A Perennial Favorite Dinner With a Perennial Wine

It is Friday night and I always try to open a decent to excellent bottle of wine and pair it with some appropriate food. J and I passed by a Whole Foods and decided to stop in and found center cut pork loin chops on sale. A no brainer for me. One of my favorite ways to do this cut is on the grill, salted, peppered, a little olive oil; pluck some fresh sage leaves from the garden and place them on the chops during the last minute or so before taking them off the coals. I hate burnt herbs. My only complaint? The leaves are very young and so very small. Normally I need 2 to 3 leaves to cover the chops; tonight I used 4 and they still didn't do the trick coverage wise. The sage gives the pork a touch of earthy, pungent herbaceousness and a touch of mintyness. For me this is just a fantastic combo.

Add some fresh asparagus from the garden with a little roasted garlic olive oil and lemon and grill that as well. Serve with some simple mashed potatoes and voila - Friday night dinner.

The wine tonight is a bottle of 2004 Flowers Perennial. Walt and Joan Flowers (coincidentally in the plant nursery business) bought a 321 acre property in Sonoma less than 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean in 1990. Shortly after their winery was completed in 1997 they were able to purchase an additional 327 acres from a neighbor and in 2004 they had 2 distinct vineyards, Francis Thompson Vineyard and Sea View Ridge Vineyard. Their winery and vineyards rest in the AVA know as Sonoma Coast. Their Perennial wine is a proprietary red and the blend changes with the vintage. The 2004 Perennial consisted of 76% Pinot Noir, 15% Syrah, 8% Pinot Meunier and 1% Chardonnay and was aged in 100% French oak for 14 months.

The color is a medium bright red with a touch of amber on the edges. Aromas of vanilla, cherries, bourbon, milk chocolate, oak with very slight heat. The palate has soft tannins, a round medium body and flavors of cherries, milk chocolate, supported by decent acidity, moderate finish. I would rate this Good+. Buy again: Maybe.

The wine paired fairly well with this dinner, but I would have liked more lift. If the fruit had been more focused and bright it would have been a perfect match for me. Cheers!