Pork Chops in my Jacuzzi

Let's face it... if you are like most people, you work all day, come home exhausted, and don't have time to sleep more than 6 hours before having to do it all again. Not only do you NOT have time to come home and prepare that lavish six course meal you've been dreaming about, but you're just lucky to have time to eat anything at all.

I am no exception to this rule. Last night I came home hungry, tired, and ready to take a nap. Luckily, my wife came to the rescue. While hardly a six course white glove meal, my daily suffering rendered me ecstatic to enjoy her homemade Pork Chops a la Shake 'n Bake. It was just what the doctor ordered!

Despite the fact that dinner was already taken care of, life never seems to be easy...

I can't describe how much time I spend deciding which bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner. Is anyone else guilty of this? It probably took me longer to figure out what to crack open than it did for my wife to prepare the entire meal and have it waiting on the table.

Like any good wino, I asked my twitter friends what type of wine they would recommend. This is one of my favorite things to do because I am sure to get back over a million different answers... many of which I never would have dreamed of pairing. This particular instance proved to be no exception. Everything from Pinot Noir to Sauvignon Blanc to even Dolcetto came popping up in my tweetdeck window.

In the end here's the wine that I chose:


Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Barbera Mendocino County 2007
Price - $21/bottle

I was seduced by this wine's perfume as it came wafting from my glass. Deep in color, and full in the mouth, this wine had the body to stand up to my crusted pork chops. Although it needed to settle down when it was first opened, patience and air tamed the levels of acidity and alcohol significantly. I was intrigued to taste this California reincarnation of the third most popular grape variety in Italy. Although I have not had many others of its kind to compare it to, I found this Piedmont grape to be a fruity yet structured counterpart to the common California Pinot Noir. For the price, I think I would have had much more trouble finding a Pinot that would have tasted as balanced and enjoyable. In my opinion and based on my palate, it would cost at least $30 to find a Pinot that compares.




Click here for additional wine info and scores as I reveal my affairs with the grape.

Cheers!


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