It is one thing to appreciate wine pairings at restaurants or wine dinners, where chefs and winemakers choreograph the flavors and textures to create the perfect pairing. It is another thing to try your hand at it, then shrug off the misses. On occasion those years of experience in wine tasting pay off in a genuine ta-da moment!
Last Saturday night offered such a moment. The wine was Settembre Cellars Dry Riesling 2010. The pairing was Roasted Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup, garnished with crumbled Feta. The wine’s dry, minerally base was topped by just enough residual sugar to complement the full-flavored soup. The wine has an elegant balance of acid and fruit, which offset the sweetness from the roasted peppers and the fat in the cream.
This Riesling is an excellent example of some of the high-quality wines being produced in Colorado. Settembre Cellars owner-winemaker Blake Eliasson crafts beautiful Old World-style wines that are meant for food.
Settembre Cellars is a small winery based in Boulder, Colorado. Eliasson makes Riesling, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc from grapes grown in Colorado. One of the wine highlights of 2014 will be the opening of Settembre Cellers’ new winery space and tasting room. Definitely worth a trek to Boulder to stock up!
Until our next adventure in wine and food…
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