2010 Carabella Pinot Noir Willamette and Zind Humbrecht

Dined at Huntley Tavern last night to celebrate Joan's birthday. It was surprisingly my first visit to the Summit restaurant. I guess one of my reasons for not going before was because they sell wine. 

   New Jersey is blessed or cursed because of it's outdated liquor license process. Licenses are issued based upon a town's population. This results in a proliferation of byob restaurants. 

   Picking wine for a table of 8 is always a chore. We started with 2010 Charabella Pinot Noir. I hadn't heard of the winery, which was odd because I had spent a week in Willamette in 2011. 

   The wine was typical of Oregon. More earth than fruit. Acidity was medium and tannins were smooth and medium as well. Paired well with sirachia wings, mushroom gnocchi, duck confit pizza and truffle Mac and cheese. (We share a lot). 

   We were going to need another bottle so I ordered an Alsatian Riesling from Zind Humbrecht. The Riesling kind of stole the show. The medium plus acidity proved to be a worthy opponent for the rich eclectic food on the table. The minerality of the wine was the cherry on