I am far from a Southern Girl, having been raised in New England and spending my first 20-something years there. I only moved down South about 4 years ago and I still am not very good at frying a chicken! However, we had this interpretation of a Southern feast consisting of fried fish, corn on the cob and couscous.With our dinner I served a 2005 Madame Preston from Preston Vineyards (where I will be stopping in April to pick up some olive oil, delicious!). The Madame Preston is billed as a Rhone style white blend and is made of 62% Rousanne, 31% Viognier and 9% Marsanne. It cost us $26 minus a case discount, is 13.8% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure, but no foil covering. Like all of Preston's wines this one is also made from organic grapes.
On the nose there is a huge sweet perfume aroma consisting of honey, spices and tinned pears. It is smooth and full in the mouth and tastes just very slightly oaked. Contrary to the nose, it is not sweet at all in the mouth. It has almost a reserved lemon flavor with pears as an undertone. The finish is a decent length and overall it was an okay match with our dinner, but I preferred it on its own.
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Hmmm. We had this one with something slightly spicier, which may have helped to bring out the honey notes. In general, I think Rhone-style whites can be hard to pair with food because they vary enormously in their flavor profile depending on which grape is dominant. Here it's Roussanne--so perhaps something a bit creamier and full bodied to go with that heavier mouthfeel? But I would have thought the chicken and taters would have been pretty good with it.
3/20/07, 2:57 PM
Hey Dr. Debs- Maybe chicken and taters would be good...but we had fish and cous cous :) I think you are ont o something with the spicy vein. Perhaps with some Chinese next time!
3/20/07, 3:59 PM
That meal looks great! Nice blog you have here. I'm visiting via Dezel.
3/20/07, 5:17 PM
ok, so you take the whole chicken, drop it in the deep fryer...how hard is that?! Just do not splash any of that hot oil on you (or the wine...)
3/20/07, 11:45 PM
Welcome Anali! Thanks for the comment and compliment. I read Dezel's blog all the time as well!
Joe- I don't know about you, but I don't have a deep fryer in my kitchen!! So that would make that technique pretty darn hard for me! :)
3/21/07, 8:52 AM
Sorry--was having amazing brain lapse in which I was remembering the Southern food post while typing about the M. Preston. Oops.
3/21/07, 12:37 PM
No worries, we've all had days like that! Today was one for me, I can't seem to spell anything correctly on the first try.
3/22/07, 6:07 PM
Hey Sonadora,
So you probably know by now that I cannot pass up a opportunity to recommend a French wine, and I couldn't help but think of Texier Cote du Rhone Brezeme white when I read this. I love Rhone white grapes, and I honestly believe that they are the least well represented in American wine making - ie, there aren't that many great American wines made from these grapes. So, at less than $20 in your store that carries Dressner wines (you can check the Dressner site if need be), keep your eyes open for this wines. It's really really good, I think. The 2004 is the one on the shelves now.
3/23/07, 4:26 PM
Hey BrooklynGuy! I will definitely keep that in mind. I don't have much experience with French wines (as you can probably tell, we drink mostly CA wines!). But I will look for it in my shop next time I am there!
3/23/07, 5:45 PM