Weekly Wine Notes From Brian Kemmerle
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. Here is Brian’s recommended food and wine pairing for this week!
This week’s featured pairing involves a new dish to the menu. The chef is grilling a Wagyu Bistro Steak to order, topping it with a sun dried tomato pesto and serving it with baby leeks and Tillamook white cheddar grits. As a pairing I was looking for a dish to tame the tannins of the Seven Hills Winery 2007 Ciel du Cheval Red Blend.
This renown vineyard, located on Red Mountain in the Yakima Valley, can produce wines with exceptional flavors. However, these flavors come at the price of some substantial tannins. This wine disappears from stock well before the tannins have softened, so I stocked up during its initial release and set some aside for us to enjoy. The wine is now sold out and the tannins are now just beginning to soften but still need a sturdy dish, like this one, to pair with.
I only have enough to pour by the glass for two weeks, maybe less. So if you want to try this wine, come early. Cheers!
