We’re starting to sound like a broken record, but we can’t help it. When you have two ladies that love chardonnay as much as we do, it’s going to end up being our “go to” wine when it comes to certain pairings.
After a quick skim over the ingredients list for Ann Vogel’s macadamia nut crusted chicken and fish recipes, it became clear a chardonnay would be the best match for these rich summer dishes.
The tropical fruit notes in the wine we have in mind will match the tropical flavors in the mango salsa, while the crisp acidity will match the richness of the dish.
For this dish we recommend the Pedroncelli Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay. From California’s Sonoma County, this chardonnay doesn’t fit the stereotypical flavor profile of a California chardonnay — you know the heavy, in your face oak kind of chard.
Instead this wine is crisp with refreshing notes of citrus and melon and tropical fruit aromas. The wine is a blend of grapes that were fermented in stainless steel tanks and those that were fermented in the barrel. The end result is wine with fruit-forward acidity that balances well with the hints of oak.
We recently served this wine at a wine tasting dinner we hosted in Gig Harbor. We paired the wine with a corn and crab chowder and according to our dinner guests it was the perfect match.
The richness of the chowder was balanced by the clean, light finish of the wine. The wine should have the same effect on Vogel’s dish.
We bought our bottle at Central Market in Poulsbo for just under $12.
