Fall Favorites

I love October. Why? Because the leaves are starting to fall, the air is crisp, there are fish migrating up the rivers, and many wines are released as well. I also always enjoy when the woods are full of fall scents. All in all autumn has to be my favorite time of year.

Recently I took a Coho salmon I had caught over to a friend’s to grill on their traeger. The fish, seasoned only with a bit of truffle salt and then sea salt, brought questions to what to have with it - definitely Pinot Noir. When asked what I thought I said something like the Medici East Block Pinot Noir (see prior postings) – thinking of truffles, forest floor decay, earthy; definitely in the style of where the fish was caught out of the rivers of the northwest surrounded by wet pines, decaying wood, mud, and low lying mists. The choice made was simply a brilliant marriage of flavors for our meal.

Carlo & Julian Young Vines Cuvee 2006 Pinot Noir – I was given the first small pour to meet approval with the fish… Oh yes this is it... Cherries in the nose but that quickly fell to decaying forest floor scents. Further scents reminded me of being a kid kicking open wet, moss covered decaying stumps or logs on stomps through northwest woods. The taste was of wet cool fruit, cherries and some wild berries. While the fruit was a great pairing with our fish and other courses, the other flavors may have been even better accompaniment. The fruit faded a bit, while still remaining present, with earthy, mossy, wild mushroom, wet forest floor flavors impressing - mirroring the nose in those tastes. Good fish to me is like good wine; there are more than just the typical tastes associated with it too. The Coho, grilled fresh, even had me sniffing the skin. No fishy smells, it had scents of the traeger wood grill and was like a roasted herb chicken with skin on. The flavor of the fish with the truffle salt was just so good paired with the cherries, wild fruit, and decaying mossy mushroom covered logs of northwest pine forests. My host even stated that this wine while good, was simply excellent when put with the Coho. A wonderful wine and dinner that typified the outdoors of the northwest in autumn. If you can try your own Oregon salmon and Pinot Noir. You might not do much better than the Carlo & Julian Young Vines Cuvee. $$

This all serves to point out that besides the right wine, the right food paired with can have a lasting impact. It certainly did on me. Pinot and Coho, a northwest bounty.