Updated Wine Review: Cline 2010 Pinot Gris

This wine has a beautiful straw color. The nose has aromas of apple, pear and a hint of peach. The palate has flavors of apple, pear, a *hint of honey (noted this in this updated review) and slight herbal notes on the mid palate with a nice round mouth feel. The wine is crisp, with nice acidity making it a great wine to pair with food. I would pair this wine with a roasted chicken or grilled chicken with a thyme compound butter placed under the skin before roasting or grilling. Another pairing would be my Crab Cakes. This wine would be a great wine for those wine lovers who are in the "ABC" (Anything But Chardonnay) mode. The mouth feel of this wine makes it an elegant and balanced wine. This is a white wine that can be enjoyed into Fall and Winter due to the weight and roundness on the mouth feel or palate.  Note: This wine was a sample provided by Cline Cellars. SRP $12.00 http://www.clinecellars.com

 Lorrie’s Crab Cakes

Ingredients

1lb of jumbo crab meat (check for shells)

2 teaspoons of good Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon of New Orleans Seasoning http://www.vgourmet.com/

1 pinch of sea salt

½ of lemon

½ of a small red bell pepper (if bell pepper is large ¼ of red bell pepper)

2 tablespoon of mix seasonings (flat leaf parsley, celery, and sweet onions)

3 stalks of chopped green onions

3 tablespoons of olive oil *(1 tablespoon for the seasoning and 2 tablespoons to fry the crab cakes)

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter *(divided in half, 1 tablespoon is for cooking the mixed seasoning, the other tablespoon is for frying the crab cakes))

¼ cup of mayonnaise (I use Blue Plate brand mayonnaise )

1 egg

1 ½ cup of Panko Bread crumbs (1/2 cup for the mixture and 1 cup to coat the crab cakes before frying)

Preparation

Check crab meat for any shells. Saute` the mixed seasoning, red bell pepper, and green onions in a pat of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil. Allow the seasoning mixture to cool. Mix, the crab meat, mixed seasoning, New Orleans seasoning, salt, lemon juice, egg, ½ cup of Panko crumbs, and mayonnaise. Form the mixture into 12 patties. Chill for at least 30 minutes; the longer the better. Note: Chilling helps the crab cakes stay together. Coat the crab cakes in Panko crumbs. Place a pat of butter and a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a frying pan on medium high heat and brown crab cakes on each side; repeat until all the crab cakes are browned. Place the crab cakes on paper towels to drain any excess oil. I like serving this as an appetizer or with angel hair pasta and a salad to make a meal.

Try this pairing and tell me what you think; leave a comment!