New Favorite Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. As many of you know my new favorite wine is usually the wine that is in my glass at the time. Lately I have been having a lot of upscale dinners in my backyard and I have found that when I have folks captive I like to taste wines they may not necessarily select on their own. Today I want to talk about my new favorite wine and the food that went with it.

I donated a gourmet dinner in my backyard to a local charity auction and as it was a very hot summer evening, I made a chilled soup.  A chilled edamame bean soup served with a cucmber wasabi cream. Normally I serve it with Domaine Drouhin Chardonnay from Oregon. However, on this occasion I was out and went searching for something else I thought would work. As I perused the cellar I was drawn to the Riesling selection and I had an epiphany. Why not try a German Riesling? The soup had all of the classic characteristics of a dish that should pair well with it. I selected a 2002 Hattenberger Pfaffenberg Riesling Spatlese. A Spatlese is a sweet wine but by no means as sweet as a dessert wine. The fruit is what really drove it. It was a perfect compliment to offset the slightly earthy character and texture of the edamame bean and it was complimentary to the spice and heat from the wasabi cream served on top of the soup. It is not a wine any of the guests would have chosen on their own yet they all raved over the combination.  If you find a wine you especially enjoy then send your suggestions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.