GMG Perfect Pairings: Grilled Lamb Chops and Pinot Noir

When the movie Sideways came out a few years ago, it was enough to make any self-respecting sommelier take the cliff.  Honestly, I got so tired of responding to pinot noir questions that I almost turned on it, my most favorite of red wine grapes.  For the record, comparing pinot noir to merlot is rather like comparing Billie Holiday to Beyoncé, or claiming that fresh Bing cherries are "better" than delicious plums. Wines are their own thing, and sing best with certain foods, so learning the fine art of food and wine pairing is happy homework. Get studying!

Lamb and pinot noir is one of those sacred pairings. It just works. Unsurprisingly, in wine producing areas where pinot noir is featured, you often find lamb dishes to be a part of the indigenous cuisine. This is especially true these days in New Zealand, where pinot noir has taken center stage and where most chefs agree the finest lamb is now raised. Lamb is a meat dish without the fatty structure of beef, and is often prepared with herbs and spices that work well with the aromatics of pinot noir.

Yahoo! has a great database of recipes, and for a busy new mom like me, it's so convenient to be able to pull up a quick idea for dinner based on what happens to be in my fridge and in my wine rack. And since we all have different budgets for different meals, I've come up with a wine pairing at each of three different price points, from $ to $$ to $$$.

For starters, here's the YUMMY lamb chop dish I made the other night...I upped the amount of balsamic for the record, and added some extra fresh chopped rosemary, but found this to be a very easy and delicious meal for two. I made some super-easy couscous with black olives, too, to serve the lamb chops over. We cracked open a nicer bottle of pinot noir for the evening, the Roessler pinot from Sonoma, but each of the other two wines suggested below would also suit this meal well. Bon appétit!

SUGGESTED PINOT NOIR PAIRINGS:

$$$:  Roessler Pinot Noir, "Red Label"  (Sonoma, CA - 2005) - $30

http://www.roesslercellars.com/ 

$$:  Giesen Pinot Noir  (Canterbury, New Zealand - 2004) - $18  

http://www.giesen.co.nz/ 

$:  Castle Rock Pinot Noir  (Willamette Valley, Oregon - 2006) - $11 

http://www.castlerockwinery.com/