Tasteful Tidbits From Pinot Paradise

What’s better than a roomful of great Pinot? How about a roomful of good food to match? The ninth annual Pinot Paradise, held at Villa Ragusa in lovely downtown Campbell, presented a plethora of delicious Santa Cruz Mountains Pinots, just begging for the perfect food pairing.

Because many of the wines were from the cool, challenging 2010 and 2011 vintages, they were acid queens: romping with naturally tangy red-fruited juiciness, eager to find foods with bright flavors and textures. The older vintage wines are less “edgy” making them a bit easier to pair.

In general, Pinot Noirs from the Corralitos side of the Santa Cruz Mountains where they have a strong coastal influence and long, moderate growing season, tend to be flirty, red fruity and filled with spice and floral notes. They love anything served with berries, including lighter game, poultry and venison, as well as delicate mushroom dishes and goat cheese. Pinots from the Summit area off Highway 17 down into Los Gatos tend to be richer, fatter and have darker fruit flavors. They demand rich lamb, venison, bison burgers, or even a hearty beef bourgignon. Their favorite cheeses are parm, cheddar, blue, gorgonzola and smoked gouda.

Some of the most ethereal Pinots come from Woodside: they tend to shape-shift from sip to sip, eluding description, beckoning you to follow where they lead. Those are sometimes best enjoyed with some crusty bread and triple crème brie or aged, hard cheeses, especially those infused with truffles.

Here are my top 10 food and wine pairing love matches found at this year's Pinot Paradise:

2010 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Branciforte Creek, 14 percent, $39

Notes: Huge peppery nose, lots of earth, soy and Asian 5-spice. Phenomenal texture and gorgeous acidity. Built to last, but with only 5 barrels, it will sell out fast!

Match: Oddly enough, Sushi Confidential’s salmon sushi rolls with soy and lots of ginger were really fun with this! Would have loved some lamb with this wine, though. Sushi Confidential is owned by Viva's Jeff Hansen.

2010 Clos Tita Estate, 14.5 percent, $36

Notes: Amazingly bright and spicy aromas carry over to the palate, where a flood of cranberry, pomegranate and beguiling spice set you up for an incredibly powerful, lingering finish. One of Dave Estrada’s best ever. Worth seeking out for lovers of Pinot with Burgundian depth and California stuffing.

Match: Speaking of stuffing, Paradise Beach Grill from Capitola had two kinds of stuffed mushrooms, one with prosciutto and one without. Packed with peppers, summer squash, scallions and gouda cheese, they were great with this well-built savory-noted wine.

 2011 Cinnabar Winery, Saveria Vineyard, 13.5 percent 

Notes: Stylistically, this wine is near perfection, with its floodwaters of tangy strawberry rhubarb and its powerful raspberry cranberry core. The acidity sings.

Match: This wine will make almost every meal a delight, but it was particularly fetching with Nonno’s Italian’s fabulous aged imported parm -wheelapalooza of cheesy goodness -  and a dollop of wildflower honey.

2011 House Family Estate (Saratoga Hills)

Notes: Winemaker Jeffrey Patterson made the absolute most of this cooler vintage, bringing out all the beautiful aromas of watermelon candy and white pepper and accentuating the delicate cherry crème brulee flavors that simply dazzle.

Match: Chocolate Visions (Scotts Valley) made absolutely amazing and delicious Pinot jellies just for Pinot Paradise, and they are delightful with Pinots like this – filled with pure strawberry and raspberry flavors. Another Pinot that paired well with these is the 2011 Alfaro Family Lester Vineyard Pinot, a thoroughly exuberant cranberry-apple-raspberry crisp of a wine.

09 Kings Mountain Vineyards Estate, 13.5 percent

Notes: Still young and tight, winemaker Alex Hutchinson prefers to bottle age his wines before release. This shows big structure, lots of pomegranate, blueberry and elderberry fruits, due to picking at 24.8 brix, which preserved the red fruit core.

Match: Relative newcomer, Love Morsels, has this amazing fruitcake made from owner Diane Love’s grandmother’s secret family recipe. They’re a wonderful surprise, so moist and packed with plump dried fruits, one bite will take you back to when fruit cake was a real treat. Not just for Christmas any more! (lovemorsels.com)

2009 Silvertip Vineyards, Estate, 14.6 percent

Notes: Powerfully built from multiple clones, this chocolate-scented beauty offers something intriguing in every mouth-pleasing sip. An all-around crowd pleaser.

Match: California Café’s Chef Bobby Lagan served up tasty little bites of smoked bleu cheese mousse, port reduction, and mushroom truffle duxelle. A truly crowd-pleasing dish for a crowd-pleasing wine.

08 Muccigrosso Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains, 14.1 percent, $35

Notes: Oozing charming notes of cherries, black pepper and pomegranate, this wine is as lovey to drink as it is to sniff. Wonderfully textured and pleasing.

Match: Stonehouse Bar & Grill’s goat cheese crostini with pinot cherries made fast friends with this very pretty, appealing wine. Stonehouse Grill is at the Scotts Valley Hilton.

2010 Sonnet Cellars Muns Vineyard, 14 percent

Notes: Winemaker Tony Craig crafted a lovely as spring Pinot from this cooler, somewhat cruel vintage. Characterized by bright raspberry, spiced apple and cranberry flavors, this wine has a lovely acidity completely absent from the 2009 version.

Match: The crispy duck confit cubes from Cin Cin, a local wine bar in Los Gatos specializing in tapas, served with frisée and a cherry gastrique, were spot on with this velvety and delicious wine.

2011 Thomas Fogarty Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir, 30th Anniversary

Notes: Young, shy, nutty and quite acid-rich. It wants cheese!

Match: Grapevine Wine & Cheese Shop had just the ticket, with aged gouda, nice and nutty and a fine pair they made.

2010 Woodside Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains, 13.2 percent, $36

Notes: Another standout effort by Brian Caselden, this sleek, well-built, acid-studded beauty, is like a teak yacht, fully-rigged and ready to take you on a fast-paced cruise to tropical islands. It’s got enormous energy in reserve.

Match: Bella Chi Cha’s dreamy fig and creamy gorgonzola crostini’s were the ideal mate for this gloriously finessed wine. They also make a 3-layer pesto torta and a creamy goat cheese with apricot jam. Find them at Andronico’s, Draeger’s, Gene’s Fine Foods, Nob Hill, New Leaf and Whole Foods.