Hardy was at it again, this time hosting an online wine pairing challengewith Popeye’s fried chicken.  Even though he’s now a west coaster, he hasn’t forgotten his roots here in the south.  The least we could do is host a remote site here in Atlanta with some of the local wine and foodie crew and share our thoughts on the wine picks with the rest of the online world via Twitter and Ustream.  The wine list was an intriguing and eclectic bunch including Hungarian Tokaji, a sparkling Gamay, sparkling Vouvray, and 2 Rieslings (German and Washington St.).  The official lineup:

2005 Kiralyudvar Tokaji Sec - Dry Hungarian Furmint

Renardat-Fache Bugey du Cerdon- Sparkling Gamay

2008 Snoqualmie “Naked” Riesling-

Francois Pinon Vouvray Brut Non-Dosé  (I screwed up and didn’t get the “Non-Dose’”! so our opinions of the Vouvray differed)

2008 Willi Schaefer Estate QBA

Both sparklers were quite yeasty, like shoving my nose into a loaf of bread.  The Vouvray, made from Chenin Blanc, gave off some rotten/bruised apple aromas (known to be caused by acetaldehydes), while the Gamay included stewed veggies on the nose with a strawberry explosion on the palate that I thought countered the spice of the chicken fairly well.  Of course, the Willi Schaefer was a signature Riesling with citrus, honey and petrol aromas and cleaned the palate well with appropriate acid and slight sweetness.  For more on Riesling and its distinct characteristics including the petrol-causing TDN, check this earlier post.

Our remote party mostly felt the Will Schaeffer was the best pairing followed by the Gamay though Broderick went against the stream with the Vouvray, Tokaji and Willi.  Thanks to Broderick, Joe, Brad, Matt and my wife for hanging out and participating in this challenge at Chateau Wine Tonite!