- Bottoms Up (RSS)Killer pairing: pork and Chardonnay
By Jessica Yadegaran
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 at 10:04 am in Uncategorized.
I experienced a unique four-course food and wine pairing last night at Jack Falstaff in San Francisco. It was a growers’ dinner, so the intention was to showcase the greens from two local – Marin’s Star Route and Manteca’s Long and Bailey – with wines from the Sonoma’s Iron Horse Vineyards, located in the cool-climate Green Valley.
The stand-out pairing was a Braised & Roasted Pork Trotter with Iron Horse’s 2005 Estate Chardonnay. When you consider evolution of palate, I’ve gone from hating Chardonnays with oak and drinking only naked Chardonnays to understanding and appreciating the subtle nuances, depth and beauty of balanced Chardonnays with a kiss of the right oak. This is such a wine.
Joy Sterling and her fellow vintners at Iron Horse understand that malolactic fermentation is a winemaking tool to balance acid, not a Band-Aid for poor, lackluster fruit. The apple and tropical fruits shine in the nose and on the palate of this sophisticated Chardonnay that only gets better with each bite of fatty pork. Worth every penny of the $27.
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October 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 am
Maybe their is hope for me and Chardonnay yet. I am stuck in stage 2 of only drinking those made in steal… Perhaps I’ll track this one down and give it a try.
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:16 am
Oh yes. Even better than this one is J Vineyards’ 2006 Chardonnay. It’s sparkling winemaker George Bursick’s first still vintage with J, and he’s a master of balancing opulence and fruit. Check it out. Rivals fine white Burgundies for less money.
This all said, I would still take a Viognier over a Chardonnay if I want an opulent white.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 am
mmmmm… sounds great, how about a little more description of the Braised & Roasted Pork Trotter?
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Sure Dave. I hope my mother doesn’t read this. I’m a bad Jew. Ok: It was quite fatty and stringy but the meat was exquisitely smoky and soft.
November 9th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
[...] Jessica Yadegaran writes an interestng blog about pairing pork with Chardonnay. She calls it “Killer Pairing: Pork and Chardonnay” Check it [...]
November 9th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Great suggestion Jessica. I will link to this page from my new blog http://recipes.kookingwithkarl.com/?p=348 . Thanks for the advice.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Cool. Nice blog!