On Mar 30, 1:41*pm, "graham" > wrote:
> "DaleW" > wrote in message
>
> ...
> A matching mistake, Betsy had said we were having salmon, so I pulled
> out a Pinot Noir. Problem was the recipe she used steams the salmon
> with chard and caramelized onions, does much better with whites. But I
> already had the cork pulled on the 2002 Williams-Selyem Sonoma County
> Pinot Noir. * Red kirschy fruit, a little blackberry, a little earth.
> Tannins are mostly integrated, the acids seem a little spikey. The
> fruit is a little candied. Decent, not exciting. B-
> (my early inclination is that is ready and needs to be drunk up.
> But...it actually held up, and is better on day 2. Hmmm, what to do
> with other 2?).
>
> Sunday afternoon I prepped dinner, made an appearance to thank
> volunteers at a benefit concert, but then headed to White Plains where
> Betsy was leading cello section in a small string orchestra. Theme was
> film composers and those that influenced them, sinfoniettas by
> Bernard Hermann and Franz Waxman, and then Verklarte Nacht by
> Schoenberg.
> Afterwards I rushed home to do pork chops with a mustard/sage sauce,
> with potatoes, salad, and some grilled vegetables. In honor of
> Schoenberg, we went with an Austrian wine, the 2002 FX Pichler "Von
> den Terrassen" Gruner Veltliner Smaragd.
> __________________________________________________ ________
>
> A flinty, dry white would be appropriate for later Schoenberg *but Verklarte
> Nacht demands a fruit-forward, Parker bomb{;-)
> BTW has Betsy recorded it?
> Graham

No, she has played before, but never recorded.
If it makes you feel better about the wine match, this was the 1943
version for string orchestra, not the original. Not really 12 tone,
but some dischord stirred into the romance.