Friday was surprisingly warm, we decided to grill. Betsy picked up some wild
salmon, and at last minte we decided we had enough to invite over a couple of
good friends. One drinks only white, her husband drinks mostly red. Thank
goodness for salmon.

As they arrived, we munched on inari-zushi, olives,and ume (pickled plums). The
2002 Bonny Doon Ca' da Solo Big House White provided a nice floral backdrop to
a melange of flavors. Aromatic, modest acidity, with ripe white fruit. B

The salmon was grilled simply, served with a soy garlic butter dipping sauce.
Betsy also had some stir-fried chard, and some Japanese rice (with nori
wrappers). With dinner, both red and white Burgundy. This particular bottle of
1995 Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne was the best of 3 (good) bottles I picked up
recently, clean pear fruit with a touch of hazelnut, deliciously smoky with a
minerally finish. I would have been happy with this if it were a $35
Puligny,much less a $10 Bourgogne (hey, on closeout, but still). B+/A-

And for the red, the 2000 Lafarge Bourgogne. This has put on some wait over the
last year or so. The cherry fruit veers closer to black cherry, and the earthy
edge has deepened into more a forest floor aroma. Good acidity, nice finish. A-

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency.

Dale

Dale Williams
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Dale Williams wrote:

> The salmon was grilled simply, served with a soy garlic butter dipping sauce.
> Betsy also had some stir-fried chard, and some Japanese rice (with nori
> wrappers). With dinner, both red and white Burgundy.

So, which went better with the salmon, Dale? ;-)

Mark Lipton

>
>So, which went better with the salmon, Dale? ;-)

You know me, PN & salmon.
I will say that preference is based on my style of eating salmon, fairly rare.
Dale

Dale Williams
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"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> You know me, PN & salmon.
> I will say that preference is based on my style of eating salmon, fairly
rare.

I tend to agree with you on that last, although not on the PN with salmon.

I find that it's easy to overcook salmon - as well as many other things.
The trick I've found is to allow whatever it is you're about to grill sit
awhile at room temperature before throwing it on the grill. If you put food
on the grill straight out of the 'fridge it tends to be undercooked inside
when the outside is right, and overcooked on the outside if the inside is
right.

Tom S

Dale,

I never thought ume or inari-zushi would go "well" with wine. Now I am
tempted to try

Naoko


"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> Friday was surprisingly warm, we decided to grill. Betsy picked up some
wild
> salmon, and at last minte we decided we had enough to invite over a couple
of
> good friends. One drinks only white, her husband drinks mostly red. Thank
> goodness for salmon.
>
> As they arrived, we munched on inari-zushi, olives,and ume (pickled
plums). The
> 2002 Bonny Doon Ca' da Solo Big House White provided a nice floral
backdrop to
> a melange of flavors. Aromatic, modest acidity, with ripe white fruit. B
>
> The salmon was grilled simply, served with a soy garlic butter dipping
sauce.
> Betsy also had some stir-fried chard, and some Japanese rice (with nori
> wrappers). With dinner, both red and white Burgundy. This particular
bottle of
> 1995 Domaine Leflaive Bourgogne was the best of 3 (good) bottles I picked
up
> recently, clean pear fruit with a touch of hazelnut, deliciously smoky
with a
> minerally finish. I would have been happy with this if it were a $35
> Puligny,much less a $10 Bourgogne (hey, on closeout, but still). B+/A-
>
> And for the red, the 2000 Lafarge Bourgogne. This has put on some wait
over the
> last year or so. The cherry fruit veers closer to black cherry, and the
earthy
> edge has deepened into more a forest floor aroma. Good acidity, nice
finish. A-
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a
> good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party
where
> it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity,
accuracy,
> and certainly not of consistency.
>
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply

On Mon, 10 May 2004 01:47:33 GMT, "Tom S" >
wrote:

>
>"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
>> You know me, PN & salmon.
>> I will say that preference is based on my style of eating salmon, fairly
>rare.
>
>I tend to agree with you on that last, although not on the PN with salmon.
>
>I find that it's easy to overcook salmon - as well as many other things.
>The trick I've found is to allow whatever it is you're about to grill sit
>awhile at room temperature before throwing it on the grill. If you put food
>on the grill straight out of the 'fridge it tends to be undercooked inside
>when the outside is right, and overcooked on the outside if the inside is
>right.
>
I agree strongly with your latter point. When grilling salmon (as well
as other things, but let's deal with one thing at a time), one should
start with it at room temperature. As to the choice between Chardonnay
and PN (or, if you prefer, Bourgogne Blanc and Rouge) it depends on
one's personal taste, how the salmon is prepared, and what kinds of
spices and sauces are used. With really good quality salmon, e.g. the
Copper River salmon that all of us in the Pacific NW eagerly await
this time of year, little in the way of spices or sauces is required
to prepare a superb dish. With lesser quality salmon, heavier sauces
may be appropriate and even something like a merlot or syrah may work
very well.

Vino
To reply, add "x" between
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"Vino" > wrote in message
...
> With really good quality salmon, e.g. the
> Copper River salmon that all of us in the Pacific NW eagerly await
> this time of year, little in the way of spices or sauces is required
> to prepare a superb dish.

I tend to agree with you, but not very strongly - particularly on extolling
the virtues of Copper River salmon.

I find Steelhead at ~$8/lb to be usually better than the Copper River salmon
I've spent $20+/lb for.

With lesser quality salmon, heavier sauces
> may be appropriate and even something like a merlot or syrah may work
> very well.

Actually, I find homemade, dill-based tartar sauce to be worth the trouble
to fix - especially for a slab of the good stuff, roasted over a French oak
fire.

"Good stuff" = salmon, sturgeon, halibut, sea bass (any kind) swordfish,
tuna, mahi-mahi, ... well, you get the idea.

No heavy red wines, please. Pinot Grigio - maybe.

Tom S

>I never thought ume or inari-zushi would go "well" with wine. Now I am
>tempted to try

Naoko,

As to the ume, to be honest I made sure I had a LOT of mineral water before
venturing to the wine.I don't think any wine on earth (or beer, or soft drink)
could stand up to that taste!

The inari-zushi on the otherhand wasn't a bad match with the Bonny Doon. My
stepson's grandmother (paternal, she's Japanese) had made these, very good, and
the light sweetness played off the florality of the wine pretty well. But I'd
stick to reasonably priced wine, the match could be tricky- I wouldn't match to
a Condrieu even with its floral nature.

Dale

Dale Williams
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On Mon, 10 May 2004 05:34:18 GMT, "Tom S" >
wrote:
>
>"Vino" > wrote in message
.. .
>> With really good quality salmon, e.g. the
>> Copper River salmon that all of us in the Pacific NW eagerly await
>> this time of year, little in the way of spices or sauces is required
>> to prepare a superb dish.
>
>I tend to agree with you, but not very strongly - particularly on extolling
>the virtues of Copper River salmon.
>
>I find Steelhead at ~$8/lb to be usually better than the Copper River salmon
>I've spent $20+/lb for.
CR salmon is one of those foods, like fresh bing cherries, that I love
but which are available for only a few weeks in the year, so I take
advantage of them while I can. I'll agree it's pricey, but the price
comes down after the first wave arrives in the stores and the initial
hype dies down.
>
> With lesser quality salmon, heavier sauces
>> may be appropriate and even something like a merlot or syrah may work
>> very well.
>
>Actually, I find homemade, dill-based tartar sauce to be worth the trouble
>to fix - especially for a slab of the good stuff, roasted over a French oak
>fire.
I'll agree that a light homemade tartar sauce would work well. I
assume you've tried many of the commercial brands and, like me, found
them wanting (with one possible exception). But then any kind of red
wine would be out of the question.
>
>"Good stuff" = salmon, sturgeon, halibut, sea bass (any kind) swordfish,
>tuna, mahi-mahi, ... well, you get the idea.
I do indeed.
>
>No heavy red wines, please. Pinot Grigio - maybe.
Depends on the sauce one uses. But I would agree that something like
CS would not work.

Vino

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Dale Williams wrote:


> The inari-zushi on the otherhand wasn't a bad match with the Bonny Doon. My
> stepson's grandmother (paternal, she's Japanese) had made these, very good, and
> the light sweetness played off the florality of the wine pretty well. But I'd
> stick to reasonably priced wine, the match could be tricky- I wouldn't match to
> a Condrieu even with its floral nature.

Dale and Naoko:
I think that there ought to be decent matches with the inari-zushi,
if not particularly memorable ones. The main problem, of course, is the
rice wine vinegar used in preparing the sushi rice -- but fortunately
rice wine vinegar is easier on wine than most others. I'd match a Loire
white or an Austrian GV to it with no hesitation.

Mark Lipton

Dale and Mark,

I think I'd try with a Loire or "everyday" priced dry white taking your
suggestions. As you say, it is unlikely to be memorable but I like them both
so what the heck.

I am going home to Tokyo very soon so I have plenty of opportunity If I
remember right, some of Japanese wine critic's mentioned Loire whites go
well with yuzu flavored dishes. I might try that too.

Naoko

"Mark Lipton" > wrote in message
...
> Dale Williams wrote:
>
>
> > The inari-zushi on the otherhand wasn't a bad match with the Bonny Doon.
My
> > stepson's grandmother (paternal, she's Japanese) had made these, very
good, and
> > the light sweetness played off the florality of the wine pretty well.
But I'd
> > stick to reasonably priced wine, the match could be tricky- I wouldn't
match to
> > a Condrieu even with its floral nature.
>
> Dale and Naoko:
> I think that there ought to be decent matches with the inari-zushi,
> if not particularly memorable ones. The main problem, of course, is the
> rice wine vinegar used in preparing the sushi rice -- but fortunately
> rice wine vinegar is easier on wine than most others. I'd match a Loire
> white or an Austrian GV to it with no hesitation.
>
> Mark Lipton

"Vino" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 10 May 2004 05:34:18 GMT, "Tom S" >
> wrote:
> >Actually, I find homemade, dill-based tartar sauce to be worth the
trouble
> >to fix - especially for a slab of the good stuff, roasted over a French
oak
> >fire.
> I'll agree that a light homemade tartar sauce would work well. I
> assume you've tried many of the commercial brands and, like me, found
> them wanting (with one possible exception).

Please enlighten me on what would be that "one exception" - for when I'm too
lazy to make fresh. :^)

Tom S

> I'd match a Loire
>white or an Austrian GV to it with no hesitation.

Mark,
Well, the Bonny Doon has most of the white grapes around in its kitchen sink
blend- certainly Chenin and SB, unsure re GV.

Naoko, please report back. I would think more SB than Chenin as working with
yazu, but that's not based on comparison tastings. I find Sauvignon based
Loires and Chenin based Loires so different, I'll be curious what you think.
Dale

Dale Williams
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