Sonoma County Line

Tonight’s Wax & Wine Wednesday is a classic pairing: sultry Sonoma coast Pinot Noir and obscure vintage Blues. A match made in wax & wine heaven and especially ideal for a long evening of working on an Excel spreadsheet. Ugh. Those two words can really kill the mood, can’t they?  But hey, when you have vintage wax blues playing and a glass of sexy, intriguing Pinot Noir in hand, how bad can a working evening really be? Enjoy your Wednesday and see you next week. Cheers! …-EVE & BVE

Dutton Goldfield 2006 McDougall Vineyard Pinot Noir ($55) + Alex Moore in Europe 1969

The Wine: Luminous ruby in the glass, this wine is a gorgeous combination of Russian River fruit-driven Pinot Noir and mineral-driven Burgundian Pinot Noir. An elegant Pinot Noir that does a beautiful job with Sonoma Coast (read: cooler clime) fruit, I discovered this wine at a recent wine tasting and quickly visited the winery to snap up a few bottles.  Bright black cherry spotlights the wine throughout, but it’s accentuated by yummy toasted brioche & subtle meatiness on the nose, while sharp minerality and velvety tannins pull it through on the palate for a nice, long finish. Everything’s in balance in the glass and buying 2 bottles was a great decision.

The Vintage Wax Pairing: Vintage blues, with a touch of obscurity, is a perfect match for this wine. Enjoy our trifecta of great blues for the night (Alex Moore, Mighty Joe Young & Junior Wells), but Alex Moore’s In Europe album brings it home. “New Blue Bloomer Blues” (song 3/side 1) epitomizes his sultry, yet upbeat, piano blues that evoke a dark and hazy blues bar from NYC days gone by – a great antidote to the excel spreadsheet that was our evening. Recorded in Stuttgart, Germany in 1969.

The Perfect Food Pairing: Keep it simple with some triple-creme Brie or if you have the time, Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Bing Cherries (à la Maria Sinskey) would be sublime. Just be sure to let us know when dinner is served…we’ll bring the wine and wax, of course.