12 May 2010

2006 Anne Amie Cuvée A Amrita

Easter was never a big holiday in my family. When we were little kids I remember baskets with candy lovingly prepared by Mom, and hunting for eggs. Folks at church were maybe a bit more dressed up than normal, but the old school Scottish Presbyterians of Memphis were not ostentatious. I know a lot of people for whom the holiday is bigger than Thanksgiving, with massive dinners and traveling across the country to be with family. And of course, the annual debate over lamb vs. ham.

I found myself alone for Easter, but it was not a sad occasion. I'm always happy to fill the house with the sounds of classic jazz and putter around in the kitchen. I had the ingredients on hand to make a decent seasonal dinner. I started out with a broccoli-spinach soup. Dead simple: a handful of frozen chopped spinach, a handful of frozen broccoli, thawed in a pint of chicken broth. I added wine and cream, mixed it with the immersion blender, and added a dash of pepper and nutmeg toward the end.

Friends always rave over main courses that I fix, but somehow I've always been really excited when a soup turns out just right. This one was so delicious that I ended up eating two bowls.

I went for a simple lamb shoulder chop with a peach-white wine sauce. I generally prefer shoulder ground or slow cooked, but often a shoulder chop is a good deal if you just want to enjoy some lamb without making a big production.

For the wine I served the 2006 Anne Amie Cuvée A Amrita from the Willamette Valley of Oregon. $15. There seems to be conflicting information out there regarding the grapes and ratios, but among those listed are Chardonnay, Müller-Thurgau, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, and Viognier. The wine has a delicate apricot nose, slightly sweet, rich full fruit flavors. Spend some time with this one and you'll encounter peach, pear, and various floral elements as well. Oregon white wines are so nice, and need more attention.

8 comments:

Michael Hughes said...

I wish there was more muller thurgau to be had

Benito said...

Michael,

Hard to believe it was the most widely planted grape in Germany up until the 1980s, but it just doesn't seem to come up in conversation much these days.

Cheers,
Benito

fredric koeppel said...

white wine with lamb;that's interesting, though obviously the peaches had some say in that choice.

Benito said...

Fredric,

I really enjoy white wines with red meat, though it's often a hard sell so I end up doing it alone. A sandwich made with cold, rare roast beef and good cheddar and horseradish goes quite well with a buttery Chardonnay, even if you're not a fan of the style.

Here, I was going for an overall spring theme. The bit of sweetness in the wine brought out some different flavors in the lamb, which I liked.

Cheers,
Benito

Michael Hughes said...

early on in Oregon they thought MT was going to be the grape to plant given the climate. Anne Amie's straight muller is really delicious.

Benito said...

Michael,

Awesome, I'll check it out if I get the chance.

Cheers,
Benito

Samantha Dugan said...

Benito,
I am with you on the white wine with red meat deal, sometimes it is just a far better choice albeit it an unconventional one.

Benito said...

Sam,

Sometimes it's just the proper match, right? For instance, I can't imagine eating a tuna salad sandwich with a red wine, but sometimes with a nice rare steak I really want to drink a white and enjoy the way a different style of wine plays against the flesh.

This also ties into my corollary that a sparkler or rosé will pair with practically any food, no matter how unusual.

Cheers,
Benito