up in a small town in Iowa, canned peaches and its resulting juice was a treat.

But it found some youth quickly with tangy grapefruit mixed with very subtle sugar. Brightish and tasty with an almost graceful tailing sugar. Specifically, Mrs. Ney nailed it. It was white grapefruit peel. But at its core, and everywhere else really, minerals at every turn. Minerals on top of minerals on top of minerals with tangy grapefruit and grapefruit acid.

Probably would have been more pretty a year ago but we were happy with what it offered, a sufficient enough lift and contrast with the food.

Pairing: 89 Nice back and forth with the wine offering what was missing

The wine brought fruit, acid and sweetness to a meal offering earth, starch and spice with the touch of sugar in the Thai curry serving as a bridge. Couldn't ask for more than that. Specifically, the wine really found its stride with the sesame seeds when they were isolated into a sesame seed-dominated bite.

Again, nothing fancy here but for a meal offering nothing fancy, what resulted was a meal improved by the wine.

Nice intermingling, like a get-together with work people that goes much better than ever expected.

And we learned some German wine label terms. Productive day all around.

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