Wine Matching with Roast Pig (failed)

This past Sunday I cooked up some Cuban Roast Pork based on a recipe in Cook's magazine. The result was excellent, a tender and flavorful roast loaded with cumin and garlic flavor, balanced with just a touch of sweetness from orange juice and sugar. I now have about two month's worth of leftovers to dispose of in one way or another. I find that no matter how well it's prepared it gets tiresome eating the same meat dish every day. Vegetables and salads don't seem to have the same "tire you out" factor.

The meal also included black beans and rice. I originally thought of matching this with a white wine, perhaps one of the Pinot Grigio's I've been trying, but I ended up going with a 2004 Archery Summit Dundee Hills Pinot Noir. I picked this up at the 'Teeter because I wanted an Oregon Pinot to contrast some of the Napa and Sonoma Pinot I've had the last couple of months. The wine was fairly pricey (> $20) so I had high hopes for it. Things just didn't work out - the wine wasn't bright enough to work with the garlic/orange flavors of the pork or fruity enough to contrast the spiciness of the beans. All in all I thought it was an average wine. I should have gone with my original instinct.

Speaking of Pinot Grigio I tried the 2004 Bocce Pinot Grigio from California over the weekend as well. I enjoyed this one. It's definitely made in the "Italian Style" more than the "California Style" meaning it has a lighter body and more subtle fruit flavors. This was an eminently drinkable wine at a good price that will go well with any light fare.

Lastly I picked up and sampled the 2003 Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I thought this was a very strong wine in the price range and I plan to get some more to hold on to. It has a full tannic body and is less fruity than is popular with Cab's of the last couple of years. There are definite blackberry and dark toast flavors that I found very pleasant. I recommend this one.

My friend and co-worker (who I hereby dub "ZinGal") is headed to Napa in a couple of weeks. We spent an enjoyable half hour or so assembling a list of the best possible wineries to visit during her trip. Mostly we based things on the reputed quality of the wines with a few exceptions. ZinGal already had a great list put together so I wasn't able to add much. Sometimes you head to wine country just to kick back and enjoy the scenery and sometimes you have an agenda. ZinGal definitely has an agenda for this coming trip and I wish her the best. She's promised to share with me the details when she gets back. This sort of put me in the mind to head to Napa myself. I haven't been to a winery there since the early 1980's; a crying shame. Soon enough I'll just have to suck up the $40 tasting fees and hit my favorites.