Couple of nice al fresco meals, I love the spring:

Sunday was lemon-garlic pork chops, barley "risotto", and a spinach
salad, Betsy needed white wine for the barley. An inexpensive GruVe
seemed to fit the bill, and decided to continue with it for dinner.
The 2004 Geyerhof "Rosensteig" Grüner Veltliner (Kremstal) was
definitely on the tart (bordering on underripe) end of the GV
spectrum, the palate is of green apples and lemon. High acidity and
the slightest hint of petillance. Actually the lemony tartness lent
itself well to the lemon of the chops, and there's a nice Riesling-
meets-Muscadet minerality. Not a great GV, but a fine value at its $5
closeout price- just don't expect a broad-shouldered wine. B

With a Japanese themed meal (chicken yakitori, grilled asparagus &
eggplant, and umeboshi rice), the 2003 St Innocent Seven Springs
Pinot Noir from 375. A bit bigger than most 7 Springs I've tried, a
tad tannic and heavy. The deep red berry fruit is nice however, and
there's a pleasant edge of spice. Maybe not my favorite St. I. 7
Springs, but nice, and probably drunk too young. B+/B

(I drank a lot of seltzer as palate cleanser with this, the PN went
well with the yakitori, but asparagus pales beside the sour plum in
the "wine-killer" category).

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency

DaleW wrote:

(I drank a lot of seltzer as palate cleanser with this, the PN went
well with the yakitori, but asparagus pales beside the sour plum in
the "wine-killer" category).

How ANY wine can not be destroyed by accompanying the taste of Japanese
Shoyu is beyond my comprehension. I have often stated in jest that Japanese
would even put Shoyu in ice cream if you would let them. Then, while
perusing a Japanese online news site a couple of months ago, I discovered
the latest "in" flavors of Ice Cream: Squid and Shoyu!

To each their own. :-(

Godzilla

DaleW wrote:

With a Japanese themed meal (chicken yakitori, grilled asparagus &
eggplant, and umeboshi rice), the 2003 St Innocent Seven Springs
Pinot Noir from 375. A bit bigger than most 7 Springs I've tried, a
tad tannic and heavy. The deep red berry fruit is nice however, and
there's a pleasant edge of spice. Maybe not my favorite St. I. 7
Springs, but nice, and probably drunk too young. B+/B

IIRC, '03 in OR was a lot like it was in Europe. As a result, most of
the OR Pinots I've had from '03 have been bigger, less structured wines.
Yours sounds like another example. As it happens, I've got the '04 7
Springs sitting in the cellar, where it will stay for years to come. ;-)

Mark Lipton

p.s. Umeboshi rice means a bowl of rice with a pickled plum in it?
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

godzilla wrote:

How ANY wine can not be destroyed by accompanying the taste of Japanese
Shoyu is beyond my comprehension. I have often stated in jest that Japanese
would even put Shoyu in ice cream if you would let them. Then, while
perusing a Japanese online news site a couple of months ago, I discovered
the latest "in" flavors of Ice Cream: Squid and Shoyu!

Considering that soy sauce is a flavor found in older Cabernet-based
wines (sometimes) I don't find it impossible to pair with. It also
depends on the intensity of flavor IMO: lighter shoyu, used sparingly,
is unlikely to overwhelm most wines, whereas "tamari"-type dark shoyu
used plentifully would make me a tea-drinker for the meal ;-)

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

On Apr 24, 8:42?am, godzilla wrote:
DaleW wrote:
(I drank a lot of seltzer as palate cleanser with this, the PN went
well with the yakitori, but asparagus pales beside the sour plum in
the "wine-killer" category).

How ANY wine can not be destroyed by accompanying the taste of Japanese
Shoyu is beyond my comprehension. I have often stated in jest that Japanese
would even put Shoyu in ice cream if you would let them. Then, while
perusing a Japanese online news site a couple of months ago, I discovered
the latest "in" flavors of Ice Cream: Squid and Shoyu!

To each their own. :-(

Godzilla

Actually I find that the umami flavors of things like yakitori do well
with the red wines I think of as aromatics (Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir).
I'll give credit to Parker for that one, I read his ode to Barolo and
dim sum once.

The ice cream sounds like one of the ice creams they made on the
original Iron Chef. While Japanese do use a lot of (various) shoyus, a
Japanese friend was once horrified to see my stepson put shoyu
directly on his rice. The sign of the lower classes! Next day we got 2
nice bottle of some highgrade furikake as a gift.

Mark Lipton wrote:

godzilla wrote:

How ANY wine can not be destroyed by accompanying the taste of Japanese
Shoyu is beyond my comprehension. I have often stated in jest that
Japanese would even put Shoyu in ice cream if you would let them. Then,
while perusing a Japanese online news site a couple of months ago, I
discovered the latest "in" flavors of Ice Cream: Squid and Shoyu!

Considering that soy sauce is a flavor found in older Cabernet-based
wines (sometimes) I don't find it impossible to pair with. It also
depends on the intensity of flavor IMO: lighter shoyu, used sparingly,
is unlikely to overwhelm most wines, whereas "tamari"-type dark shoyu
used plentifully would make me a tea-drinker for the meal ;-)

Mark Lipton


If you have ever been to Japan, you would encounter Kikkoman shoyu
(the benchmark standard) which is FAR stronger than the weak clone by that
name which is produced under license in Wisconsin. Practically every
mouthful that you ingest there is inundated with this palate numbing
substance.

In my six working trips there, I managed to lose a total of more poundage
than is my spouses current weight by eating nothing but Japanese food.
Of course, the prices that made my eyes bulge out were a contributing
factor. On the first excursion, I learned that Japanese (green) tea is
always served gratis by custom. However, black tea (considered a foreign
beverage) bears the same price as Kohi (coffee.) You may surmise what was
my customary beverage with food (along with a few treats of Biru (beer.)

Godzilla

Hello,
A taste, or, more, a smell of soy sauce (particularly slightly reduced) can
be found in Chateauneuf-du-Pape as well - however, these tend to be slightly
over the top even for the present writer, widely known and acclaimed as a
bit of a oenonecrophiliac.

Cheers

Nils

--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se

On Apr 24, 7:28 am, DaleW wrote:

With a Japanese themed meal (chicken yakitori, grilled asparagus &
eggplant, and umeboshi rice), the 2003 St Innocent Seven Springs
Pinot Noir from 375. A bit bigger than most 7 Springs I've tried, a
tad tannic and heavy. The deep red berry fruit is nice however, and
there's a pleasant edge of spice. Maybe not my favorite St. I. 7
Springs, but nice, and probably drunk too young. B+/B

(I drank a lot of seltzer as palate cleanser with this, the PN went
well with the yakitori, but asparagus pales beside the sour plum in
the "wine-killer" category).

I have been able to find white asparagus from Peru in a local store
recently. Some of it really should be peeled if you do not like
strings. However it does not have much of the grassy taste of the
green kind, and I find it a bit more wine friendly when it is steamed
or boiled and served dressed with toasted pistachio oil. A bit of salt
and white pepper also is added. I like J. Leblanc's Huile de pistache.
It can be found in a few large fine food stores in the US. I think it
also would be good on a steak, except for the green color. Many people
associate green with beef that is over the hill. Unfortunately the
price of the pistachio oil is high, but it is very intense so you do
not have to use much.

"cwdjrxyz" skrev i meddelandet
oups.com...
On Apr 24, 7:28 am, DaleW wrote:

...

I have been able to find white asparagus from Peru in a local store
recently. Some of it really should be peeled if you do not like
strings. However it does not have much of the grassy taste of the
green kind, and I find it a bit more wine friendly when it is steamed
or boiled and served dressed with toasted pistachio oil. A bit of salt
and white pepper also is added. I like J. Leblanc's Huile de pistache.
It can be found in a few large fine food stores in the US. I think it
also would be good on a steak, except for the green color. Many people
associate green with beef that is over the hill. Unfortunately the
price of the pistachio oil is high, but it is very intense so you do
not have to use much.

Currently, fresh white asparagus is available in Western Europe - startiung
from South in Spain and Provence, we now get Dutch asparagus which is very
good indeed. I would like to recommend hazelnut oil with the vegetable - we
had this Friday, with a dry Alsace Muscat, and the combination was very
enjoyable. On the whole, Alsace Muscat, Pinot Blanc, and (if not too sweet)
Pinot Gris all accompany white asparagus well, in my opinion.

Cheers


Nils

--
Respond to nils dot lindgren at drchips dot se

On Apr 24, 9:44�am, Mark Lipton wrote:
DaleW wrote:
With a Japanese themed meal (chicken yakitori, grilled asparagus &
eggplant, *and umeboshi rice), the 2003 St Innocent Seven Springs
Pinot Noir from 375. *A bit bigger than most 7 Springs I've tried, a
tad tannic and heavy. The deep red berry fruit is nice however, and
there's a pleasant edge of spice. Maybe not my favorite St. I. 7
Springs, but nice, and probably drunk too young. B+/B

IIRC, '03 in OR was a lot like it was in Europe. *As a result, most of
the OR Pinots I've had from '03 have been bigger, less structured wines.
*Yours sounds like another example. *As it happens, I've got the '04 7
Springs sitting in the cellar, where it will stay for years to come. ;-)

Mark Lipton

p.s. *Umeboshi rice means a bowl of rice with a pickled plum in it?
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: *http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

Actually, in this case its chopped pickled plum spread in some rice,
which is then shaped into a "pillow" and wrapped in nori.

Google groups seems to be acting up, your post is first I've seen
today, and its from yesterday. My reply to Godzilla and my Falanghina
post don't show. Hmm, may have to break out another newsreader
account.

In article ,
godzilla wrote:

DaleW wrote:

(I drank a lot of seltzer as palate cleanser with this, the PN went
well with the yakitori, but asparagus pales beside the sour plum in
the "wine-killer" category).

How ANY wine can not be destroyed by accompanying the taste of Japanese
Shoyu is beyond my comprehension. I have often stated in jest that Japanese
would even put Shoyu in ice cream if you would let them. Then, while
perusing a Japanese online news site a couple of months ago, I discovered
the latest "in" flavors of Ice Cream: Squid and Shoyu!

To each their own. :-(

Godzilla

I have had a few cabernets that have a nose of soy sauce soy maybe they
would go well.