After a great Russian River Pinot a couple weeks ago, I decided start exploring more from the left coast (no political pun intended....ha ha, well maybe just a little).  Anyway, Angie suggested we do some Pinot and food pairings.  Our first exercise put Cambria Julia's Vineyard 2006 with roasted pork tenderloin, creamy Gruyere grits and a tomato, red pepper relish.  Like a baseball player, it's great to hit one out of the park on the first try.

The wine earned an Editor's Choice and 93 points from Wine Enthusiast (December 2009).  The author called  it "the best Pinot Noir at that price on the market."   Given some breathing time, the wine really evolves in the glass with cola, cherry, strawberry, and spice aromas.  Flavors of tart cherries leads to a nice long finish.  The color is lighter like a French Pinot, garnet with some hints of brick red.

Cambria Estate in located in Santa Barbara Country on what is called the Santa Maria Bench.  With cooling breezes from the Pacific Ocean (17 miles away), the Pinot Noir grape thrives here. This particular vineyard is named after the owner' youngest daughter.  

The meal was to die for.  Angie rubbed the pork tenderloin with rosemary, thyme, olive oil and a little mustard and roasted it to perfection.  Now for someone born north of the Mason-Dixon Line, grits is a bit of an oddity.  I remember Cream of Wheat on a cold Illinois morning with butter and sugar.  A dish with similar consistency served with cheese was alien to me for some time.  Angie cooked the grits with gruyere cheese and cream. I'll never add sugar again!  To top it off, she made a relish with basil, parsley, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, olive oil and white balsamic.  The pork, grits, and relish presented different but complementing textures and flavors.  The wine enhanced it all.

After this meal and wine, I hope we haven't set the bar too high, but it's will be fun trying...