Okay, well he didn’t really give it to me, he pulled it out of the cellar (“cellar” being a fancy word for the wine rack downstairs).

When we thought about how to celebrate the holidays and to share them with you, the first thing that came to mind was Wine (of course).  So we raided the cellar and pulled out 12 bottles to pair and enjoy in the run up to Christmas. Here is the first of our “12 days of Wine”.

Day 1 – Fossil and Fawn 2017 Oregon White Wine (aka Gewürvignintocloniger)

Gerwhat?  Okay, so we tasted this wine at the “Uncommon Wine Festival”

The 2017 Oregon White Wine is a blend of 50% Riesling, 20% Savagnin Rose, 15% Gewürztraminer, 6% Fruilano, 6% Melon de Bourgogne, 3% Kerner (Yep, that’s a blend!).  They fondly refer to it as the Gewürvignintocliniger.

Here is how Jim and Jenny of Fossil & Fawn described it then.

Jim  So this is predominantly from one vineyard here where they have what I would call a bunch of kooky varieties, very uncommon white wine varieties, for example…

Jenny  A very technical term…(Kooky)

Jim  For example, in the Willamette Valley to my knowledge there are 14 plants of Kerner, which is a German grape and that makes up 3% of that wine.  All 14 plants of Kerner are in there.  And so there is a collection of unusual things, Also a collection of not so unusual things. 50% is Riesling which is fermented in an egg shape vessel.  And the next is 20% Savagnin Rose, which is a relative to Gewürztraminer.

Jenny  Which is also in there

Jim  Which, Gewürztraminer is in there at 15%.  It is 6% Fruilano, 6% Melon de Bourgogne and 3% Kerner, those 14 plants.  So the Riesling as I mentioned is fermented in egg the other 50% was fermented on it’s skins for about 4 days and we pressed off and then it went into a mix of Acacia wood barrels and French oak barrels, totally unfiltered native yeast fermented, we use that yeast that exists naturally on the skins of the grapes to carry out the fermentation.  We wanted to make something that was dry but rich and textural but aromatic, something kind of fun, food friendly.

From our July 2018 Interview with Jim and Jenny at the Uncommon Wine Festival at Vista Hills Vineyard.

Pairing a Gewürvignintocloniger

We reached out to Jim Fischer of Fossil and Fawn to ask about a perfect pairing for the holidays.  Remember he described the wine as “something kind of fun, food friendly”?  He also mentioned it as “summery” and well, it’s less than that right now.  But in true Fossil and Fawn form he responded with a perfect pairing for the season!

“As far as pairings go, I’m a fan of elevated lowbrow food. Recently, we had the opportunity to include our gewurvignintocloninger with this incredible Wisconsin brick cheese (from Widmer’s Cheese Cellars) that our friend and cheesemonger Sarah stuck under a Raclette cheese melter. The cheese slowly dripped over a bed of Wavy Lay’s potato chips. The way the aromatic elements in the wine played off the rich, slightly funky cheese was delightful. Also, melting cheese on chips is incredibly fun and a great holiday party activity. We highly recommend it!”

Jim Fischer, II Vice President of Wine Things, Fossil & Fawn

I think my response to Jim was “Brilliant!”  and it really is.  This wine has plenty of those Alsatian varieties in it, so a raclette is pretty perfect there, but going with a Wisconsin brick gives it a twist and then over Wavy Lay’s potato chips adds just the right “Fossil and Fawn” funk.

We will add a little typical raclette accessories: cornichons, a little smoked meat (ours will be Proscuitto to make the Fruilano feel at home), gherkins and instead of the traditional fingerling potatos, the wavy chips!

I don’t have a raclette cheese melter and in lieu of running out and buying one, we found an internet hack by Cook the Story

If you have a raclette grill you can go the fancier route.  Here’s a great post by eat, little bird with ideas for a dinner with raclette.

We couldn’t find a Wisconsin brick cheese, but our cheese monger suggested the Dubliner as a good substitution. (see the photo above)  We also picked up a raclette.

The wine had a bit of funk on the nose and then lots of different aromatics!  This wine is unfiltered. You can see that it is cloudy in the glass and you can see the sediment in the bottom of the bottle.  The first sip started off feeling simple and pleasant and then all the different parts of my mouth erupted with a little “hey what’s that and what’s that!”.  I won’t say this wine is complex in depth, it doesn’t necessarily evolve in the glass, but it has alot going on and is highly entertaining on your palate!  It is fun and funky…I’m channelling a little “Commodores” here with a little “Brick House” and “Play that funky music”.  The wine went well with everything, taking the pickles, cheese, chips and prosciutto out on the dance floor for a spin, each to a different song.

All in all, a really good time! It’s just $20 a bottle…that is if they have any left.

Join us again tomorrow for our Day 2 pick!

Want more?  Click through to all of our 12 Days of Wine posts!

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