When YumSugar and I were trend watching at the Fancy Food Show earlier this week, I was really into tasting all of the wines and liquors. Ok I was really into tasting just about everything, but I was paying special attention to anything that would make my next party super duper fabulous (yummy international wines, infused and organic vodkas, martini glasses shrunken to the size of a shot glass, etc). While there, I was lucky enough to meet John, a handsome fellow with sandy colored hair who was pouring tastings of his Kono Marlborough Pinot Noir from New Zealand. It was love at first sight. With the wine that is, not with John (who was disappointingly not even from New Zealand). He imports the wine in from the Marlborough region of the country. Think "Marlborough is to New Zealand as Napa is to California", the premium wine location.
The Pinot Noir was so incredibly smooth that it would pair well with anything from sausage pizza to roast leg of lamb. It had a savory ripe plum, smoky oak and dark spice aroma with a long elegant finish. The wine slipped down my throat like silk and all I wanted to do was ask John to pour me a full serving so I could leisurely walk through the cheese and salami aisles enjoying the Pinot to its fullest. Unfortunately I only had one sip left and I was saving it for YumSugar to taste, so my fantasy of savoring the wine was put on hold. Until this afternoon when I went to pick up my very own bottle (Trader Joe's for the moderate price of $12.99).
If olive oil can be called liquid gold than Pinot Noir should be named liquid rubies. Now if I only I could find a good-looking sandy haired guy from New Zealand to share my bottle with...
For more information on John and his Pinot Noir (including their interesting indigenous story surrounding the company) visit Kono New Zealand's website.