Monday was beef stroganoff. Not the easiest match ( Pierre Franey recipe- tenderloin, paprika, cream sauce, mushrooms pull in a variety of directions) , but I generally go with light red. But it occured to me that bubbly- especiallly pink bublly- might fit the bill. I went with the NV Agrapart Brut Rose Champagne. Initial impression- fine mousse, bright red fruits, dosage maybe a tad on high side but in balance. But with the stroganoff something- the sour cream?- reacted in a weird way- dish was fine, but the Champagne tasted like a non-dosage. Dry to the point of bitterness. OK, so mark that one off from list of Dale's favorite matches. But after meal the bubbly was fine, with fine length and complexity, and I wish I had bought more. B+/A-

Tuesday Betsy was teaching a meditation class, and I had a speech at a local church, but we had time for a quick early dinner. Basically a "clean out fridge" pizza- mozzarella, collards, olives, peppers,and feta. I grabbed one of my standard pizza wines, but again not greatest match. The 2009 Iche (Ch. d'Oupia) "Les Heretiques" (VdP d'Herault) seemed to clash a bit with the feta and greens- white would have been better. But afterwards (and on following night) the Heretiques was it's usual warm friendly self. Black fruit, light tannins, spice, and a bit of brett (well within my tolerance). Nothing complex here, but very satisfying for the price. B

Wednesday Betsy made go gai (chicken with cabbage)- I opened the 1997 Schmitt-Wagner "Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg" Riesling
Spatlese. Finally a good pairing. Good acids, apple and white peach fruit, a hint of petrol. Nice, young, but maybe not the most complex Spatlese. B

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.

On Nov 17, 3:20*pm, DaleW > wrote:
> Monday was beef stroganoff. Not the easiest match ( Pierre Franey recipe- tenderloin, paprika, cream sauce, mushrooms pull in a variety of directions) , but I generally go with light red. But it occured to me that bubbly- especiallly pink bublly- might fit the bill. I went with the NV Agrapart Brut Rose Champagne. Initial impression- fine mousse, bright red fruits, dosage maybe a tad on high side but in balance. But with the stroganoff something- the sour cream?- reacted in a weird way- dish was fine, but the Champagne tasted like a non-dosage. Dry to the point of bitterness. OK, so mark that one off from list of Dale's favorite matches. But after meal the bubbly was fine, with fine length and complexity, and I wish I had bought more. B+/A-
>
I find sour cream a poor match for many wines. I think I might try
making the stroganoff with fresh cream and using a bit of beef or veal
demi-glace. If one does not have up to a few days to make classic demi-
glace, it can be bought at a few specialist grocers at a rather steep
price, but only a little is needed and it will keep well. I might also
use Spanish smoked paprika, not too much, to add a bit of complexity -
I would use the mild, but medium and very hot Spanish smoked paprika
are available. There are various versions of stroganoff, but most use
sour cream, so some might argue that you should not call the dish
stroganoff if there is no sour cream. Perhaps you could use mostly
fresh cream with just a bit of sour cream.

On Nov 17, 2:20*pm, DaleW > wrote:
> Monday was beef stroganoff. Not the easiest match ( Pierre Franey recipe- tenderloin, paprika, cream sauce, mushrooms pull in a variety of directions) , but I generally go with light red. But it occured to me that bubbly- especiallly pink bublly- might fit the bill. I went with the NV Agrapart Brut Rose Champagne. Initial impression- fine mousse, bright red fruits, dosage maybe a tad on high side but in balance. But with the stroganoff something- the sour cream?- reacted in a weird way- dish was fine, but the Champagne tasted like a non-dosage. Dry to the point of bitterness. OK, so mark that one off from list of Dale's favorite matches. But after meal the bubbly was fine, with fine length and complexity, and I wish I had bought more. B+/A-
>
> Tuesday Betsy was teaching a meditation class, and I had a speech at a local church, but we had time for a quick early dinner. Basically a "clean out fridge" pizza- mozzarella, collards, olives, peppers,and feta. I grabbed one of my standard pizza wines, but again not greatest match. The 2009 Iche (Ch. d'Oupia) *"Les Heretiques" (VdP d'Herault) seemed to clash a bit with the feta and greens- white would have been better. But afterwards (and on following night) the Heretiques was it's usual warm friendly self. Black fruit, light tannins, spice, and a bit of brett (well within my tolerance). Nothing complex here, but very satisfying for the price. B
>
> Wednesday Betsy made go gai (chicken with cabbage)- I opened the 1997 Schmitt-Wagner "Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg" *Riesling
> Spatlese. Finally a good pairing. Good acids, apple and white peach fruit, a hint of petrol. Nice, young, but maybe not the most complex Spatlese. B
>
> 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.

The last time we tried it with an Olaroso sherry. Pretty good match as
I use plenty of paprika in mine.

On Nov 17, 5:10*pm, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> On Nov 17, 3:20*pm, DaleW > wrote:> Monday was beef stroganoff. Not the easiest match ( Pierre Franey recipe- tenderloin, paprika, cream sauce, mushrooms pull in a variety of directions) , but I generally go with light red. But it occured to me that bubbly- especiallly pink bublly- might fit the bill. I went with the NV Agrapart Brut Rose Champagne. Initial impression- fine mousse, bright red fruits, dosage maybe a tad on high side but in balance. But with the stroganoff something- the sour cream?- reacted in a weird way- dish was fine, but the Champagne tasted like a non-dosage. Dry to the point of bitterness. OK, so mark that one off from list of Dale's favorite matches. But after meal the bubbly was fine, with fine length and complexity, and I wish I had bought more. B+/A-
>
> I find sour cream a poor match for many wines. I think I might try
> making the stroganoff with fresh cream and using a bit of beef or veal
> demi-glace. If one does not have up to a few days to make classic demi-
> glace, it can be bought at a few specialist grocers at a rather steep
> price, but only a little is needed and it will keep well. I might also
> use Spanish smoked paprika, not too much, to add a bit of complexity -
> I would use the mild, but medium and very hot Spanish smoked paprika
> are available. There are various versions of stroganoff, but most use
> sour cream, so some might argue that you should not call the dish
> stroganoff if there is no sour cream. Perhaps you could use mostly
> fresh cream with just a bit of sour cream.

I used the Spanish smoked paprika in mine as well. The flavor is
intriguing.