view archived dining Tastemakers: The art of seasoning/Forty-Five North Pinot Noir Rose '08 Nouveau Rick Coates
The Art of Seasoning
The holiday season is here and for most of us, we willbe entertaining guests or taking a dish to a party in the coming weeks. During a conversation with a chef at this past Epicurean Classic, she told me that “Americans over-spice their foods.” We ended up having a long conversation about the “art of seasoning.” When you take meat, seafood or a vegetable and add spices, ultimately you are doing one of two things: You are either “seasoning” or “flavoring” it. The art of seasoning is to enhance and bring out the natural flavors. Flavoring is an attempt to change to true flavor of the item you are preparing. Here is an example: if you lightly coat a piece of salmon with olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, you are seasoning the salmon and bringing out its true flavor. If you coat the salmon with Cajun spices and blacken it, then you have changed the flavor of the salmon. The “art” of this starts with making a quality selection of whatever it is you are going to prepare. If you seek out the best beef, poultry, seafood etc. from your local market, then you want to be careful not to over season. instead, you want to celebrate the natural flavors. The second step in the process is preparation. In order to enjoy the natural flavors, make sure you have properly prepared the item by not over or under cooking it. The best person to ask is the butcher for preparation ideas. This same concept may be applied when selecting wine to pair with your meal. I love big bold California Cabs; but they have a tendency to mask flavors of some foods. I have found reds from Northern Michigan lend themselves well to grilled salmon and even some grilled meats. So remember, don’t over “season” it this holiday.
Forty-Five North Pinot Noir Rose ‘08 Nouveau
During my seven years with the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association, I enjoyed the time I spent with the winemakers. They shared their passions and visions for not only their winery, but the wine region as a whole. I spent many a day in the barrel rooms of the region sampling and listening. Making wine is as much of an art as it is a science; and it was fun watching the winemakers here master the science. As my family gathers around the table this Thanksgiving, we will continue our tradition of enjoying local wines (plus local foods). Since Larry Mawby began producing sparkling wines a dozen or so years ago, we have been serving his bubbly with our turkey; and this year’s choice will be his Millie, since that particular wine is only made every so often. Another tradition is to seek out something new, and this year I am excited to have the Forty-Five North Pinot Noir Rose ’08 Nouveau on the table. Shawn Walters is a rising star among the winemakers in the region. His Forty-Five North Riesling took home top white wine honors at the Pacific Rim Wine Competition earlier this year. The Nouveau is a real “fruit bomb” and will be perfect with the turkey. This wine also suggests that the 2008 vintages in the region should be special. Be sure to make your Thanksgiving and Christmas and other holiday celebrations as local as possible. To find out more about Forty-Five North, go to forty-fivenorth.com, they are located on M-204 between Suttons Bay and Lake Leelanau.
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