So what wine would you drink with the cabbage rolls your mother sent you home with from your visit earlier this week?……………Times up. It was something I had to take a few minutes to consider myself.

Let’s see, you’ve got cooked cabbage, stuffed with a meat and rice mixture, covered with a tomato and carrot concoction. That’s a lot of different flavors.

Let’s try a 2001 Pinot Noir from Porter Creek, a little known vineyard in the Russian River Valley of California. We paid about $32.00 for this wine in 2003 while visiting the winery. We loved it in the tasting room and I’m sad to say that this was our last bottle. I chose the pinot because I didn’t want to drink anything that was actually going to compete with all of these delicious home-cooked flavors. The wine had to be a background to the flavors of the dish. I think this is true of most wine/food pairings; this one especially.

Porter Creek makes such wonderful Pinots. They start with a dark and fruity nose and a first taste of light jam-berry followed by some slight peppery bits and a stunning and long finish at the end. Again this is in contrast with the sharp though delicious cabbage rolls. Now I don’t often challenge the singleGuyChef and I don’t even know if he’s ever made cabbage rolls. But if he does and wants to do a taste test, well, my money’s on mom.

You’re not likely to get your hands on the 2001 vintage of a Porter Creek Pinot Noir, again they’re just a little winery tucked back on a winding road making stellar Pinots. They are currently offering their 2004 vintage at $65.00. That’s a lot of money for a bottle of wine. While there are a lot of overpriced California wines at this price, this isn’t one of them. I haven’t tasted 2004 but I will confidently recommend it to you. Enjoy.

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