Days of wine and tomatoes?

[wondersofwine]

Zely and Ritz Restaurant in Raleigh once again sold out several evenings of special tomato dinners. I attended the one on July 23rd.

First course was a yummy gazpacho with:
2006 Badger Mountain Seve (blend of Semillion, Chenin Blanc and Riesling), Columbia Valley, WA
Aromatic wine that seemed to convey a hint of French oak nuances.

Second course was various heirloom tomatoes (Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Sunny Boy, etc.) with fresh Mozzarella cheese, EVOO, fresh basil, and sweet balsamic vinegar paired with:
2006 Bergstrom Riesling, Willamette Valley, OR
Nice peachy nose. Medium weight on the palate with a slightly chewy finish. I liked this. Nancy Agasi (wine director and wife of chef Sarig Agasi) says great minerality and a little bit of sweetness to balance the balsamic vinegar glaze.

Third course was locally produced lamb on kebabs with grilled tomatoes, squash, eggplant, and onions. The wine was:
2004 Porter-Bass Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, CA
Pale garnet color; semi-opaque. Berries and spice on the nose. Tastes very ripe, somewhat sweet with brambleberries. Pronounced viscosity. Excellent pairing with the lamb kebabs. The pairing of the evening IMO.

Fourth course was braised beef brisket with tomatoes over creamy corn risotto and oven-roasted tomato sauce. The pairing for this course:
2005 Longboard Vineyard Syrah, Russian River Valley, CA (winemaker is a surfer dude from Israel)
Darker and denser than the Zin. Rather opaque. Dark crimson color. Described by Nancy as a "spray in your face" Syrah. And as Nancy said, a fun wine, if not profound.

Nancy admits that pairing wine with tomatoes is difficult (because of the acidic nature of tomatoes) and coming up with a tomato dessert is definitely challenging. This year's dessert, tomato panna cotta, was delicious and perhaps the most successful of the tomato desserts they have offered.

Once again a local expert on growing heirloom vegetables was on hand to give info and answer questions.

[winoweenie]

Would swim a river of hot steaming mud to have them tomatoes. My wine pairings would vary frum them dudes slightly tho. [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]WW

[hotwine]

We're bemoaning the passing of the latest tomato season..... have been getting ours from a farmer 25 miles to the south and used them in EVERYTHING. I don't fight the acid, usually pairing a Chablis or SB.

Very nice notes, as per usual, Wonders. Thanks.

[Kcwhippet]

How is the tomato season passing, Gil? Ours have just started ripening recently. Of course, our ripe tomato season is just about three months or so before the first frosts hit.

[dion]

Blue Nun is a fairly sweet white wine. I'm guessing it would be fine with what you are making.

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[This message has been edited by dion (edited 08-25-2008).]