Food and Wine Pairings

[mikeI]

Sable fish, is like no other from our pacific waters.

i was curious ,, i wanted to pair it with a bc wine, because it is a bc product,, and have a hard time trying to decide.

tuff fish to stand up to.

any recomendations. for the smoked or unsmoked versions of the fish.

very heavy duty flavors with sable fish,, i was thinking mission hill chardonay or a dry rieseling.. i got no idea,, please help... friends coming over for dinner next week.

[rlibkind]

With unsmoked sablefish, can't go wrong with any decent riesling, even a slightly sweet one, i.e., the BC equivalent of a spätlese, if such exists. With smoked sablefish consider a drier sparkling wine.

[Sam Salmon]

I agree with the suggestion for a Riesling-Gehringers Bros would be my choice since it's off dry without being too flowery.

Not a Chardonnay fan maybe a dry Ehrenfelser instead, Gehringer has one of those too.

Can't think of anything here that matches a Spätlese though.

[wattacetti]

Or you can also think of getting some of that artisanal sake from Granville Island.

I'd throw in some of the St. Hubertus whites in as a suggestion. What else would accompany your fish since that's also going to throw the pairing.

[SBonner]

La Frenz Semillon would work very well with the sable fish (unsmoked). A smoked version is great with Gewürztraminer (Dirty Laundry or Wild Goose)

Stephen Bonner

[eatbc]

Of course, if you flavour, spice or sauce your fish in any way that will change your pairing options.

Many good BC "aromatic" varieties with some body will work well with Sablefish. I really like CedarCreek's Dry Riesling or Sumac Ridge's Gewurztraminer (which is a little sweeter, better for the smoked fish)

A good Pinot Gris would also work. We do that grape so well here in BC. Try Mission Hill's Reserve.

All these wines should be easy to find.

[mtigges]

I absolutely LOVE sablefish, but can't offer any intelligent contribution regarding wine pairing.

Sorry, for going off topic, but I wanted to relay that planked sablefish (I used cedar, but I suspect alder or cherry might be even better) is unbelievable.

I marinated in a vermouth soy brine for about a day and then in a medium grill (~400 IIRC) for about 20 minutes or so (it was still underdone could have used longer). I actually thought it would overpower it, but nope, it was amazing. Try it.

[run2eat]

I like eatbc's picks above and agree with

Many good BC "aromatic" varieties with some body will work well with Sablefish

Speaking of spice, sauce and sablefish. I enjoyed an extraordinary pairing this last summer of unsmoked sablefish in a fennel-cream sauce, paired with a superb dry Vouvray. Yummy but not a BC wine (and I don't think our Chablis comes close to a Vouvray).

Depending on the sauce, a fruity, lighter pinot noir may be nice?

For aromatic BC whites, I'm really loving the Golden Mile 5th element right now.

[SusanP]

I'm serving a home-smoked goose & home-smoked turkey breast for Thanksgiving. What would be a good wine (or wines) to serve with this?

thanks,

SusanP

[beepop]

For me something rich and oily but with good acidity - a sauvignon blanc from Insonzo or a light unoaked chardonnay.

[mike volker]

I'd go with a nice briary red zinfandel as an alternate to the white.

Best,

Mike

[SBonner]

A fat Alsatian Gewürztraminer will work.

Stephen Bonner

[Fugu]

Pouilly-Fume is a classic wine pairing for smokey foods.

[Kim Shook]

I am serving an appetizer assortment comprised of serrano ham, heated dates stuffed w/ manchego and marcona almonds. This will be prior to a main of leg of lamb served with either a Cabernet Sauvignon or a French Syrah. What kind of wine would you serve with the appetizer? Or would you not serve wine? Something else? I appreciate the help. I am not even a neophyte yet, so I need it !

Ok, while I'm asking, dessert will be mini strawberry and vanilla cream shakes w/ strawberry and mascarpone panini. Something bubbly with those? Proseco maybe?

Thanks!

[KatieLoeb]

Kim:

For the mains, the obvious choice might be an Amontillado sherry, or a Crianza Rioja if you wanted a red. Tough to pair both the jamon and the dates with any one wine.

With the strawberry shakes, go for a sparkling dessert wine like Moscato d'Asti or if you could serve some chocolates on the side in addition to the shakes, a Brachetto d'Acqui. Banfi Rosa Regale is fairly readily available and very delicious.

[thirtyoneknots]

Kim:

For the mains, the obvious choice might be an Amontillado sherry,

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Second

[Kim Shook]

Thanks so much - I will look for those tonight!

[Craig Camp]

A nice chilled Fino Sherry like Lustau would be perfect. It's a much more refreshing aperitif than Amontillado.

[Kim Shook]

just double checking - I'm supposed to serve the sherry with the lamb? But not with the apps? Any ideas on the apps?

ta!!!!!

[plattetude]

Eek! No, the sherry is for the app course. Sherry and marcona almonds are a classic pairing. That you're continuing in the Iberian vein with the manchego and serrano ham makes it all the more of a natural.

Definitely a big structured red with the lamb, as you've already planned.

Christopher

[thirtyoneknots]

Yeah sorry I see that the post I quoted (and hence my post) makes it look like the sherry should go with the main course, but a dry sherry, either a fino or amontillado, would be perfect with the appetizer. As for the dessert, I do not normally go for sweet wines paired with sweet desserts, but I often find myself in a minority there. If that's the route you want, something sweet-ish and bubbly looks like just the ticket, though maybe sweeter than prosecco. Perhaps a Moscato d'Asti like Ms. Loeb suggested. For the record, my preference is to have coffee with sweet desserts and have something more savory, like cheeses or foie gras, with the sweet wines. I like the contrast.

And the Cab or Syrah would be just the thing for the big lamb leg. If it was me, I'd take it as an opportunity to drink some Hermitage

Edited February 20, 2008 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[markk]

For the record, my preference is to have coffee with sweet desserts and have something more savory, like cheeses or foie gras, with the sweet wines. I like the contrast.

Slightly off-topic, but next time you're having foie gras, you might want to treat yourself to a totally dry Gewurztraminer, from Alsace, which is what they pair with foie gras there. And a wonderful combination it is!

[thirtyoneknots]

For the record, my preference is to have coffee with sweet desserts and have something more savory, like cheeses or foie gras, with the sweet wines. I like the contrast.

Slightly off-topic, but next time you're having foie gras, you might want to treat yourself to a totally dry Gewurztraminer, from Alsace, which is what they pair with foie gras there. And a wonderful combination it is!

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What isn't foie gras good with? Gotta admit that dry Alsatian Gewurz and Riesling are my favorite white styles.

[Kim Shook]

Thanks so much everyone! I think I've got this straight now. I got the Amontillado sherry which I will serve with the apps. I got the Crianza Rioja which I'll serve with the lamb and I got the Banfi Rosa Regale which I'll serve with dessert. Thank you so much. I am a wine ninny and now I can serve my (your) pairings with some confidence!

[KatieLoeb]

Kim:

Don't forget to serve a little chocolate with the strawberry shakes. The raspberry flavors of the Rosa Regale will be closely echoed in the strawberry shake, but the Brachetto really needs just a bit of chocolate to make everyone have that "A-ha!" wine pairing moment. There's nothing more delicious than Brachetto with chocolate. A small but sinfully rich truffle on the side of each shake ought to do it.

Report back on your preferences after you've had the opportunity to try everything.