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Copper River salmon season

The Seattle P-I calls it one of the most overhyped - and overpriced - food items in the Northwest, but Copper River salmon sure is good.

Copper River salmon has rich, oily meat, so it is quite robust and lends itself to a wide variety of wine pairings. If you plan to get in on the hype, here are some wine suggestions:

Pinot Gris: Oregon's signature white wine is fantastic with grilled salmon because of its ample fruit and acidity. From Oregon, try King Estate, Elk Cove, Benton-Lane, Maysara, Winter's Hill and Dobbes. From Washington, check out Hogue, Columbia Crest and Maryhill. From B.C., consider Wild Goose.

Riesling: This noble white's stock is rising fast, and for good reason: It's a great food wine. Chateau Ste. Michelle's Eroica Riesling gets all the buzz, but also look for its Dry Riesling (affectionately known as "baby Eroica" around the winery). Hogue and Covey Run also make delicious Rieslings from Washington, but don't overlook smaller producers; just be sure to look for Rieslings that are fairly dry.

Chardonnay: Several wineries are cutting back on the amount of oak their using on this Burgundian grape, and that's great for food pairing. It's a rare winery that doesn't make Chardonnay, so you won't have far to look to find a recommendation. Januik Winery crafts some of my favorite Chardonnay in Washington, as does Barnard Griffin. Many wineries are promoting theirs as "unoaked," which should be fun to explore.

Other whites: Lots of white wines have salmon-pairing potential, not the least of which is sparkling wine. Consider a Northwest bubbly from Argyle, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Sumac Ridge or Mountain Dome. One of my favorite food wines these days is Erath Vineyards' Pinot Blanc, which is deliciously fresh. Also look at Viognier, a fruit-driven white that is fantastic from the Northwest.

Pinot Noir: This Burgundian red probably has the best fish-pairing potential. Look for wines with bright fruit rather than brooding, earthy, mushroomy types. Sokol Blosser, Erath, Lange and Kramer are worth checking out. Some Pinot Noir is now being made in Washington's Columbia Cascade region, which is in the northern reaches of the Columbia Valley and has good potential, especially around Lake Chelan.

What do you like to pair with Copper River salmon (or any salmon, for that matter)?

By aperdue at May 17 2007 - 10:03am | food | aperdue's blog | 3008 reads

This whole recipe sounds

This whole recipe sounds delicious, I am not very good at cooking and that's because my old appliances didn't helpe me too much. I hope now that my new Maytag parts will make the difference.

By gordman at Wed, 01/16/2008 - 1:24pm | login or register to post comments

Copper River Salmon @ Tagaris

I had the Copper River at Tagaris last week - I blogged about it in a Tagaris review at gortonator.spaces.live.com - I suspect I was unlucky, but the polenta cake was sure good :-}.

By iango at Mon, 05/28/2007 - 10:51am | login or register to post comments

wine pairing hint

My good pal Eric from Anthony's in Richland recommends that heavy oily salmon like copper river when prepared smoky (ala plank style) or with a bigger spicy sauce should be served with a syrah.
I recommend a fuller bodied sangiovese with a nice spice and acidic finish when a spicy sweet type rub is used.

By wine_woman_13 at Tue, 05/22/2007 - 3:14pm | login or register to post comments

poached copper river

I salvate for Copper River time because I can make my forte, poached Copper River salmon, fresh Washington asparagus and Jasmine rice all three layered with homemade hollandaise sauce.
In a shallow microwave dish place the salmon fillets for four covered with a bit of white wine, I like pinot gris, a good squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper. Place clear plastic wrap tight over the dish and microwave for 4 to 6 minutes depending on your microwave. If this is a first time, stop part way through and see how its doing.
Prior to that steam some Jasmine rice and asparagus.
Make the hollandaise ahead of time using the microwave recipe of putting three egg yokes in a blender with enough lemon juice to taste and a dash of red pepper and salt to taste. Blend and then drizzle a cube and a half of melted butter slowly into the mixture while blending on low. Pour into a microwaveable container and set aside in the refrigerator. When ready to serve put this container into the microwave again and hit high for about 20 seconds or so. Stir with a spoon. This shlould help thicken the hollandaise and alleivate any fear of semi raw egg yokes.
Put the salmon, rice and asparagus servings on a plate pour the sauce on all three, add a lemon wedge and a crusty French roll and you're in for a treat.

By bwoehler at Tue, 05/22/2007 - 2:31pm | login or register to post comments

Copper River Salmon

Copper River Salmon served with Polenta cake, warm pepper salad and olive tapenade starts on the Friday, May 18 menu at Taverna Tagaris. Suggested pairing Tagaris 2005 Counoise. Come by and try it.

By PennyMorgan at Thu, 05/17/2007 - 2:37pm | login or register to post comments

Tagaris

Penny, that Counoise is pretty darned good. That should pair really nicely with salmon.

By aperdue at Thu, 05/17/2007 - 4:47pm | login or register to post comments

Copper River salmon

My favorite is J. Albin Pinot Gris from Oregon. It has enough acid to break through the buttery salmon, and has a smooth thick mouth-feel and just a hint of residual sugar. The '06 just came out but the '05 is still great if you can find it.

By alanjpatrick at Thu, 05/17/2007 - 11:27am | login or register to post comments

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