My husband and I recently decided to go on a much needed date night. What do most suburban couples do on date night: dinner and a movie. We ate at a popular local restaurant called Whiskey Cake. Whiskey Cake serves up tasty farm-to-kitchen dishes & cocktails out of their ‘from scratch only’ kitchen and bar using slow-cooking methods on live wood grill, smoker and spit because everything tastes better that way, while highlighting local, farm fresh ingredients throughout their menu. The delicious menu changes seasonally and the whiskey cake dessert; well it is simply mind blowing good!

Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir: The wine we selected for dinner was a bottle of Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir. This wine is a deep garnet that is inviting to the nose with scents of dark cherry, blackberries, baking spices and oak. On the palate it opened with deep flavors of cherry and blackberry, followed by an earthiness along with baking spices, a hint of white pepper and oak. Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir fruit paired nicely with its acidity in a medium body wine with medium tannins, making this a food friendly wine. We started our dinner with garlic hummus and fresh, soft pita bread. The creaminess of the dish worked well with the acidity of the wine; leading to a longer finish. For our entrees we paired the Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir with roasted lamb dip served with onion marmalade, horseradish cream, lamb au jus on a brioche roll; and edamame, mushroom and quinoa burger with tomato, onion, arugula, and tzatziki sauce on a wheat bun. Both dishes paired excellently with the Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir; demonstrating the versatility of the wine as well as its balance. Additional food pairing suggestions include cedar plank salmon, roasted duck, pork belly ramen or rotisserie chicken.  We thoroughly enjoyed drinking the Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir and look forward to purchasing a few bottles for our cellar. Though the wine offered a delicious array of flavors, I believe it will continue to improve with a few more years of proper cellaring.

Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir was comprised of 100% estate grown Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir from Joseph Phelps’ Freestone Vineyard. The grapes were picked early each morning to preserve freshness and acidity in the fruit. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks with regular punch downs before being aged for 9 months in 25% new and 75% two to three year old French oak barrels. The wine was bottled in August 2012. This wine is well distributed and can be found between $21-$30. To find Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir near you click here. I recommend you buy a few bottles of this wine, some for now and some to open in a few years.

Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir was a product of the Freestone Vineyard of Joseph Phelps. As with all Joseph Phelps wines, Fogdog Pinot Noir was given great attention to detail. “For many years the California wine industry considered climate the most important factor in grape growing, with site and soil considerations virtually ignored. Today, vintners and growers lean more toward the European approach of letting the individual site drive the winemaking process. The French term which describes this concept is terroir – meaning not just the soil, but also the rainfall, drainage, exposure and climate specific to a give site. Today the goûte de terroir or “taste of the soil” is what the wines from Joseph Phelps Vineyards are all about.” This philosophy was as evident in Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir.

My song selection: The song I have selected to pair with Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir is Feelin Alright by Joe Cocker. This is a groovy, fun song with soul and style.  It is well balanced just like Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir. Additionally, after sippin on this pleasing pinot noir you will be feelin alright as well!

Get yourself a bottle of Fogdog 2011 Pinot Noir and let me know what song you would pair with it. Cheers!