Bentley’s Wine Steward, Brian Kemmerle regularly offers his insight and experience to help select the perfect wine to accompany Chef Derek Ridgway’s dishes.
Wine Notes from Brian
This week’s most interesting food and wine pairing comes from the “Small Plates” portion of our specials menu. The chef has smoked a Pekin duck breast with apple wood and is serving it with seasonal fresh raspberries, pomegranate molasses and “scarlet” quinoa.
I’ve matched this week’s “Featured Pinot Noir”, the 2007 St. Innocent Winery Momtazi Vineyard, with the dish. The wines plush raspberry notes mirror those in the raspberry garnish and the molasses, the refreshing acidity cuts the richness of the duck breast and the smoked flavor brings out some nice spice notes in the wine. The “scarlet” quality of the quinoa comes from the addition of red beets which also mirror the fruit of the wine and accentuate a pleasant earthiness. Cheers!
