Stoan
When you say the word, it conjures up the other spelling. I imagine the stony cliffs of the Dolomite Mountains where this wine hails from.
From Cantina Tramin in the city of Tramin in Alto Adige, this white wine blends Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Bianco. Each variety matures on its lees for almost a year, then is blended, bottled, and held for an additional 3 months to meld before release to the public.
The name refers to the stony soil, which is called “stoan” in the local German dialect. Remember, this area is a blend of Italian and German influences, and both languages are used here.
What to pair? And how to figure that out!
When I was planning our pairing, I looked to reviews for the flavor profile.
*This is often the way we do tastings. With just one bottle, it is often impractical to open it and try to plan an immediate pairing, at least for me. I can debate over recipes and ingredients for a couple of days before settling on the one that feels best. So I look first to the winery tasting profile for the wine, then to other reviews to see what other interesting notes wine tasters may have found.*
The notes I found included peach, apricot, pear, kumquat, elderflower, jasmine, pineapple, banana, tomato leaves, green bell pepper, citrus zest, salt, mineral, mango, snow peas, Grapefruit, ginger, white flower, salted almond, pastry crust, crushed stone, sweet spice, quince, and fleur de sel.
Cod in a Coconut Lemongrass Sauce with Jasmin rice and vegetables
I settled on Cod in a Coconut Lemongrass Sauce with Jasmin rice and vegetables. (full recipe below)
I could not find fresh lemongrass. Just as well, infusing lemongrass flavor takes time. Instead, I found lemongrass paste. I sautéed it with grated ginger and garlic until it was fragrant, then added coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and lime zest and brought it to a simmer. I seasoned the cod and then placed it in the pan to poach in the mixture for about 10 minutes. This was plated with jasmine rice and garnished with fresh basil, green onions, carrots, snow peas, and parsley.
Stoan – The tasting and the pairing
As I mentioned, the above notes were gathered from the winery notes and other reviews to give me a bit of insight into the wine. We opened the bottle and dove in to see what our own impressions were.
The first thing we discovered was that this wine needed a bit of time to open up. On opening the bottle, the wine is a bit closed, with simple notes of lemon and lemon zest, perhaps a hint of pineapple and wet stone.
So, with our plates in front of us and our glasses full, we let the wine breathe a bit while we tasted the food. The coconut lemongrass sauce was good, but amping it up a bit might make it great. Increase the fish sauce, lemongrass, ginger, lime zest, and garlic. While we typically avoid red pepper flakes, I kinda think this dish would have benefited from a dash of them.
Stoan – my notes
We had set out a tasting and aroma board, filed with all the notes that I had originally jotted down from the winery and reviews. While I did not get banana on the nose of the wine, the pairing of the wine and banana was wonderful.
As the wine opened up, I found more notes of white flowers and more depth of the variety of citrus notes. The stone and crushed rock notes began to explode from the glass, as well as ginger, pear, and more green notes that are not green pepper, but more fresh green leaves and herbs.
So our conclusion? Let the wine open up to fully enjoy it, and amp up the recipe a bit to make it bolder.
More on the wines of Cantina Tramin and the Alto Adige Region
- Gewürztraminer in the Dolomites
- A Trio with Troy – Chardonnay from Alto Adige and a Carrot Trio
- Alpine Sauvignon Blanc with Smørrebrød and Smoked Trout Croquettes
- Trentino-Alto Adige – Trento, Bolzano and Wines of the Dolomites #ItalianFWT
- Bolzano and the Alto Adige Wines of Kellerei Bozen
- Celebrating Pinot Grigio from Northeast Italy with Halibut on a Pea Puree
Cod and Jasmine rice with Coconut Lemongrass sauce
This delicious coconut lemongrass sauce is perfect for poaching cod in and serving with vegetables and jasmine rice. It went wonderfully with this white wine blend from Cantina Tramin in Alto Adige, Italy.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Water
- 2 cups Jasmine Rice
- 2 6 oz Cod Fillets
- Salt
- Pepper
Coconut Lemon Grass Sauce
- 3/4 cup Coconut Milk
- 1 tablespoon Lemongrass paste
- 1 teaspoon Ginger , grated
- 1 clove Garlic , grated
- 1 tsp Lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lime Zest
Garnish
- 1/4 cup Parsley , chopped
- 1/4 cup basil , torn
- 1/2 cup carrot , Julienned
- 1/4 cup Green onion , chopped
- 1/2 cup snow peas , lightly steamed
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your Jasmine Rice. Place in a colander with small holes and rinse under cool water for several minutes, until the water runs clear.
- Place the rice and water in your Instant Pot (or cook according to the package directions) and add a pinch of salt.
- If using the Instant Pot, select pressure cook and adjust the time to 3 minutes. Allow 10 minutes of natural release when it completes, then flip the quick release valve) This will cook while you make the rest of the dish.
- Over medium heat in a large pot, sauté the lemongrass paste, grated ginger, and grated garlic until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and zest and bring to a simmer.
- Season the cod and place in the pan with the sauce. Allow to poach for 10 minutes.
- While everything is cooking, start the garnishes
- Steam the snow peas for 3 to 4 minutes in a vegetable steamer in a pot.
- Slice the green onion, basil, parsley, and carrots.
- When the rice is ready, fluff it, then pack it into 2 small bowls, and flip them to make a dome of rice in the center of your dish.
- Remove the cod and place one fillet on top of each mound of rice.
- Pour the remaining sauce over and around the rice.
- Garnish with the Snowpeas, carrot, basil, parsley, and green onion.
Notes
This gives you a delicious but mild sauce. In the future, I think I would double the lemongrass and ginger and perhaps triple the garlic. I suggested adding more fish sauce to taste and perhaps a bit of red pepper flakes. Also, finishing with a bit of lime zest on the fish would be a nice touch.
Nutrition Information
Yield
2Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 468Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 16gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 8mgSodium 392mgCarbohydrates 69gFiber 11gSugar 5gProtein 12g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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