Germany collides with Asia for #WinePW

It is time for Wine Pairing Weekend and Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog invited us to explore the Gruner Veltliner growing region.  You can see his invitation post here.

I went down to my Wine Merchant and they had one bottle of this wine from a Winery called Ecker. The owner of the store said that it was a bright, crisp wine.  I thought that this winery was in Germany, hence the title of this blog, but as it turns out the winery and most Gruner Veltliner is grown in Austria.  So I guess the title of this blog should be Austria collides with Asia LOL.

As luck would have it, I had guests over for dinner the night I opened this bottle.  Our friends, The Benda's, son had gotten married and they had a house full of out of town and country guests.  The Bendas are a military family so they have ties to many different countries in the world.  We had invited them and their 7 houseguests: The Bride and Groom who live on the west side of our State; Greg's mother who lives in Minnesota; Friends who live in Washington and Friends who live in Germany.  This is where the luck part comes in.  When I brought out this wine, Claudia (who lives in Germany) got very excited and said that this is her favorite wine.  It made me happy to be able to offer her a wine that she loved.

I decided to serve Asian food for several reasons.  Most people like Asian.  I could offer a large variety.  It fit into my new eating plan.  When cooking Asian, the prep work is all done ahead of time and dinner takes only minutes to get on the table.

I served dumplings as an appetizer along with smoked salmon on cucumber rounds.  Linda had brought shrimp toasts and crab dip.  Frank made up  a batch of his Lychee Nut Martinis.  When we had visited a bit and everyone was relaxing with appetizers and drinks in hand, I retreated to the kitchen and fired up my wok.  First I cooked up some Pork Chop Suey, as it keeps warm very well. Into the chafing dish it went and the wok was rinsed clean for the next dish, Kung Pao Chicken, shown above.  I will be sharing this recipe tomorrow at Sunday Supper so stay tuned.  The Kung Pao Chicken went into another chafing pan.  The third entree was Garlic Shrimp and Green Beans which got put into a crockpot set on low setting right before serving so the shrimp wouldn't overcook. I served both brown and white rice and poured wine for with dinner.  

Claudia, Linda and I had the Gruner Veltliner, while the others requested a sweeter wine or a red wine.  I thought the pairing worked well.  The Gruner Veltliner reminds me of Sauvignon Blanc which is one of my favorite whites.  I must confess, that I was busy visiting and didn't spend an inordinate amount of time with the tasting but Linda and Claudia each had another glass finishing up the bottle so they must have thought it paired nicely as well.

Here are the Gruner Veltliner pairings that the others chose:

Michelle of Rockin Red Blog tell us Why You Should be Drinking Grüner Veltliner.

Jill of L’Occassion recommends we Go Ahead and Say It: Grüner Veltliner

Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla is dishing- Herbs, Bitter Greens, and Halibut Cheeks with Grüner Veltliner

Sarah of Curious Cuisinere tempts us with Backhendl (Austrian Fried Chicken) and Grüner Veltliner

Nancy of Pull that Cork will be offering Grüner Veltliner: A Pair of Pear(ings) for #winePW

Lori of Dracaena Wines will be sending A Message in a Bottle From Austria

David of Cooking Chat presents a healthy Kale and Tempeh Curry with Grüner

Jeff of FoodWineClick asks the question Is Grüner Veltliner Your Next Pizza Wine?

Lauren of the The Swirling Dervish proclaims Gruner Veltliner: A Lot Easier to Drink than It is to Say

Cindy of Grape Experiences recommends we Wine and Dine: Gruner Veltliner and Salmon Teriyaki with Garlic Baby Potatoes

Jade of Tasting Pour serves up Shrimp and Corn Soup with Gruner Veltlner

Wendy of A Day In The Life On The Farm presents Germany collides with Asia for #WinePW

Julie of Wine N Friends proffers an Emotional Connection with Grüner Veltliner

Martin of ENOFYLZ Wine Blog will be offering A Taste of Grüner Veltliner; Old World and New World

Click here for a list of past and future Wine Pairing Weekend events!