Wine With Bulgogi

Doing bulgogi tonight (some sort of grilled beast is mandatory by SWMBO, who likes her culinary traditions like steak on Friday nights even though we are both retired and Fridays no longer represent the end of labour until Monday morning.

Giving some thought to what wines will best complement the dish. To remind what goes into it, aside from beef, the marinade contains Asian pear, soy sauce. brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, grated ginger, and (this sets it apart from simple teriyaki) some gochujang (Korean red pepper paste).

My inclination would be a syrah based wine (think we opened a Fox Creek JSM last time) but if anyone else has any interesting suggestions, I'd be delighted to hear them!

PS - the side will be bean sprouts with togarashi, sesame oil and soy.

Syrah sounds good. I also think a spicy red, like carignan, would work well. And, if you have a big, phenolic white -- gewurztraminer or cortese (Gavi) -- especially if slightly off-dry, should marry happily.

With the grilling, a bit of sweetness in the marinade, and the hot pepper, I'd try a substantial Zinfandel - my preference would be an older Ridge Lytton Springs or Geyserville (of course, that's what I have in the cellar ). Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I have a few zins - including early 90s Renwood and Geyserville old enough to be called Geezerville. Will have to go fossicking in the cellar to see if they are really there (sometimes bottles get drunk without being removed from the data bank - very fristrating, looking for phantom bottles!)

Also have a Fox Creek 2000 JSM back up!

[Jenise]

I'd go zinfandel or Aussie shiraz too, Bill, knowing you have the latter and need opportunities to drink them.

I went with the Fox Creek JSM - the ripeness of the wine worked well against the spice in the bulgogi.

Tonight pork tenderloin with a Dijon/creme fraiche sauce - red or white wine? Pondering everything from a rich Chard on one end to a cru Beaujolais on the other. Hmmm - or a fairly dry Riesling, or.......

Be careful regarding the sesame oil in the side dish. In my experience, the aroma of sesame oil is capable of obliterating any nuances in red wine.

-Paul W.

I went with the Fox Creek JSM - the ripeness of the wine worked well against the spice in the bulgogi.

Tonight pork tenderloin with a Dijon/creme fraiche sauce - red or white wine? Pondering everything from a rich Chard on one end to a cru Beaujolais on the other. Hmmm - or a fairly dry Riesling, or.......

Add morels and Vin Jaune to that sauce.

Jenise will tell you that even ex-lawyers have no morels!

That is actually a great idea - think I have a pouch of morels here somewhere, however while I majored in Jura-sprudence, I lack any Vin Jaune lurking in my cellar.

The original recipe was something that I was thinking harder about Riesling for, but if I add morels that might tend one toward a white Rhone (have 2018 Pierre Gaillard St. Joseph Blanc, or 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris Granit Blanc on hand). Decisions!

But then there is not much else to do these days, so pondering wine and food is as good as anything.

[Jenise]

I went with the Fox Creek JSM - the ripeness of the wine worked well against the spice in the bulgogi.

Tonight pork tenderloin with a Dijon/creme fraiche sauce - red or white wine? Pondering everything from a rich Chard on one end to a cru Beaujolais on the other. Hmmm - or a fairly dry Riesling, or.......

I'm a fan of pinot and pork, and with the mustard? Burgundy!

Jenise will tell you that even ex-lawyers have no morels!

Well, they are a cut and dried matter, like a lot of legal things.

That is actually a great idea - think I have a pouch of morels here somewhere, however while I majored in Jura-sprudence, I lack any Vin Jaune lurking in my cellar.

I have a stash of dried morels that are soon to find themselves in hot water.

The original recipe was something that I was thinking harder about Riesling for, but if I add morels that might tend one toward a white Rhone (have 2018 Pierre Gaillard St. Joseph Blanc, or 2017 Domaine Vincent Paris Granit Blanc on hand). Decisions!

Yes.