Rosé 

This month features Rosé wines of different varietals and blends.  The interesting thing about Rosé is that it's not considered a varietal - it can be a Pinot Noir Rosé or a Rosé Champagne, etc.  Most Rosé starts as white grape juice and it's left to the discretion of the vintner to determine how long the skins stay in contact with the pre-fermented wine.  The longer the skin contact, the darker the shade of wine.  If the skins are left through the fermentation, the result is a red wine.  Since the skins also provide tannins, Rosé typically results in very light tannin levels.  

These light wines are ideal for hot summer days and are best served chilled like white wine.  For this month's shipment, I created and tested a recipe that hopefully brings out the subtle, refreshing flavor profiles of the different wines -- fried snapper with Thai flavors of sweet, tart, salty (and a little heat if you'd like). 

My recipes are meant to be guidelines.  I've described two different methods of frying the fish.  Have fun with it and always be careful when working with hot oil.

Wine Varietal: Rosé
Cheese Pairing: La Tur - blend of 3 milks (goat, sheep, cow) and quite stinky :)
Recipe: Fried Thai Snapper with Lime Cilantro Fish Sauce and Crispy Shallots

Sign up with Bottle Bracket now and use "BBChefBarrs!" for a $20 discount on your first shipment.
Hope you enjoy!

-ChefBarrs

I'm very excited to be collaborating with the team over at Bottle Bracket on pairings for their monthly wine shipments.  If you're not familiar with Bottle Bracket, here's a description of what they're all about:

Bottle Bracket is an interactive wine club centered around a wine tasting game, where members taste wines with friends and rank them by price in a tournament-like competition. The catch? The labels are covered.

Every other month we'll ship you four bottles of wine varying in price. We focus on finding small wineries with great quality wines and interesting stories, so you’ll only receive wine locally sourced directly from wineries we’ve visited and from winemakers we’ve met and loved.

While wines in Bottle Bracket are ordered based on perceptions of price, the true goal of Bottle Bracket is to discover new wines from various regions and varietals at different price points while having fun with friends.

I will be coming up with one recipe and one cheese recommendation that I find balances or enhances all four wines. Since the game is meant for multiple players to try all the wines, I will scale the recipes to 6-8 servings.  Here is my philosophy on pairings.
 
Pinot Noirs

This month features Pinot Noirs from Northern California.  Unlike their Pacific Northwest neighbors, NorCal Pinots tend to be bigger, bolder and thus, pair better with stronger flavored dishes.  Just in time for cherry season, this recipe features Bing cherries which should be readily available at your local market.  


My recipes are meant to be guidelines. Feel free to try different amounts and types of aromatics (i.e. shallots, ginger, fresh herbs) as these wines should hold up just fine.  

Wine Varietal: Pinot Noir
Cheese Pairing: Herbed Chèvre (Goat Cheese)
Recipe: Pork Tenderloin with Bing Cherry Pinot Noir Compote 

Hope you enjoy!

-ChefBarrs