Sole Meunière Almondine and Dalila Italian White Blend
Once of my favorite dishes is Sole Meunière, or similar delicate white fish with a buttery white wine sauce. I have many fond memories of the succulent Petrale Sole at Scott’s Seafood in Palo Alto (CA), a regular feature on their menu. I dined there weekly for the dozen plus years I commuted to there for work, across the street from my Silicon Valley office on Embarcadero and Bayshore Road. Even more delectable was the seasonal special of Sand Dabs when they were available - a delicate white fish, also known as Rex Sole, found on the Northern California Pacific Coast during springtime.
Of course Dover Sole is such an offering, when available, although it is a much larger fish and hence is a much larger portion, and tends therefore to be expensive. Never-the-less, I loved the Dover Sole at Il Postino Restaurant near tony Sutton Place and Lenox Hill neighborhood in New York City which I featured several times in these pages. - Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay at Il Postino NYC
Also, I would say my near favorite seafood dish is Flounder, and once again enjoyed at one of my favorite and memorable eateries for such another New York favorite, featured in these pages - Eataly NYC Flounder Seafood Dinner, and - Eataly New York Wine Dine Options.
Last summer we went to Omaha Steaks’ retail outlet in nearby Lombard to pick up a beef tenderloin for our Easter Sunday family dinner. There, they had filets of Sole Almondine which we were tempted to pick up for a special dinner. Omaha Steaks describe their offering - “Boasting a rich flavor … only the finest wild-caught, natural, white sole fillets … our Sole Almondine - premium boneless sole topped with tasty cheese-flavored bread crumbs and crunchy sliced almonds.”
We picked up a case and Linda prepared a buttery Meunière sauce for the sole and side of balsamic rice, served with mixed medley of peas, corn and shallots. Tonight, we finished off the last of those filets we had stored in the deep freeze.
In earlier blogposts, I wrote about those earlier Sole Meunière dinners paired Central Coast Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, snd with Unoaked Chardonnay from the upper Sonoma Russian River Valley, expecting it to be more neutral and delicate to accompany the sole entree - Sole Meunière Amandine with RRV Chardonnay.
Once of my favorite dishes is Sole Meunière, or similar delicate white fish with a buttery white wine sauce. I have many fond memories of the succulent Petrale Sole at Scott’s Seafood in Palo Alto (CA), a regular feature on their menu. I dined there weekly for the dozen plus years I commuted to there for work, across the street from my Silicon Valley office on Embarcadero and Bayshore Road. Even more delectable was the seasonal special of Sand Dabs when they were available - a delicate white fish, also known as Rex Sole, found on the Northern California Pacific Coast during springtime.
Of course Dover Sole is such an offering, when available, although it is a much larger fish and hence is a much larger portion, and tends therefore to be expensive. Never-the-less, I loved the Dover Sole at Il Postino Restaurant near tony Sutton Place and Lenox Hill neighborhood in New York City which I featured several times in these pages. - Cakebread Cellars Napa Valley Chardonnay at Il Postino NYC
Also, I would say my near favorite seafood dish is Flounder, and once again enjoyed at one of my favorite and memorable eateries for such another New York favorite, featured in these pages - Eataly NYC Flounder Seafood Dinner, and - Eataly New York Wine Dine Options.
Last summer we went to Omaha Steaks’ retail outlet in nearby Lombard to pick up a beef tenderloin for our Easter Sunday family dinner. There, they had filets of Sole Almondine which we were tempted to pick up for a special dinner. Omaha Steaks describe their offering - “Boasting a rich flavor … only the finest wild-caught, natural, white sole fillets … our Sole Almondine - premium boneless sole topped with tasty cheese-flavored bread crumbs and crunchy sliced almonds.”
We picked up a case and Linda prepared a buttery Meunière sauce for the sole and side of balsamic rice, served with mixed medley of peas, corn and shallots. Tonight, we finished off the last of those filets we had stored in the deep freeze.
In earlier blogposts, I wrote about those earlier Sole Meunière dinners paired Central Coast Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, snd with Unoaked Chardonnay from the upper Sonoma Russian River Valley, expecting it to be more neutral and delicate to accompany the sole entree - Sole Meunière Amandine with RRV Chardonnay.
Tonight we opened a totally different, unique Italian White Blend for pairing with the Sole Meunière.
Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2020
Stemmari Dalila Sicilia Viognier Grillo DOC Blend 2020
We discovered this wine during many dinners at Angelis’ Italian, our favorite neighborhood trattoria.
This wine finds its way to the Angeli's winelist as a result of owner Tony Angeli having visited the Feudo Arancio Stemmari winery estate during his visit to the region a couple years ago.
This wine is from the historic Stemmari winery located in the town of Acate in the Ragusa province of Sicily located in south eastern Sicily. The winery has 1,700 acres in two estates along the south coast of Sicily, one in Sambuca di Sicilia in the Agrigento province and the other in Acate in the province of Ragusa.The vast Stemmari brand has a broad portfolio of wines include single varietals like nero d’avola, chardonnay, pinot grigio, moscato, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and even a sparkling grillo. They offer a few blends including this Dalila wine.
This unique blend is comprised of the Sicilian varietal Grillo and the international Viognier, native to the French Rhone River valley. The local indigenous wine grape "grillo" – which means "cricket" in Italian. This Sicilian white wine is composed of 80 percent Grillo and 20 percent Viognier.
The interesting branding of music as a metaphor for the harmonizing of the two elegant varietals in the Dalila blend with musical notes on the label and on the bottle foil.
Tonight they were serving the 2020 vintage release label. This is the forth vintage they've served this wine. This continues to be a sensational and a very pleasant surprise discovery. Its available at a price point that provides great QPR - Quality Price Ratio. We enjoyed this discovery such that we went out and special ordered some from a local merchant to have in our cellar for enjoyable casual sipping.
This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.
Consistent with earlier releases and tastings. Golden straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated floral and tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, mango and citrus with hints of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with bight acidity on a character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
RM 91 points.
https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489
https://www.feudoarancio.it
This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.
Consistent with earlier releases and tastings. Golden straw colored, medium-full bodied, nicely balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel with intense, bright vibrant, nicely integrated floral and tropical fruits with notes of pear and hints of peach, mango and citrus with hints of vanilla, floral and stone fruits with bight acidity on a character and profile of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
RM 91 points.
https://www.stemmari.it/en-us/products/selections/dalila
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3521489
https://www.feudoarancio.it