This Sunday I told my wife I would be cooking dinner for her. The pork chops were defrosted and marinated in a garlic and sage paste and would be served with a side of polenta and roasted broccoli. The wine would be this month’s red selection, Rockbridge’s 2007 Pinot Noir. I was bolstered by the fact that there was a recent episode of “Top Chef” based on pairing pork with pinot, plus the recipe in this month’s tasting notes called for pork as well! I opened up the pinot as the polenta and broccoli went into the oven and tasted it to see what I was getting this month.

To be honest, the pinot tasted young and not quite ready for drinking yet, much as the tasting notes warned us. So I aerated the wine using a decanter and had it sit for about 45 minutes before serving it with dinner. Normally I don’t decant, but I think it was needed to help mellow out the tight mouth feel and nascent tannins I tasted in the wine at first sip—and well...we wanted to use the new decanter we got as a wedding present. The wine opened up and became much more accessible throughout the evening

Unfortunately, dinner did not turn out as well as I hoped. I should have used fresh sage instead of dried, and I overcooked the chops a bit. The polenta was premade and didn’t have the feel or taste I was hoping for; and while the broccoli turned out ok, that was far from my mind by that point. The wine alas, was not the best pairing with the grilled chops. My wife thought the Pinot more appropriate for a steak, as in its youth it almost had the feeling and body of a cabernet. While cleaning up, I had an inspiration: I dipped my finger in the pork drippings and then took a sip of the pinot...Success! The wine picked up the fatty pork jus and amplified it, adding a fruity bouquet and taste to the richness of the pork drippings. If only I had served the chops with a gravy or a sauce.

In settling down for the night, my wife decided she wanted some chocolate. She pulled out a candy bar with cherry filling and offered me some to have with the wine. This was by far the best pairing of the night, as I was finally able to identify the fruit notes in the wine...they were cherry flavors. The wine, chocolate, and cherry sauce were simply delicious together. Now if only there was a recipe to combine that with the pork...

Not coiciendentally enough, the Black Forest Pork Tenderloin recipe offered this month features a sauce made of...wait for it....pork drippings and cherries. I passed on the recipe when I first read it because I was worried how the pork would work with the cherries and the wine. Now I think it’d go well together. Ah well, maybe next month.