SOMM Laguna

Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners. Andre Simon

I made this the other night and it took me less than 15 minutes. Salmon (with a lemon caper sauce), orzo with fresh basil, and broccolini with almonds. I paired it with a snappy Grenache from Paso Robles. No, it was not a red wine with fish, this grenache was a white wine made from red grapes.

In the coming months, I’ll be expanding the blog to include more food pairing ideas, foods in general, baking (I’ve gotten into baking in a big way), restaurant reviews (for the locals) and travels. Speaking of which… After 20+ years I went to Vail, CO and skied. The skiing was good and the weather (as you can see from the photo) was glorious. Yes that’s me with the western hat – I was literally the only person on the hill without a helmet (old dogs…)

I was with Victor, Annie’s Grandson, and he showed me around. In Vail, we found a Spanish Restaurant – Barrio Social. As we’d just come back from Spain, I had to check it out. When we were in Spain, as they eat so late, we often when into a bar for Tapas (a snack before dinner) and our new favorite drink – Spanish Vermouth (or Vermut). It’s not like Italian or French vermouth, it’s a little bit sweet but mostly herbal. It’s made all over Spain and each region has their own recipe. Annie and I will sit on the deck and enjoy a glass (or two). We’ve introduced to the neighbors (and my daughter Tiff) and they have started ordering it from me (my last order was 12 bottles to spread around).

I’ll be cooking for our annual golf trip in early May (a group of 12 guys) and the menu for the consecutive nights will be 1) Roast Chicken with a grapefruit cream sauce 2) Salmon with the lemon caper sauce and 3) Roast Tri-tip with a Blue cheese sauce. I’ll let you know how it goes. Until next time, Love the Wine you’re with.

Featured Image by Farhad Ibrahimzade PEXELS