Wine Pairing Weekend Celebrates Spring--WinePW

We are celebrating Spring here at Wine PW.  Unfortunately, here in Michigan it is below freezing temperatures with flurries of snow.  At least it is on the day I am writing this.  Tomorrow or the day after when I post this it is liable to be 70 and sunshine.  Welcome to Michigan folks.

However, life is not bad...We just got home from a week in sunny Florida and next week we will be in beautiful Bonaire for another week of diving.  Life is very good.  So when I saw this bottle of Les Dauphin Cote du Rhone at the market how could I not buy it?

Perhaps the French word for these mammals is why we mistakenly call them Dolphins instead of Porpoises.  We have not been lucky enough to dive with these guys but we have had them travel along with our boats to dive sites and it is always thrilling.

This is a dolphin fish.  We call it Mahi Mahi and it is delicious to eat.  One of my favorites in fact and what I originally thought to serve with this crisp, unoaked, white wine from the Rhone Valley. But I didn't.

The reason I didn't is because our theme for this months Fish Friday Foodies is whole fish.  A whole dolphin fish is huge and I am not going to be here next week....remember I will be in sunny Bonaire, perhaps diving with dolphins, the mammal not the fish.  Well, maybe the fish too.  You know what I mean.

So because I wanted to take care of my Fish Friday Foodies post before we left I decided to serve this wine with a Whole Roasted Branzini.  I will be sharing that recipe with you next week.

I was very pleased with the pairing.  The Les Dauphins is a relatively new label being produced by Union des Vignerons Cotes du Rhone.  According to the article that I read by Christopher of Drink Hacker, it is a bistro inspired brand that is priced to sell.  I read this article, after I found my wine that, as stated earlier, I only bought because it was from Rhone Valley which we are featuring today at WinePW and because I liked the name.  I paid $12 for my bottle that is a mixture of several grapes, 65% of which is Grenache.  It poured clean and crisp.  The nose is bright and grassy.  

Reading Christopher's article, after having paired and tasted this wine, I was surprised at the B- rating that he gave.  I would give it a B+ or at the least a solid B.  I enjoyed the wine.  I thought it paired well with the roasted fish that I served and thought is was a great value.  It is a nice dry wine without being as acidic as some Sauvignon Blanc's that I have tried.  I think I would still go with a glass of oaked Chardonnay if I just want a glass of wine to sip on the patio in hot weather, but for pairing with food I thought the Les Dauphins Cotes du Rhone was perfect.

This month's Wine PW is being hosted by Jill and Jason of L'Occasion.  I think the choice of Rhone Wines with Spring Flavors is perfect.  Let's see what other Spring Flavors are being shared today.

• Jeff from Food Wine Click: Rabbit and Rhône
•  Michelle from Rockin Red Blog: Springtime in the Southern Rhône with #winePW 
• Nancy from Pull That Cork: Scallops, Spring Veggies + a White CDP for #winePW
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Braised Boar Shanks With Bitter Herb Salad + Vacqueyras Beaumirail
•  David from Cooking Chat: Kale Pesto Tilapia with Wine from Southern Rhône
• Martin from Enofylz Wine Blog: A Tavel Paired with Spring BBQ #WinePW 
•  Meaghan from Un Assaggio: Grilled Rack of Lamb + Arnoux & Fils Vieux Clocher #winePW 
•  Cindy from Grape Experiences : Wine and Dine: Rosé from Costières de Nîmes and Rack of Lamb with Rosemary 
•  Sarah and Tim from Curious Cuisiniere: Escalivada (Spanish Roasted Vegetables) paired with South Rhône Rosé 
•  Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm: Wine Pairing Weekend Celebrates Spring 
• Kristen from The Armchair Sommelier: The High Crime of Mushroom Substitution
•  Jill from L'occasion (me, with my husband Jason as the chef): Welcome Spring with Fresh Food & Le Ferme Du Mont Côtes du Rhône

David of Cooking Chat started this event in June of 2014, and every month since then this group of wine and food lovers have had a great time! For more background, check out the original post announcing Wine Pairing Weekend. On the second Saturday of each month, a group of bloggers who are passionate about the way good wine enhances a meal come together to blog about a wine pairing they have done. Each month has a different Wine Pairing Weekend theme to focus the pairings. I'm the host of this month's #winePW, a celebration of the theme: Spring Meal Pairings for Southern Rhône Wines.

Join us as we share blog posts and experience live Twitter chat at 11 a.m. Eastern Time (10 a.m. Central) on Saturday, April 9, 2016.

Anyone interested is encouraged to join in the chat: food-lovers, travel-nuts, winemakers, Rhône residents, wine-lovers...please join us with the hashtag #winePW.

For a list of past and upcoming #winePW event, visit the Wine Pairing Weekend calendar here. We'd love to have you online with us!