What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD)

With this being an unusually cool and rainy spring in Seattle, we've started planning meals around the weather forecast so we can get outside and grill. So it was with the promise of good weather the next day, that Kari marinated a few thick pork chops in a brine that included garlic, peppercorns, and all spice seasoning. Fortunately, the forecast for decent weather came true, thus we were able to enjoy a grilled meal outside.

Before cooking, we dried the chops and then rubbed them with a mix of brown sugar, cummin, cayenne pepper, and salt, before putting them on the grill for about 5 to 6 minutes on each side. In addition, we grilled several spring onions, roasted some potatoes, and sliced up a couple of fresh avocados. Even if the weather felt like fall, preparing this meal got us in the spirit for summer.

For our dinner, I selected a Ponzi Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley which ended up being a decent wine for $29.95. The color was beautiful with wafts of strawberry and cherry fruit rising up from the bowl of the glass. We enjoyed the fruit but the finish was a bit astringent. There was definitely some bright acidity and strong tannins in this wine, which may have been the reason.

I am still trying to discern what causes the slightly sour finish with this and other Oregon pinots. It has put me on a path to read more about acidity in wine, as there is much to learn about total acidity and pH levels. I also need to do more investigation on the role oak's tannins can play in making a wine taste sour or astringent.

The back label of the '06 Ponzi pinot noir offered insights as to who made it (second generation winemaker, Luisa Ponzi) and where the fruit was sourced (mostly Ponzi Vineyard with 5 other vineyards). The bottle also had LIVE and Salmon Safe certifications. While visiting the Ponzi Vineyards web site, I learned more about Dick and Nancy Ponzi, true Oregon pinot pioneers, who established their winery almost forty years ago.

Overall, it turned out to be a delicious dinner with a wine that was interesting, yet fell short of captivating us in any way. At it's price point, I can think of a few other Oregon pinots I would rather purchase and drink again over the Ponzi '06 pinot noir.