Vancouver’s 46th annual International Wine Festival is in full swing and today I was at one of the event’s seminars, learning about versatility of Pinot Grigio delle Venezie. Held at the Pan Pacific, the luncheon hoped to not only educate on this popular Italian grape, but to also showcase how well it pairs with Asian cuisine.
With six wines spread across two flights, the selection was curated to demonstrate how Pinot Grigio’s crisp acidity complements rich, creamy, and spicy dishes provided by the Oceans 999 Restaurant team; served banquet style.
At each table was seated by one of the buyers and/or producers from the featured wine list; so as an added treat we were able to enjoy insights into the wine world through conversations with these guests.
The session began with some background information on the specific grape, how they are carefully chosen, and in what specific soil and areas they are planted for the best juice. Their mains notes include vanilla, jasmine, and tropical fruits.
We were tasked to discover for ourselves how each bottle cut, compliment, or contrasted the below. The following are some of our communal table notes on each wine and each course.
Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC 2023 is one of the few co-op wineries presented today. Co-op’s bad reputation was debunked as we learned how the wineries pay higher prices to ensure higher standards of their grapes that get into the bottle. This pinot has a neutral start with notes of juicy pear, it was ideal to cut into flavours and provide a wash in between bites.
Tommasi Family Estates Le Rosse Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC 2023 has crisp apple on the nose with savoury notes like white pepper making it great with cheese.
The table liked the Italian Wine Brands Gemma di Luna Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC 2023. It has a subtle sweetness like baked white peach, however comes out fairly tart in contrast, especially after a bite of the sweet pork belly glaze.
Paladin Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC 2023 had a cooling aura that helped to dull some of the spice in our soup course. The table found this the most unique of our six tasting wines.
The Brilla Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC 2023 gave me mango on the nose and apricot on the tongue. There were plenty of juicy tannis to cut through and warm fruit notes to add highlights to our fish course.
I found the Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DOC 2023 most complimentary with the sablefish, given its bright citrus, making it a natural pairing with seafood.
Overall, I liked how all the wines were different but well curated to work with the three courses, especially given Pinot Grigio’s lower alcohol level and cleaner finish, thanks to no barrel aging.
For food the table shared an assortment of freshly baked bread rolls served with butter curls.
Our first course was a stunning Slow Cooked Glazed Pork Belly with Pickled Radish and Nashi Pear Purée. The wines helped to cut into the well known fattiness of the pork, just as much as the bitter greens and sweet pear purée did. A elevated dish that we felt spoiled to have as our first course.
Our second was a warm and warming Thai Curry Infused Butternut Squash Soup with Toasted Pumpkin Seed and Chive Oil. This one caught the room off guard as you wouldn’t ordinarily think of pairing wine and soup, let alone a spicy cream based one with a white. Not to mention that butternut squash is particular notoriously hard to pair. However the ginger notes complimented the sharp acidity in the Pinot. The wine also simultaneously cut into the rich back of the throat spice with its freshness, highlighting the richness of the soup and its perceived sweetness. The different expressions of each wine seemed to bring out the different spices in the soup.
Our main course was a Maple Soya Marinated Sablefish over Dashi infused Quinoa with Oven Dried Tomato, Baby Bok Choy, and Yuzu butter. This was described as the seafood equivalent of “pork belly”, sumptuous and buttery in its own way, with the Pinot Grigio helping to cleanse the palate for more. I liked the contrasting textures of the gentle fish against the firm beaded quinoa, and how the citrusy yuzu butter paralleled the wine.
In summary, this was a wonderful workshop and a great way to learn more about Pinot Grigio through sight and taste.
Oceans 999
999 Canada PL #300, Vancouver, BC V6C 3B5
panpacific.com
