We are at the halfway point with Day 6 of our 12 Days of Wine 2021!
Today we head further north in Oregon to the Willamette Valley to taste a Dry Riesling from Trisaetum.
Day 6
Trisaetum 2020 Coast Range Estate Dry Riesling
The winery itself is in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, but they produce wines from fruit within the Willamette Valley including their Coast Range Estate Dry Riesling, which is a wine we fell for when we visited and try to pick up again whenever we are in the area.
The grapes for this wine come from their Coast Range Estate which is located in the Yamhill Carlton AVA. The vineyard sits on steep slopes with a range of soils including sedimentary rocks and volcanic basalts.
What does it taste like?
The mineral notes hit you first with limestone, followed by notes of green pear, lime zest, white peach and chalk.
This wine is not available on their site. Perhaps this is released first to their club, or perhaps they do not release the vintages this early (I did pick this up in the tasting room), but you can find their available Rieslings here https://www.trisaetum.com/Our-Wines/Riesling.
The coast Range Estate typically retails for about $32.
Smoked trout
crème fraiche,
flavored salt,
thinly sliced lime
and fresh rubbed rosemary
So this had been planned to be a super simple pairing with the delicious smoked trout that I usually pick up from Trader Joe’s. Sadly they do not currently have it in stock! I was undeterred and picked up rainbow trout, wood chips, and a smoker box for my grill and voila, we have smoked trout!
It does take a bit of time. You have to soak the trout overnight in a brine of heavily salted water, then soak your wood chips. On the grill over low heat it will take about 2 hours to smoke the trout. The details are below, and the results are delicious.
This is topped with créme fraiche, a truffled salt, thinly sliced lime and fresh rubbed rosemary. (I do encourage you to try this, and if you can find already smoked trout get it!)
Trisaetum
Ages ago when visiting the Willamette Valley we came across Trisaetum and stopped because they made Riesling. At the time few places in the Willamette Valley had a Riesling and we were intrigued.
The tasting room is beautiful and includes an art gallery with work by the owner, winemaker & artist James Frey. James began in photography as a young child then moved into photojournalism. He moved to painting and more abstract work after college, before getting into wine.
He and Andrea Lassa bought their property near McMinnville to raise their young children Tristen and Tatum (after whom the winery is named)
They have 3 Estate Vineyards, Ribbon Ridge Estate in the Ribbon Ridge AVA, The Coast Range Estate in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, and the Wichmann Dundee Estate in the Dundee Hills AVA. This gives them a variety of soils and microclimates to work with.
We’ve written bits about this winery before in Riesling & Its Power with Pairings and Wines I can’t forget Part 3
Smoked trout crème fraiche, flavored salt, and thinly sliced lime and fresh rubbed rosemary
Smoking trout is not difficult, it just takes a little time. But it is so worth it! We topped ours with crème fraiche, flavored salt, and thinly sliced lime and fresh rubbed rosemary and paired it with a dry Oregon Riesling.
Ingredients
- Trout fillets with the skin on
- salt
- water
- crème fraiche
- lime
- artisan salt
- fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Soak the trout in saltwater overnight
- At least an hour prior to smoking, soak your wood chips. I used oak chips.
- Heat your grill to about 400
- Drain the trout, pat it dry, and oil the skin side so it won't stick to the grill
- Drain your wood chips and place them in your smoker box
- place the smoker box over the flame on one side of your grill
- When the chips begin to smoke, turn the other side of the grill off, and turn the side that is on down (you are looking to get to 140 to 160 degrees
- Place the trout on the side without heat on a top rack.
- Close the lid and let it smoke, checking every 30 minutes.
- Add more chips as needed (make sure they are soaked)
- Smoke for 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the thickness of your fillets.
- To plate, place a bit of the smoked trout in the bottom of the spoon
- Top with a dollop of crème fraiche
- Sprinkle with artisan salt
- Top with a thin slice of lime that has been quartered.
- Rub a couple of fresh rosemary leaves between your fingers to release the oils and fragrance and place them on top.
Notes
If you can find it, you can take the shortcut that I had intended and use premade smoked trout to make this super quick!
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. 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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