Team 7 Renata Saunders
On our first visit to the Red Hook Winery, we met winemaker Christopher Nicholson. He taught us about the winemaking process that they do at Red Hook, different types of pressing and fermentation methods and the aging process of the wines they make. We were able to taste 6 wines which would be used as bases for the blended wines we are making to pair with the dishes assigned to us. For my dish of roasted loin of pork charcutière with lentils, gaufrette potatoes and braised collard greens I chose to pair it with white wine. Although pork can be paired with white, red or even sparkling wines I thought the dish would pair best with white wine as the pork is a lean cut and the dish is not heavy with spices such as black peppercorn or paprika and the charcutière sauce has white wine in it. For my blended wine, I’m going with the blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay which was fermented with the skins on and is cloudy in appearance as no additives were used to make the wine clear. That blend was very aromatic and I believe it would be an interesting pairing to the dish. I will be blending that with the second base wine which was a Chardonnay aged in new oak barrels. The combination of the aromatics such as citrus and green apples combined with the notes of oak, peaches, green bell peppers, lime and hints of vanilla on the palate will pair nicely with the dish as lean cuts of pork can be paired with sweet elements such as apples and peaches while the citrus on the nose and palate will complement the sides of the dish without overpowering them. My proposed ratio for the blend is 80% of the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay blend and 20% of the Chardonnay in new oak. My hopes are for a light to medium-bodied wine that is high in acidity and dry to medium dry.
