Wine Time: L'Uva Bella Wine Gallery

“The black currant fruity taste of the wine was great with the Swai.”

By Barbara Keck

L’Uva Bella Wine Gallery in Reno has a great wine selection and is dedicated to wine education. Debby Bullentini, the tireless proprietor of the shop, extends her skills in matching wine and food pairings to a monthly event at the Lodge at Galena on Mount Rose Highway.

As an aperitif, Debby chose the Carbo Cava Brut, a Spanish sparkler that is fermented in the bottle. The blend of grapes (60 percent Xarel-lo, 30 percent Macabeo, 10 percent Parellada) results in a pale, yet brilliant, yellow wine. Fine light aromas for this fruit and floral wine make it an exquisite mouth-filling Brut. 11.5 percent alcohol. $12.99 the bottle.

The first course, a ragout of pork, tomato and white beans is a hearty dish that paired well with the Brokenwood Semillon from Australia. This is a wine from the Hunter Valley, a wine region that’s a daytrip from Sydney. Brokenwood makes this 100 percent Semillon with a classic New World style, using this revered Old World grape. The color is a luminous green/yellow that lets you anticipate the zesty lemongrass aroma. The structure of the wine is tight, but the citrus and slightly acidic finish is a perfect complement to the hearty pork dish. 11 percent alcohol. $20.99 bottle.

The Vina Sardosol Blanco 2008 from the Navarra region of Spain was a good pairing with the salad course. Generally, salads are difficult to pair with wine, but this salad from Chef Lindsay of mixed beets with mustard and baby greens was well suited to this wine with its minimal acidity, nice bouquet and apple-apricot floral notes. The blend is 70 percent Chardonnay and 30 percent Viura. 13.5 percent alcohol. $10.99 bottle.

I hadn’t heard of the fish Swai, but this is an Indonesian species much like Sole, and it is delicious. Baked with lemon, lentils and zucchini, it paired nicely with the Domaine Lafage Grenache Noir 2008, a French wine made from the Rhone varietal Grenache. The black currant fruity taste of the wine, with medium tannin, and a rich and concentrated palate, was great with the Swai.

Desserts really should come first in any dinner, despite what your mother said. The chef’s yummy poached pears with chocolate-coffee sabayon, accompanied by homemade sugar cookies, was incredible with the Sandeman’s Founder’s Reserve Ruby Port. Sandeman’s has made port since 1790, and this traditional ruby-red port had powerful flavors and a wonderful brightness to it. $23.99 bottle.

For more information on wine offerings, visit luvabellawinegallery.com or call (775) 831-1110. Call The Lodge at Galena at (775) 849-2100.

Search past columns at winebiznews.blogspot.com. Coming soon: Barbara’s iphone App on Sierra Foothill Wineries.