Pasta with Sage and a Wine Lesson

After a sweltering day with 90 degree temperatures and humidity to match the day is ending in a much better manner.

I remember reading somewhere / sometime about a simple pasta dish primarily using fresh sage, butter, and Pecorino cheese as its sauce. Not being able to find the recipe we improvised and came up with a winner. The pasta was pappardelle, a very wide egg noodle. The sauce was a tablespoon of melted butter and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Those two were warmed together until the butter was melted and then we stirred in two tablespoons of chopped fresh sage and a few leaves of chopped parsley. The pasta and sauce were tossed together and we added cracked black pepper, a wee bit of salt and about two tablespoons of grated Pecorino cheese. The results are pictured above. Simple, rich and delicious are three words that come to mind.

The wine was the last two glasses of the 2006 Kincaid Ridge Viognier Roussanne reviewed in the post below. As a general rule I find that white wines don't taste better after two days, even if they are kept cool and under vacuum. In this case the general rule failed because this wine was better after breathing for two days. The edges came together and the wine was perfectly balanced. The first glass was a little cool so judgment was reserved, but the second glass had come to cool, room temperature and it was the best glass from the bottle.

When we do the comparison this fall between the 2006 and 2008 vintages I will read this note and let those two wines breathe a little before tasting.

Good meal and a very good wine.