With the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors out of town this week, I totally indulged at the Body Blitz Spa late this afternoon with a total head to toe scrub. When I got home shortly after 7 p.m., I decided to pull out one of my Bertolli dinners from the freezer. I decided on the Steak, Rigatoni and Portabello Mushroom dish. The pairing according to the Villa Bertolli website suggests a Pinot Grigio of which I had none. So, I looked through my wine cellar looking for an alternative match. It had to have good acidity but not overly sweet or full bodied. So I decided on the 2004 Chardonnay Semillon from Hester Creek located in the Okanagan Valley. At only 12.9% alcohol, I knew that it would be light bodied enough to not over power the dish. All I can say is “wow” what a fantastic wine. It is drinking very well now and has a lot of tropical fruit notes without being too fruity. The acidity was still there and I thought the match with the food went very well. Because it had some age, the colour was deep gold and very bright. I found the Semillon really shone through as I got a bit of oilyness on the finish. This one would have been tough for me in a blind tasting for sure!
{March 19, 2009} A Pairing Dilemma