This week, a couple of friends and I got together with three bottles of wine and made a nice dinner at home. For the entree, we marinated some salmon filets in maple syrup and threw those on the grill. To round off the meal, we steamed some broccoli and cooked some rice pilaf for a nice variety in flavors in textures to pair with our wines.
The wines we tried were a 2010 Okanogan Pinot Noir, a 2012 Thorny Rose red blend, and a 2012 Macon-Peronne Le Clou Chardonnay. On their own, I liked the Pinot Noir the best. It had a very earthy nose with a strong, dry palate. The Thorny Rose red blend was not so great, with subtle cherry flavors in it. I enjoyed the crisp, tart flavor of the Le Clou Chardonnay, it didn't pair as well with the meal as the other two wines.
When paired with the food, I liked the Okanogan Pinot Noir with the salmon the best. The earthy notes and maple glaze on the salmon went very well together, and the flavors in one were accentuated by the other. The Le Clou Chardonnay went surprisingly well with the rice pilaf, with a nice contrast between the starchy texture of the pilaf and the crisp bite of the Chardonnay. The Thorny Rose went decently with the salmon, but nowhere near as well as the Pinot Noir.
Overall, I really enjoyed this dinner. The Okanogan Pinot Noir was my favorite wine, both on its own and paired with the food. I was surprised in my capability of knowing whether a wine went well with a certain dish, and look forward to having this experience again soon.
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