Trimbach Riesling

Wine:  Trimbach	Type: Riesling
Country: France	Region: Alsace
Rating: Very Good	Price: $20
Recommendation: Recommended

For a long time I have considered Riesling to be an overly sweet wine that I didn't much care for, probably due to trying some very cheap examples a long time ago. My thoughts on Riesling started to change after a trip to Germany where I tried some excellent wines. The wine we are sampling this week was recommended to specifically go with the food and it turned out to be a very good recommendation. This wine is called Trimbach Riesling and it comes from the Alsace region of France, which is on the Eastern Border with Germany and Switzerland to the south.  Another surprise to me was that Rieslings also come from France, although the region is right on the border of Germany and has changed hands many times over the years.

The wines in the region are influenced heavily by two geographical features, the Vosges Mountains in the west and the Rhine River in the East.  Winds in the region tend to be Westerly and the mountains act as a shelter from rain. The result is a somewhat dry and sunny climate with cold winters and hot summers.

The wine itself is a somewhat dry white, without the typical sweetness that I have associated with Riesling in the past. Definitive fruit tastes with distinct apple and citrus even hints of lemon. It is an easy drinking wine, light in color and with some complex flavors. The recommendation was a very good one.

The winery dates back as far as 1626 and has been owned by the Trimbach family since that time, covering around 12 generations. Grape selection is predominantly from the Ribeauville region, the town by the same name is a quaint medieval town and the surrounding soils are primarily limestone based.

  

The food I selected this time is another of my favorites from South East Asia, shrimp Laksa. The origin of the dish is unclear, it apparently combines Chinese and Malay influences found in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It is now common to find it in many South East Asian and Pacific Rim countries. There are several types and variations of Laksa which I will not go into now, we will focus on the “Curry Laksa” variety.  The Laksa we cooked is a noodle based coconut curry soup and we scaled back a little on the spices to make it more acceptable to the family. I would recommend using all the spices to give it the “full flavor”. I must admit I was a little disappointed in the recipe, and since I have discovered another recipe that I have used in the past so I may add this again sometime in the distant future.

Laksa Recipe

1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp—shelled and deveined, shells reserved

1 onion, quartered

1 carrot, sliced

3 large shallots, quartered

4 jalapeños, seeded and coarsely chopped

1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger

1/4 cup macadamia nuts

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce

1/4 cup canola oil

2 plump lemongrass stalks—bottom 8 inches only, outer layer removed, stalk cut into 2-inch lengths

One 14 1/2-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 pound Thai flat rice noodles (pad thai), soaked in warm water for 10 minutes

Salt

Lime wedges, for serving

Combine the shrimp shells with the onion, carrot and 8 cups of water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.

Simmer over moderate heat until the stock is bright orange and reduced to 5 cups, about 30 minutes. Strain and reserve the stock.

Puree the shallots, jalapeños, ginger, coriander and turmeric with 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce and 2 tablespoons of the canola oil.

Heat in a pot the 2 tablespoons of oil that remain, add seasoning paste, cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant.  Approximately 2 minutes. Add the lemongrass and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture darkens slightly and the oil separates, approximately 10 minutes.

Add the shrimp stock, coconut milk, brown sugar and the remaining 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. Simmer over moderate heat until the soup is reduced to 6 cups, approximately 15 minutes.

Boil a large pot of water, cook the rice noodles just until pliable, approximately 1 minute. Drain, shake excess water. Transfer to soup bowls.

Add the shrimp to the soup and cook until pink and curled, about 5 minutes. Season the soup with salt and ladle it over the noodles. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

Rating: Very Good

Available from Specs in Houston

Winery Web Site

http://www.trimbach.fr

http://www.trimbach.fr/domaine-trimbach/

Images for Ribeauville: https://www.google.com/search?q=Ribeauvill%C3%A9&espv=2&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=37ecU9zDJ5S2yATepYFo&ved=0CBwQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=799