Desert Hills - 2007 - Pinot Gris
The challenge this week is to pair a wine with basa fillet encrusted with crushed macadamia nut, panko breading and rounded out with a fresh tropical fruit salsa, created by Chef Ron Christian from the College of New Caledonia Culinary Arts Department.
The wine choice for this feature is Desert Hills Estate Winery, 2007 Pinot Gris. Desert Hills is another of the small, independent, family run wineries on the Black Sage Bench in Oliver, B.C. Desert Hills isn't too concerned about creating a flashy presence like some of their neighbors on Black Sage Road but have created a quality reputation for making consistently great wine from the grapes grown on their estate. This Pinot Gris is hand harvested, vinified and bottled on the estate.
The basa fillet with its panko/macadamia breading will be pan-fried and will end up with a crispy exterior and tender, moist interior. Accompanied by the fresh, tropical fruit salsa, enhanced with a slight heat from the addition of jalapeo, this somewhat plain white fish turns into a feast of flavor and colour.
Now that we have considered the cooking style, texture and complimentary flavours of the dish, what components of the wine are going to enhance our overall experience?
The '07 Pinot Gris is pale citrine in colour. On the nose is a complex set of aromas focusing around apple, citrus and wet stone. As the wine came up to temperature (the best serving temperature for this wine will be 8-9) aromas of anise were present. On the palate, the anise comes through as well as notes of butterscotch, pear and orange zest. The medium acidity of this wine is enhanced by the dominance of citrus character but is well balanced, especially considering the high alcohol of this wine (13.7 percent abv.). This provides a medium finish with lingering butterscotch, pear and citrus notes.
Overall, this is a fine representation of B.C. Pinot Gris and will work well with many dishes but particularly with this basa fillet dish, as there is interplay between the flavors of the macadamia nut breading and the butterscotch notes in the wine. As well, the tropical notes in the wine will be enhanced by the fresh fruit salsa accompanying the basa fillet.
