52 Tastings: Week 4 - Pork and Pinot Noir=Love

So my mom went on a mission again to find a specific wine that had both great reviews, is affordable, and paired perfectly with our meal, DeLoach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.  And once again, three stores later and numerous phone calls back and forth she found the bottle but to her exasperation not the exact vinery we were looking for. Evidently,  (like we already did not know this) the west valley of Phoenix likes their wines cheap and sweet so to find anything worthwhile it requires either great searching or great sacrifice.   Mom did find a Pinot and we were lucky that it was nice and paired superbly with the meal.

I also learned something new with this meal and wine pairing that I was very excited about.  The entire time I was cooking I was questioning the choice of wine, because of the different flavor profile of the pork rub and the confit.   The rub had both lemon rind and parsley which I know pairs beautifully with Sauvignon Blanc so I was wondering how it goes with Pinot.  The apple confit was sweet and buttery again not something I associate with Pinot, but boy was I surprised and pleasantly pleased come meal time how it all melded together to create pure deliciousness.  I think it was the acid and berry undertones of the wine that made the match work so well.

We ate the dinner American style with the starch, veggie, and protein all on one plate this time.  So with out further ado visit here for the tasting notes and the recipes.