Wine time. This fish thing

Wine time. This fish thing is fun. Not only do I expand my seafood repertoire each Lent, but I get to try some different wines, wines that I would not serve with meat. Now, I am not saying that I do not eat seafood the rest of the year, but not like I do during Lent.

Ah, but wait a minute! Lent is a time of penance, Keilholtz! You are not supposed to enjoy your penance so much! Sackcloth and ashes for you!

But, perhaps we should enjoy our penances. After all, food is good. Meat is great, but all food is good. Perhaps one of the reasons for giving something up for Lent is to learn to appreciate the stuff that we normally neglect, in favor of the things we really like. Since I cook so much Italian food, it is difficult for me to imagine a meal without at least a little pork. But here we are, porkless salt cod. Melanzane parmeggiana sin maile, not even a bit of pancetta. Now, I realize that this is not exactly sackcloth and ashes, but an important dimension is realizing that all of the food that God gives us is good. Only people, through factory farming, indifferent cooking, cost-cutting, or neglect can make it bad. And, as we know, bad does not exist in and of itself but is the state of lacking goodness.

And that is probably the kernal of penance. We do without and realize how great creation is by seeing how wonderful the part we normally neglect is (for instance we might dread some discipline of making a devotion, but find that we enjoy it immensely). And, since we do not worship the Created, but the Creator, we get another little facet of how great God is. So, I am enjoying my fishy and vegetative diet, and the wine that goes with it (I have given up martinis, manhattens, etc, but wine is an essential part of food - as the visiting bishop in Graham Greene's Monsignor Quixote says, "ever since the wedding at Canae, we should not take wine too lightly." Or something to that effect (the book is in the baby's room, and she is asleep).

So, I am going to write about the wine we had with our crabcakes.

Bonny Doon/Ca'del Solo
Pinot Grigio
Monterey
2000

Anyone who has read my wine writing knows that I am partial to the Bonny Doon Vineyard. I used to live down the road from it, when it was still headquartered in the backwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The winemaker (Randal Graehme, although I am spelling his name incorrectly), is incredibly gifted. I will write on his wines here and there, because they deserve attention.

This pinot grigio compares favorably to the absolute best of the Alto Adige/Veneto pinot grigio wines. It is highly structured, with 13% alcohol and moderate acidity, so each sip is a mouth-filling experience. The nose is complex: with layers of tropical fruit, citrus, as well as a deep vanilla and floral hints, although nothing comes out as overtly as in a Sauvignon Blanc or Bonny Doon's Malvasia Bianca (another great wine that I will discuss later), in fact, "fruity" is not the first word that one would use to describe this wine. I am keenly aware of highly fruity wine because, as much as Melanie, my mother and I like dry fruity wines, my father can't stand them, but this is a wine I would serve him in a second. The finish is powerful, but not as strong as a Montrachet. It certainly is in proportion to the other elements of this wine.

The color is deep yellow, with reddish hints (this is not a pink wine, though, it is clearly in the realm of a white wine). Bonny Doon Vineyards is known for their labels as well as their wines, and the pinot grigio is no exception. Full of bilingual puns and whimsical illustrations, you get some good fun reading to go with the wine.

I should offer this note: do not be afraid of Bonny Doon's various cork substitutes. Their Big House Red is a great red table wine, although it comes in a screw top (although I have not had this wine for awhile, I did get a report from a reputable source that Big House Red has slipped. I will taste it in the next couple of weeks and give my report based on my own findings).