Pinot Noir & The Super Bowl - February 4, 2007

I wasn't much of a professional football fan this year. Something about the season just didn't catch my attention. This seems to be happening a lot lately. All of this changes, however, once the NFC & AFC champions are crowned and the stage is set for the Super Bowl. I've always enjoyed the spectacle of the whole thing... the two best teams, the halftime show, the food extravaganza and, of course, the commercials ("rock, paper, scissors" was clearly the best).

This year we were invited over some friends' house to join them for the game and the aforementioned food extravaganza. As is customary for me, I brought along a couple bottles of wine to share. A 2005 Raptor Ridge "Reserve" Pinot Noir from Oregon and a 2004 Ambroise Bourgogne Rouge from Burgundy. Both wines were samples given to me by one of my distributors.

Fortunately, I was able to taste both wines before I jumped into the pan of green chili enchiladas for the wines I chose to bring to this classic super bowl feast weren't the best match for the food. The Ambroise was delightfully fruit forward with subtle earthy notes. At a retail price of $25-30 it's a great buy. Perhaps it was the "Reserve" labeling but I was expecting a little more from the Raptor Ridge than I found in the glass. It was balanced and pleasant but the fruit lacked some of the depth I was hoping for from an Oregon Pinot that retails around $40. It did peak my interest however and I will try this wine again when I'm not so distracted by the television, good conversation with friends and some of the best enchiladas I've had in years.

In case you're wondering, my sports betting streak remain alive with this year's Super Bowl. I have never won a sports bet of any kind that I've made with Eric Trager (Bridge Creek's Executive Chef). I had my $5 on da Bears.