Paired Up: Viognier and Spicy Seared Sole

In our Paired Up posts, we review a wine and the food we wisely (or foolishly) paired it with. 

The Wine

2009 Rulo Viognier (Walla Walla Valley)

We had this dish with tilapia in place of the sole a few weeks ago and paired it with a Gewürztraminer, which worked out pretty well. This time, we opted for a Viognier, hoping that it would complement the cayenne kick that we are on.

The bottle was purchased at Metropolitan Market in Lower Queen Anne. We found Rulo's 2007 Syrah outstanding and were looking forward to seeing what they could do with the other Northern Rhône grape. After purchase, the wine was stored in our wine fridge for about 3 weeks. We took it out, twisted off the cap and poured within minutes of our initial tasting.

The Food

After Hunter made a rare trip to the chef's table for our first blog go-round, Katy made her triumphant return to the kitchen. In the chef's words:

Once again, we went to Martha for the jumping off point of our meal. The recipe calls for a firm white fish fillet (skinless), beets and broccoli. We left the decision of the type of fish to our local Metropolitan Market fish selection, and as they were fresh out of tilapia, went for the nice looking (and cheaper than the halibut by a whole lot!) sole fillet. As for the beets, I fancy myself a bit of a plate artist, and enjoy adding as much color as possible, so I went for a purple and a golden. 

This recipe is insanely easy, whether you follow Martha exactly or branch out a little, as I often do. It's a perfect quick meal to make on a week night. Peel and cut up the beets and broccoli into bite size chunks, toss them into a Pyrex dish, drizzle with EVOO, top with course salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic salt, and a DASH of cayenne pepper - and pop it into a 450° oven for about 25 minutes. 

For the fish, pat both sides dry with a paper towel, add some EVOO to a frying pan on Med-High and let it warm up a bit. Before the fish goes into the pan, season the crap out of one side. (I've found, less is more only if you want to taste the "fishiness" more..) I knew that we were tasting a little sweeter white wine, so I opted to go for a little more spice with my seasoning. Lots of garlic powder, ground pepper, salt, a little lemon pepper, and of course, my most abused spice can, the Cayenne pepper. With our thin fish, it took a little less than 2 minutes per side on the hot pan to cook up. It flaked apart as soon as I touched it with the spatula, which made for a messy presentation, but the flavor wasn't effected by that (although my inner Martha was SUPER distracted...). 

I believe that the next time I make this, I would opt for a thicker fish - 1st choice being the tilapia, or maybe we can spring for the pricier halibut...  Anyway, all told, it really, honestly takes about 30 minutes total, with a good 15 minutes of free time in the middle (hello, multi-taskers!). And at around 287 total calories, it helps to offset the glass (or 3) of wine to go with it.

Hunter's Gatherings

The wine pours an attractive pale gold. The nose is young and aromatic, with pineapple coming through big along with white fruits, floral scents, apricot, citrus, gravel and just a hint of oak. The fruit (especially the pineapple) barrels in on the attack and a floral finish dries out the palate. Mineral undertones hold it all together, and the result is a fine balance of sweetness and acidity. This is an excellent drinker that I just couldn't put down! 91

The sole was spicy and this Viognier helped tone down that spice and tie the whole meal together. The broccoli worked with it and the earthiness of the beets balanced perfectly with the sweet fruity and floral characteristics in the wine.

Katy's Take

I swirled and I sniffed, and I repeated - several times over. To me, the nose seemed very closed and almost flat. Not to say that there wasn't the occasional whiff of apple, pineapple and a hint of pear, but once the wave of the swirl settled, I was left with a dull chalky sent. The smell did not do any justice to the flavor! The initial attack of a crisp, tart apple, followed up by a refreshingly juicy mid palette of pineapple, and finishing out round and chewy, made for a very balanced glass of wine. 91 

Paired with our spicy, flaky white fish, it was a shining star. It neutralized the excessive heat (the product of an overzealous spice-shaker...), which in turn made the juiciness of the wine really shine through. Neither overpowered the other, in fact they both actually took the overall flavor to a different place entirely. The side of roasted beets, with their delicious subtle earthy flavors also seemed to pull the glass further into perfection. As we initially intended to each have a glass of wine, and ended up devoting the rest of the evening to finishing and enjoying the entire bottle, I would have to call this pairing a success, and call this wine, "Pretty Fly for a White Guy." 

The Conclusion

The beets worked perfectly with the wine, while the spicy fish was a great antagonist that showed off what this Viognier could do. The result was a great meal and a great wine that came together wonderfully! Fantastic pairing!