What wine for these trout, smoked????

A friend and I caught a mess of wild Michigan Brown Trout last evening. He says he will smoke them (he's really good at it) if I provide the wine.
So, which wine? Any suggestions?

A few weeks ago I found Muscadet to be a lovely match with smoked trout (store bought ).

The crisp acidity and strong minerality helped deal with the pungency of the smoked fish quite well IMHO.

So other white wines in that mold might work just as well I guess.

I had an Albarino with lightly seasoned grill trout two weeks ago. It was a good match. I don't know how it would work with the smoked trout.

[Jenise]

Riesling loves smoked foods. But so does pinot noir: at the Castel Girard in Morey St. Denis once upon a time, a starter course of smoked trout served with a leek mousse was one of the great wine-food matches of a week in Burgundy.

Depends...

What does he smoke them over? If its a lightly aromatic wood like alder or pecan...I'd go with Reisling. Especially if he uses brown sugar ( or any other sweetener) in his smoking process.

Pinot would go well with a heavier aromatic wood (oak, mesquite etc..) w/ a less sweet process.

Richard

I believe he brines them and that the brine includes brown sugar. He uses an aromatic wood, apple I think. So it certainly sounds like Riesling, which I personally would like.
Thanks much for the suggestions, all.
Back tonight for more trout.
-w

2000 Francois Cotat Sancerre 'Culs de Beaujeu'.

[Jenise]

I believe he brines them and that the brine includes brown sugar. He uses an aromatic wood, apple I think. So it certainly sounds like Riesling, which I personally would like.
Thanks much for the suggestions, all.
Back tonight for more trout.
-w

Oliver, I understand your reasoning, but as a fish smoker myself, I have to say that one typically adds both salt and sugar for balance--the result is not sweet per se, just fuller flavored. You can serve that with pinot all day long. Point is--serve what you like, but don't overcorrect. The reason you think probably isn't there.

Champagne=perfect, been there, done that.

Champagne here. Regards, Bob

PS: Beautiful brown trout, BTW. B.

A nicely chilled Mourvèdre rosé would be one choice.

Champagne=perfect, been there, done that.

That sounds like a winner, especially blanc de noir or rose.

Beautiful fish BTW. I'm partial to Alsatian Pinot Gris with trout. Texture is everything when it comes to trout and Pinot Gris.

[James Roscoe]

Champagne=perfect, been there, done that.

I thought that was ALWAYS true of champagne?

You are talking about one of my favorite foods, smoked trout. You have to go white and I think a full bodied white works best. If I could ever recommend a domestic chard for a match this would be the food. Since I cannot I would go with a Viognier. Just bought a domestic viognier, Icognito, and it would go great.
Walt

I believe he brines them and that the brine includes brown sugar. He uses an aromatic wood, apple I think. So it certainly sounds like Riesling, which I personally would like.
Thanks much for the suggestions, all.
Back tonight for more trout.
-w

As long as he doesn't smoke them using that Home Depot yardstick. Hey, Michigan Trout, Michigan Riesling. I once saw a tee shirt at a winery in the Finger Lakes that said "God created fish to go with Riesling".

I have three recommendations in no particular order:

1. Chablis
2. Chablis
3. Chablis

Wife and I had a Barefoot Chardonnay with trout recently in Colorado. Went together very well!

I tend to be partical to Pinot Gris from Alsace with smoked fish.
cheers, Bonnie

O.W.

I agree with a full-bodied white. At our first harvest celebration dinner, my wife, Rae Lee, smoked some fresh trout with Riesling wood from our vineyard and served it with toast points topped with melted gruyere cheese, and a small side of arugula with a mild viniagrette dressing of mustard, tarragon and walnut oil. That was the first course and served with our 1999 Wyncroft dry Riesling, Avonlea vineyard. It was a stunning combo.

James Lester

[Jenise]

O.W.

I agree with a full-bodied white. At our first harvest celebration dinner, my wife, Rae Lee, smoked some fresh trout with Riesling wood from our vineyard and served it with toast points topped with melted gruyere cheese, and a small side of arugula with a mild viniagrette dressing of mustard, tarragon and walnut oil. That was the first course and served with our 1999 Wyncroft dry Riesling, Avonlea vineyard. It was a stunning combo.

James Lester

Serve that for dinner Tuesday night. If I start driving in about an hour, I should be there about the time you get the corks out.

Thanks, all.
We smoked two of them this weekend. For Friday night, we paired with Left Foot Charley Dry Riesling, and a Pinot Gris that a friend had. I'm sorry but I have forgotten the producer. On Saturday, we paired the other fish with a semi-dry riesling from Peninsula Cellars and a pinot, a Latour Marsannay. Of the three, I preferred the semi-dry riesling as a match, but all three of the other wines had their fans. This weekend, I'll give viognier and champagne a try, and maybe Chablis.
Thanks again for the suggestions.
-w

Jenise,

You're on! Or maybe I should come out your way! I see you are "gazing into the San Juans" at your location. Would that be north of Seattle somewhere?? I grew up in Bellevue.

O.W.,

Glad the Riesling worked. Since I am much closer to you here in Buchanan, MI than Peninsula Cellars and Left Foot Charlie, I would like you to try our rich dry Riesling sometime. Down here in the SW of Michigan, we have more heat units and a longer growing season. This produces fruit ideal for making Riesling wines like Alsace and Austria. I get up to GR often, and our wines can be found at Bistro Bella Vita, The B.O.B., Bar Divani, Tre Cugini, and Rose's on Reed Lake.

Jim Lester
Wyncroft, LLC

Jim, thanks for the list. These are all places I frequent. Other places to try to get on your list are Reds, in Rockford, and Leo's, downtown. I know you were on the Sierra list, and I offered to buy all Wyncroft they had the night they closed, but they had none (or maybe the owners wanted it!!!). So I had to console myself with a mixed case of Perrin family wines.
I will definitely look for your dry Riesling at these restaurants. I assume they also have your bordeux blend. I've been anxious to try all of your wines since meeting you and Rae Lee at the House on the Hill in late August three or four years ago. (Beth and I were there celebrating an anniversary.)
Look forward to seeing you again. I wish you'd come to MoCOOL.