Pinot Noirs and what to eat after a wine tasting

Tonight T gets inspired be the newsletter from aov.dk. It is a nice source of wine events in Denmark and maintains a calendar that is very helpful. Know your Pinot noir catches the eye and so we go to Kjær og Sommerfeldt for a wine tasting of various Pinot Noirs.
The first is a cava rosé from Cordoniu. Fine bubbles and well balanced and dry, but not that complex - a nice aperitif (7/10).
Next is a 2008 Burgundy Pinot Noir from Chateau Meursault, which is a little bland, but has a nice aftertaste (6,5/10).
The next wine is from California, where the mists flowing in over Monterrey bay give the colder climate required for Pinot Noir. The wine is a 2009 Fog head (something that most Danes have a little difficulty pronouncing). Still, it is much too jammy to our taste and furthermore the 14,5% removes most of Pinot's elegance, we think. 6/10.
After this comes a bottle from Oregon, a 2008 Erath. This is much more to our liking, but still not too complex, 6,7/10
The next one is a 2009 Tasman Bay from New Zealand. It takes a little time in the glass, but after a little while it displays itself very nicely, well balanced and with a long aftertaste. 7,5/10
Now, it is time for some real Pinot Noir - a 2006 Vougeot from Le Clos du Prieuré Rouge. We like it very much, but when you compare the price tag (45€) to the Tasman Bay's (14€) it is simply too expensive. Still it is well balanced with a long aftertaste 8/10.
The last wine of the tasting is also Californian from Russian River valley - a 2008 Sequana from Dutton ranch Vinyard. Like the Fog head, this is also quite jammy, but the fruit is more easily discernible and better balanced. The aftertaste is also long and smooth. However, K thinks that it is a bit over-designed, which almost kills the pinot noir's elegant hallmark notes. 7,5/10.

We are now in a difficult situation with regards to dinner. It's a bit late and this calls for something quick and we would like to continue drinking Pinot Noir for dinner. In the end we opt for speed and go home and prepare an Spaghetti al'arrabiata, but alas we cannot drink Pinot to this and settle for a Rendola Rosso di Montalcino 2007.

The sugo is made out of 200 gr diced pancetta, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, parsley, a generous splash of white wine and 500 gr de-seeded fresh san marzano tomatoes... and of course chili.
The de-seeding of the tomatoes is done by squeezing hard over the sink until the seeds splash all over the walls and not where they are aimed.

We take one whole chili and decide to de-seed half of it. K, always the one most keen on spicyness decides that rather than de-seeding one side, we should de-seed the lower half as there is no seeds in that part. She gets away with it and that's good because it turns out that this is just right.

While the spaghettini are boiling, fry the pancetta, add the 'dryer' (onion, garlic, chili) ingredients to soften when the pancetta is tanned, then the tomatoes and herbs and a tiny squeeze of tomato paste. Add wine, s/p and perhaps a bit of sugar or honey if the tomatoes are not in super shape. When mixing with the pasta you might want to add a bit of the pasta water if it seems too dry. And a bit of your best olive oil – just for taste and texture. Serve with grated parmasan cheese. 8/10

The dish and wine serves its purpose and even though we try to watch a movie neither of us stays awake for more than a few minutes.