A few nights ago we had a most delicious dinner and to be honest I was expecting to be disappointed. More on the pairing later, here is the wine note on the RYME Vermentino “His”, a favorite skin fermented wine of ours.
2018 RYME Vermentino “His” Las Brisas Vineyard Carneros
Background: The wine was whole cluster pressed, settled clean, and fermented without inoculation in a combination of old neutral barrels and stainless steel. The wine underwent a spontaneous partial malolactic fermentation. Sees about two weeks on skins.
Aroma of floral chamomile, spice, ripe apple. Flavors fan out with peach, dried apricot, honeycomb and orange oil. Super savory, mouthwatering, good acidity, a bit of phenolic bitterness and tannins that clamp down on the finish. 12.4% ABV. Beautiful young skin fermented white wine. Here is where the pairing came in. See story below.
A gourmet chef friend called and said he was preparing dinner for us. He did not reveal a name for the meal but described it. Protein was short ribs, spices were big hit of Hungarian paprika, lots of caraway, dried marjoram and dried oregano.
Base of the sauce is pounds of onions cooked for hours until deeply caramelized. The result is a VERY heavy sauce, almost a paste but oh so savory and intense. Reason for the skin fermented white wine, you want tannin and bite to accompany the fat from the beef but you want refreshment for all those spices and onions. He insisted we go with a skin fermented white and to trust him.
Wasn’t sure what to expect but after having a full dinner serving with the wine, IT WAS AMAZING. The flavors at first melted together nicely but with each bite and sip further enhanced the flavors of both food and wine. For me, totally unexpected.
We love to experiment with food-wine pairings but I thought this one was way off base. You learn something new every day.
2018 RYME Vermentino “His”
Special Short Rib Recipe With Buttered Noodles
