Giuseppe and I go to Fire Island, a barrier island on the south shore of Long Island. It's a place that does not have cars, so bicycling or foot limo is the only way to go. It is reachable by ferry. It is about 31 miles long and anywhere between 520-1300 feet wide, depending on which part of the island you are on.
Some may have heard of Fire Island and its gay community. That's changed a lot and the gay part is several miles from us. Besides, these days, all things have been gentrified. Our town is a more family-oriented neighborhood with the island's only synagogue. Overall, it's a beautiful and relaxing place.
The island's biggest town is Ocean Beach, with its own police force and main strip in town with restaurants and shops. On a recent night, we went to a dinner and wine pairing at a restaurant called The Hideaway. The wines were supplied by New York Vintners, a store, event and classroom space in downtown Manhattan.
The 5-course dinner commenced with a fluke crudo with citrus, celery leaf, apple and kohlrabi. The first wine was a 2011 Keller "Von der Fels" Riesling from the Rheinhessen in Germany. The wine was medium bodied with flavors of stone pits, lemons, grapefruits and citrus rinds. I thought the wine combination with the fluke was classic. The citrus flavors in the wine really accented the citrus on the fish.
The second course was an oyster miso soup with maitake mushroom, coriander cress and fresh cracked coriander. The pairing was a 2011 Matthiasson white blend of ribolla, tocai friulano, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc was from Napa Valley, California. The wine was pale gold, light to medium body. I don't know if it was the best paired match with this soup.
The next course was a pappardelle with turnip, heirloom tomato, kale sauce and crispy kale. The wine was paired with a Braida 201 Montebruna Barbera d'Asti from Italy. Barbera is one of those red grape varieties from northern Italy that is high in acid, few tannins and flavors of red raspberry and jam. The texture of the pasta was perfect. The acidity from the wine cut the fat in the pasta like a Chianti. The combination of turnip and kale was a good one, but it was a bit dry. The dish did marry very well with the wine.
The main course was duck two ways: seared with beet puree, cherry brittle and duck confit pierogies with turnip kraut and creme fraiche. The wine here was a 2005 Lopiez de Heredia Cubillo from Spain. It's from the Rioja region of Spain, where the main grape variety is tempranillo, Spain's answer to cabernet sauvignon. The duck and the wine were a fine combination. The wine had a menthol aroma initially, but then would exhibit aromas and flavors of black cherries, mushrooms and earth. It was very vibrant for a 7-year old wine.
Finally, for dessert -- homemade doughnuts with Pasquet Pineau des Charentes. The dessert wine was a blend of cognac and ugni blanc must (Must or the marc is what's leftover from pressing grapes. Ugni Blanc is one of those non-descript white grapes used to produce cognac). It was vinous and medium sweet with flavors of stone fruit pits, flowers and perfume. It tasted high in alcohol but balanced against the acidity and sweetness. It was just the right thing to pair with these little bombolinis.
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