Portland, Oregon has been getting way too much press lately. It was given the “Delicious Destination of the Year” award by the Food Network. A recent article about Portland made it onto the New York Times’ list of top ten most e-mailed stories. Jane & Michael Stern were raving about Portland’s Voodoo Doughnuts on the latest edition of The Splendid Table. Even I am guilty of gushing about the many splendors of Portland. Well, no more I say. I’m tired of hearing about how wonderful and enlightened my southerly neighbors are. I’m putting Portland on notice and going back to promoting all things Seattle! Oh, except that I just picked up a bottle of Erath 2006 Pinot Gris for this week’s winesday, and Erath Vineyards just so happens to be located about an hour away from Portland. Oops.
Erath Vineyards is located in the Willamette Valley, an AVA best known for its Pinot Noir. By now, pretty much everyone is aware of how good Oregon’s Pinot Noirs are, but less people know that Oregon also produces wonderful Pinot Gris. The Willamette Valley, which follows the Willamette River from the Washington-Oregon border in the north to the city of Eugene in the south, is perfect for growing Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes. Its cooler climate is similar to that of other Pinot-friendly regions such as Alsace and Burgundy. The long, temperate summers allow the grapes to ripen slowly and, in the process, they develop more complex flavors. Oregon Pinot Gris is typically medium bodied and crisp with flavors and aromas of pear, apple, and melon.
To go with the Pinot Gris, I made Halibut with Green Lentils and Toasted Bread-Crumb Salad from Seattle Kitchen by Tom Douglas. This recipe calls for French green lentils. Unlike the more common brown lentils, green lentils stay firm and retain their shape, even after lengthy cooking, making for a much prettier dish. I just love them. The toasted bread-crumb salad part of the recipe was really more of a bread-crumb garnish, but it was very good. It consisted of bread crumbs, lemon zest and lots of Italian parsley which are tossed together in a lemon vinaigrette. I made my own bread crumbs from leftover Italian bread so they were nice and rustic. It was a really good dish. Halibut is in season right now, and it is so amazingly tender and moist. The Pinot Gris was delicious as well. Really flavorful. It had all of the characteristics that are expected in a Pinot Gris: apple, pear, and melon, but this one even had a touch of spice I thought. It was actually one of the more reasonably priced Oregon Pinots which makes it even better. Yeah, okay, so maybe all of the recent buzz about Portland really is more than just hype. But, Seattle has some good things too…