Pinot Noir might be the sommelier's most useful tool is his or her red wine arsenal. It's medium weight and medium to low tannin structure means it can be paired with dark fish almost without hesitation and light and even shellfish in many instances. Pinot Noir's high acidity means it can handle bright marinades, sauces and sharp ingredients. Old World Pinot Noir features moderate alcohol that plays nicely with mild spices while New World Pinot Noir offers a fruity profile (and often a few grams of residual sugar) that compliments the sweetness found in modern cooking.

My colleague, Evan Goldstein MS, in his excellent book Perfect Pairings writes that Pinot Noir goes well "with just about everything. Its combination of red-wine and white-wine qualities gives it incredible flexibility...". Goldstein goes on to point out that "tuna and swordfish are prime candidates (for Pinot noir). Indeed, the quintessential local pairing in Oregon is northwest salmon and Oregon Pinot Noir."

We prepared the Salmon with Soy, Ginger, and Sake recipe found in the book and paired this with the 2009 Joseph and Philippe Roty Bourgogne rouge "Cuvée de Pressonniers", a Pinot Noir we recently offered at PWMWINE.COM.

As I mentioned above, Salmon and Pinot Noir seem to have a natural affinity for one another. What really set this pairing off was the soy used in the marinade and sauce. Soy sauce, savory and umami-packed, is a useful bridge ingredient to red wine. More of these "bridge ingredients" can be found in Goldstein's book. Here are just a few:

• slow cooked garlic and onions help form a bridge between foods and wines with more weight and texture

• olives. Green olives create a white wine affinity while black olives create a red wine affinity

• herbs. Fragrant herbs (like chervil or tarragon) offers a bridge to whites like Riesling while more pungent herbs (like thyme) provides a link to Cabernet

• mushrooms add earthiness to a dish and can be an excellent link to earthy wines.

At the 48th parallel, Champagne is the most northerly wine region in France. The challenge of ripening at such a northerly extreme can be a challenge, and quality can vary widely from year to year. Through the centuries, the large merchant houses of Champagne developed a system of blending from multiple vineyards and vintages as a means of maintaining a consistency. And although the "méthode champenoise" process is mimicked worldwide to create sparkling wine, the distinctive flavor of Champagne has yet to be replicated anywhere else on earth. 

While 96% of all Champagne is produced by either a grande marque or a co-op, the popularity of "farmer fizz" has risen steadily. One can confirm that a wine was grown and produced by a small grower by looking for a tiny code on the bottom of the wine’s side label. If the code begins with "RM" (Récoltant Manipulant), it means the growers grew the grapes and made the wine themselves.

I recently wrote a few words about Champagne on our website. Click here and scroll down to read more about all the diversity and pleasure that the Champagne has to offer. 

Photos from a past visit to Sancerre and other regions of Le Centre: 1. The village of Sancerre; 2. Sancerre town; 3. Sancerre's three soils; 4. Jesse Becker, MS, Emmanuel Mellot and Dominique Roger in Bué; 5. Beth Becker in St-Andelin; 6. The road to Chavignol; 7. A perfect Crottin de Chavignol; 8. Beth near Chavignol; 9. The tiny hamlet of Verdigny at dusk. 

The Loire River extends itself for over 1000 kilometers and its myriad of valleys and tributaries makes for France's most diverse and multi-facted wine region.

The Loire begins in the Massif Central and flows north towards the city of Orléans before it sharply bends left and makes it way to the Atlantic ocean. It's between the Massif and Orléans where the fringe of Burgundy can be felt with its countless lieux-dits (named vineyards) and the occasional plots of Pinot Noir. But it is in Sancerre, the world's benchmark example of Sauvignon Blanc, that the wines of Le Centre (the central vineyards of France) really shine. In Sancerre, Sauvignon excels on the same Kimmeridgian soils that define Chablis. In Pouilly-Fumé, silex (flint) lends a hallmark pierre à fusil (gun flint) aroma to its wines. 

Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are only two of the Central appellations with something to express. Menetou-Salon, Quincy and Reuilly provide plenty of Sauvignon and Pinot to ponder deeply despite their humble pricing. 

I recently wrote a few words about the Loire on our website. Click here and scroll down to read more about all the diversity and pleasure that the Loire has to offer. 

 

 

Images from previous visits to the Jura: 1. The Jura near Arbois; 2. Arbois Vineyard; 3. River Cuisance in Arbois; 4. Arbois; 5. Tasting at Henri Maire; 6. Tasting Château-Chalon; 7. Jesse and Jacques Puffeney; 8. Puffeney's dinner; 9. Voile; 10. La Cuisance in Arbois; 11. Chicken and Morels; 12. Vines in Pupillin; 13. Pierre Overnoy peels potatoes; 14. Beth sips a Macvin du Jura. 

We're eagerly anticipating the arrival of our first container of wines from France and Italy that will include wines from our two Jura producers: Domaine Pignier and David Geneletti. This is a fascinating region that has been surging in popularity here in the United States thanks to a handful of dedicated importers and more than a few enthusiastic consumers. 

To the uninitiated, the wines of the Jura can seem strange and almost of another era. The wines are sometimes knowingly and deliberately oxidized and many of its grape varieties are quite uncommon. Jura wines are some of the world's most long-lived and reward the patient collector with an extraordinary array of flavor and texture after years of cellarage.  They are also some of the world's greatest wines at the table. No piece of Comté cheese should ever be served without a nutty glass of Vin Jaune and no pâté en croute is complete without a savage Trousseau to accompany it. 

I recently wrote a few words about the Jura to accompany the Jura selections on our website. Click here and scroll down to learn about its unique grape varieties, unusual methods of production and the specific vocabulary surrounding the remarkable wines of the Jura. 

 

 

Homemade stock is a must and I had amassed quite a collection of chicken bones from Olivier's Butchery. Add some pancetta and you have yourself an ideal dish for Pinot Noir. Paired with 2009 Gros Frère et Sœur Vosne-Romanée and the 2008 Kaizen Silacci Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Photos from the Sommelier Journal Terroir Experience 2011. Cool climate Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah from the California coastline.

 

I just received the new issue of Sommelier Journal where you'll find a feature article written by yours truly on the lieux-dits of Sancerre. Elizabeth and I lived and worked in Sancerre with Alphonse Mellot in 2008 and we spent quite a lot of time in the vineyards, walking the terrain and tasting the wines. I'm really proud of the article, which has been on hold since early '09, and has finally made it to print. We celebrated the event by opening a bottle of 2005 Patient Cottat Sancerre Rouge and paired it with some broiled wild King Salmon which I'm told is in short supply this year. A great pairing and an even better stroll down memory lane.

Evening Land Vineyards is by far one of the most ambitious wine projects in the United States right now. The Prince of Pinot sums up nicely who's involved and what this project is all about. Having now tasted at both the Oregon facility with winemaker Isabelle Meunier, and now Sashi Moorman in the Sta. Rita Hills, I can say simply this: Evening Land is on an entirely higher level. To push the envelope even further, Evening Land has planted an experimental vineyard called Memorious from seed near the ocean in the cool and windy Sta. Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara (sorry about the wind, but then again, that's kind of the point).

In a second Pinot Noir vineyard named Wintry Hill we experienced an entirely different climat with perfect southerly exposure and far less wind.

The wines are produced in an industrial park known as the Wine Ghetto in Lompoc. Much like their counterpart facility in Salem the interior of this warehouse winery is sparse and immaculately clean and reminded me of the meticulousness of Rudi Pichler's cellar in Wachau and Didier Dagueneau's in Saint-Andelain. I don't mind moldy cellars at all but this kind of austerity and attention to detail suggests a level of seriousness we don't always see in here in the U.S. The Pinot Noirs differ greatly from those of Evening Land's Oregon vineyard. They have more color and seemed more substantial but they also hint at minerality, show restraint, and are produced with a sensibility that marks a new direction for California wine.

jessebeckerMS

périphérique | selections

www.peripheriquewine.com