Photos courtesy of Broderick Smylie
Sorry for the delay in posting the notes. I've been in FL & DC all week.
Here are our impressions from the pairing at Dogwood. As a note-- we are evaluating the pairing, and not the individual parts.
Dogwood's Pairing-
Wine- Rutz Maison Grand Cru Chardonnay (USA, CA, Sonoma, Russian River Valley)
Food- Logan Turnpike Grits with Butter Poached Lobster
Big CA style Chardonnay- and home-sweet-home creamy grits with lobster.
While enjoying this, all I could think of was hot buttered popcorn with a side of lobster tail. This was really good. After having both together, I didn't want one without the other. We could elaborate on the perfect texture of the grits, and the acidity of the wine cutting through the richness of the dish, but this was just really good.
What I really liked- Big California Chardonnay may not be en vogue, but this is exactly what this dish needed. Scott mentioned that he tried the dish with unoaked Chard, and it just didn't work. Though I almost hesitate to type this- This pairing benefited from new oak (and the wee bit of tannin it provides). I imagine the unoaked Chardonnay would be like dipping your lobster in lemonade.
Big points for bucking trends and going with what works! At $18.75 this was great value!
