Saturday Night – Quest for the perfect pairing – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this week’s Saturday night dinner. Mick went with an old favorite - scallops on tortillas with guacamole and corn relish as the starter and a new recipe - trout in a lemon butter sauce as the main course.

"Too Good for Words!"

The scallops on tortillas with guacamole and corn relish are a pairing nightmare as Mick and I have tried numerous different white wines and yet still have found the perfect pairing to go with this dish. The best match so fair has been an off-dry Prosecco but it leaned more towards a good pairing rather than a great pairing.

Mick called me about this pairing this dish and we kicked around some ideas for a wine pairing and settle on a 2005 Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris from Alsace that I had in wine cooler.

"Perfect Pairing?"

Opening the Pinot Gris you were greeted by a mild nose of lychee, pear and white lilac. Tasting the wine you got a grapefruit and pear flavour running throughout. It sort of reminded me of a Gewürztraminer as it was mildly cloying and bitter at times. The wine had a nice rounded mouth feel but seemed a touch under acidic at times. It was an easy drinking wine that we had no problem killing the bottle and was better on its own than with the food. It was an alright pairing with the food but at times the wine seemed a little awkward or lost against certain flavours of the food.
　
Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 85, Mark – 87, Kathy – 85, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.75.
　
There was no listing on the LCBO’s website for a Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris. They had a listing for 10 other Pierre Sparr Alsace white wines that ranged from $14 to $32 so I’d imagine that the price point would be in that range. If I had to guess a price, I’d say this was probably a $18-20 bottle.
　
So it looks like our quest for a great pairing for this dish continues; on the upside that just means Mick will have to keep making this dish until we get it right!
　
Click here for Part 2