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A few weeks ago I hosted a dinner party. I had just received the latest shipment from one of my Oregon wine clubs and I was anxious to try one of the Pinot Noirs. And, because I do love to throw a good party with lots of different flavors and senses sampled, I meticulously planned my menu from appetizer to dessert. I knew I wanted to do something that would appeal to most of my guests, and since some are not beef eaters this led me to chicken. Chicken often gets a bad wrap, but if done well it can be luxurious. One of my favorite recipes is for a truffle, mushroom and thyme stuffed chicken with mushrooms that have been sautéed in a good douse of Pinot Noir with a splash of truffle oil. You are probably thinking this is something that would be better suited for steak….oh no, the combination with the chicken is stupendous. I also thought it would be nice to start with stuffed mushrooms to carry the theme, a nice cheese plate, a field greens salad with truffled crisps, and I had an opened bottle of Pinot in my fridge that would be perfect for making poached pears for dessert. Menu in hand I set out for my local Central Market. I say local - that means down the street, up Central Expressway a few miles and down another street. But, it is worth it. Central Market is a food and wine Mecca. The designers of their stores have been very smart with the layout, since you have to wind your way around and around the store, hitting every section before you get to the checkout. I am a pretty savvy shopper though, so I wound through the departments picking up the items I needed until I got to the cheese section. I had some ideas in mind, but wasn’t exactly sure what would be a good match to my menu. Manchego? Brie? Goat? Stilton? Cheddar? Gouda? The choices are endless. I found the store’s cheese specialist and asked for advice. She was wonderful. I told her I was serving a beautiful Oregon Pinot and described the rest of my menu. Her suggestions were right on target. The first was an Italian Sottocenere with Truffles, which I have now defined as pure delight on a cracker, a Saint Andre Triple Cream Brie, and a lovely aged Goat cheese. I continued on my jaunt around the store to come upon the wine department. I knew I had enough Pinot for my guests for the evening, but I can never pass a wine department without stopping for a look. And, if I am going to take a look, the wine department at Central Market is definitely a great one to stop. The department is arranged by country and region, with helpful maps set on top of each area so you know where each region is. They have a well trained staff on their wine and beer side as well, with many vendors available to help you make the perfect pairing or to help you find your new favorite table wine. I navigate to Burgundy, one of my favorite regions. I think I love Oregon Pinot Noir so much because it is similar in style to Burgundy, with comparable climates, soils and land. Many winemakers from Bourgogne are now making wine in Oregon as well.Red wine from Burgundy is going to be Pinot Noir or Gamay, and Gamay is only in the Southern region of Beaujolais. The Northern regions, comprised of the Côte d’Or or the “Golden Slope” is the perfect land for growing Pinot Noir grapes. Pinot is a very difficult grape to grow. It can’t have too much heat but needs long hours of sunlight, it can’t be too cold, it can’t have too much water, or too little, it needs chalky soils that will allow good drainage, it is very susceptible to mildew and fungus which will destroy the grapes. And, even when everything works in the vineyard, actually producing Pinot Noir wines is difficult.But when everything is in line with growing and production, the wines from Burgundy are notably some of the best in the world. For this reason I had to picked up a few bottles to go with my dinner. I chose a Louis Jadot 2003 Gevrey-Chambertin and a Joseph Drouhin 2002 Vero Pinot Noir. These along with a few bottles of WillaKenzie Estate 2001 Aliette Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley are sure to please my guests.And I was right, the wine was fantastic on its own and when paired with the cheese. The chicken, stuffed and covered with richly sautéed truffled burgundy mushrooms was heavenly, and when paired with the earthiness of the Aliette the flavors popped. The poached pears were a wonderful finish to the evening. I do love to throw a party, especially one that highlights one of my favorite varietals.Wine Wise:1) Pinot Noir and Burgundy are the same grape varietal.
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