I consider ourselves to be in a very fortunate location being only 12,5 miles from Camel Valley Vineyards, amongst other reasons of course! One of my favourite sparkling wines is the 2008 White Pinot Noir Brut which offers a generous amount of delicate red and stone fruit which is balanced by the savoury yeastiness inherited by the 3 and a half years in contact with its lees. That’s an awfully long time to be patient, but then again it is a virtue! The outcome is a well deserved gold medallist sparkling wine which has also retained its refreshing acidity.
That is one of the reasons it compliments Nathan’s ‘Soused Mackerel with Jerusalem Artichoke’ dish so well. If you are not familiar with the process of sousing, it’s a form of pickling, but by adding heat to the pickling ‘marinade’. This allows the possibility of being able to infuse flavours into the pickling liquid, in this case; saffron, bay leaf and star anise. This is done in a magically balanced way, so in order to not ruin this harmonious dish I have matched the acidity of the wine to the acidity of the jerusalem artichoke which allows the pleasant subtle yeastiness and refined fruit to compliment the mackerel… Local fish with locally-made wine by who I consider both as being masters of their trades, what more could I ask for?
