Driving Sideways

Nobilo
Sauvignon Blanc, 2005
Marlborough, New Zealand
Rating: 8.4









It's not often I see the girlfriend during the week, considering we currently live about 100 miles down from each other on the racetrack of hell known as I-94.

I hate driving on that thing. Cars going 75 passing trucks going 74, staying in the left lane to pass a truck barely discernable on the horizon. Here are the basic problems of I-94:

1. Stupid people - I'm driving to Kalamazoo last night and Joe Honda pulls the usual routine. With the assertiveness of a dead donkey, Joe drives the span of a semi he's passing in probably 60-90 seconds. Because of this awesome miracle, there's now about 20 cars behind him (I'm watching all of this in my rearview; I saw it coming, so I zig-zagged around the putz) waiting to pass the semi.

2. Cell phones - I wasn't aware that talking on a phone cause limited usage of more than one extremity. Apparently feet don't work that well; neither does one's left arm (focusing primarily on the driver's ability to use the blinker and slightly turn the wheel.

3. Manifest destiny - Anyone who's paid attention to history knows that unnecessary death, diseases and problems occur when one tries to achieve manifest destiny.

"THE ROAD IS MINE!?!!!!"

"@#%&@#%(*&$!@"

For some reason people get offended when they get passed on the left. They then proceed to speed up to your speed, likely to prove a point. I'm just not sure what it is yet.

But I felt like seeing her and taking her out to dinner. We don't do it often because of lack of time and money, so this was a long time coming.

She'd been eyeing this place, the Oakwood Bistro, next to her health food store for awhile. So we decidedly stopped in for some 'fud.'

Now, I have to preface this all by saying that the girlfriend cannot eat gluten (which is found in wheat, barley, other grains), soy, or dairy. So we're not going to be the easiest slam-dunk of a table. But we're not too picky.

So we sit down, and the restaurant seems pretty clean and friendly. It's oddly narrow for a place of fine dining, but the proof is in the pudding. Or the crab cakes.

I snag the wine menu first, and am sadly disappointed. There's nothing incredibly substantial on the list. All of their cheap glasses/bottles are from subpar performers ($6 for a glass of Non Vintage Foxhorn Cabernet Sauvignon?). I was tempted to just go for a beer.

However, I noticed that they had Nobilo's Icon on the menu. Having had it 6 months ago at a tasting and enjoyed it, I figured it would this wine or no wine. GF ordered their Beef Tournedos, a French dish of Filet Mignon, sautéed spinach and peppers. I ordered their Blue Crab Cakes (highly recommended) and the Wild Sockeye Salmon.

Now, The Icon Sauvignon Blanc is not the best pairing for either entrée; I understand that. GF doesn't really drink reds, and I really didn't feel like drinking an overpriced watery Pinot Noir. I guess it's to no fault of the restaurant. I'm bettin' they probably sell the crap out of their wine list.

So Jen the server brings over the wine a few minutes after the crab cakes arrive, and it was pretty much as good as I remembered.

Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs tend to be a bit acidic and reallllly strong with the citrusy components. They're usually not subtle, and people don't drink them for subtlety. They tend to be drunk for overt fruit flavor and a refreshing style.

The Nobilo Icon is a bit different.

Certainly some noticable lemon peel and grapefruit aromas, but the body was a bit different. Still refreshing stylistically, the Icon had hints of the land the grapes were grown on. And that doesn't seem to happen a whole lot with the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. It was more elegant and pleasant than "kick-ass," more leafy green and asparagus/pistachio than melon and lime.

It ended up not being a terrible match to my Salmon. The Salmon was slightly dry, but that was my only true complaint. We both were impressed with the Icon, and our food. We decided to go for it (with the GF risking stomach issues on diary) and try their S'more Pot de Crème (just a fancy s'more, nothing more). It was a nice way to top off the meal.

The Lesson Learned is this: Restaurant wine lists are usually unadventurous and a bit overpriced (to be fair, there's a lot of money that goes into the upkeep on the things like glasses, cleaning, returned bottles that customers say are bad when really they are not).

Hopefully there's a gem or two on every list...stick with those instead of the someone telling you that you should drink this when you eat that. In theory, of course that's true. A perfect food/wine pairing is a beautiful thing. But your Pork Medallions ain't gonna taste like the Last Supper if you're drinking Night Train Express.

Just keep that in mind.

-Justin