White, clean, and VERY interesting, at a good price

January 24, 2010

So, wandered thru Central Market trying to figure out dinner. Cod on sale, $8.99/lb, and suddenly the thought of home made Fish and Chips sounded good. Googled up Alton Brown's recipe, and asked Andy for suggestions.

 He thought that several things might do the trick, but the Quinta do Alqueve 2008, Fernao Pires, Portugal Ribatejo DOC stood out. A varietal I had not yet had. $12, so no biggie.

 Decided to riff on the 'chips' part. I chunk cut Yukon Golds and tossed them in goose fat and sea salt and oven fried them. Turned on the Vikings/Saints. Have to admit, I was concerned about the oil being too hot, and it wasn't hot enough.  The fish, whilst tasty and flaky, wasn't quite up to my expectations. Some of the beer batter came off. Nothing a little tartar sauce couldn't cure. I had hoped for "Bit O'Scotland" for those of you from Los Angeles of a certain age, the gold standard for fish n chips for me. The potatoes though, rocked!

The wine: Clean crisp aromas of meyer lemon, kefir lime and clean slate. The palate is most interesting. Coppery, steely tones, not heavy, with fresh herb flavor and crisp acidity and a bit of viscosity. Again, kefir lime and meyer lemon, with steely slate. Cut right thru the fish and chips! Lovely stuff. A pleasant change from the ordinary.

 Drink this wine!

Cheers,

Rob Moshein, Austin Wine Guy