Wednesday was a beautiful fall day- in August. The final waterfront concert of the year, we knew people in both of the bands (jazz/blues and bluegrass). Betsy surprised me by making fried chicken and cheddar biscuits (I'm still a Southern boy), which we carried to river along with an orzo salad, leftover slaw, and a couple wines:
2007 Cantalupo "Il Mimo" Rosato
Cherries and cranberries, light but apparent tannins. Fresh, sweet fruit balanced by good acidity, a little whiff of Piedmont tar. B+
2006 Hexamer "Quartzit" Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg Riesling QbA (Nahe).
Rose is usually my first thought with fried chicken, and the Il Mimo did ok. But as this recipe is quite spicy (sambal olek in with buttermilk, cayenne in flour, herbs in oil) I thought I'd try something off-dry as well. This had a definite Lime SweeTarts™ base, with some grapefruit and mineral. Sweetness to handle the spices, though on balance I think I still preferred the Il Mimo as a match. Both good wines, though. B/B+
Fun fun night, the bonus was sitting with old friends we hadn't seen in ages.
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
