foodwineclick

Vital Choice Wild Seafood and Organics
Recently, the folks at Vital Choice Wild Seafood and Organics contacted me to see if I’d like to try out their seafood grilling pack. Given my love of both seafood and the grill, this was an easy yes! A few days later the box arrived, perfectly frozen and ready to get started. I was impressed by Vital Choice’s approach – all wild caught seafood and certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. This post covers the Summer Seafood Grilling Pack and our first couple meals. Keep watching over the coming weeks as we work our way through the contents.

Disclosure: I received the Seafood Grilling Pack as a sample. No other compensation was involved and all opinions expressed are my own.

Le Brun Organic Cidre, Bretagne France ($11 at France 44 or online here) 4% abv
Le Brun Cidre House was established in 1955. They farm organically and hand harvest their apples. The ciders are naturally fermented and naturally sparkling. These are the same features I look for in new wineries. Note the descriptors below are borrowed from my wine terminology as I have yet to learn typical cider descriptors.
Eye: Medium amber color, lively frizzante bubbles
Nose: Medium plus intensity aromas of ripe yellow and red apples, even a bit bruised, orange rind
Mouth: Medium-sweet, medium plus acidity, rich mellow medium plus body, low alcohol. Flavors echo the nose with a very rich texture.

Fish Tacos and Bretagne Hard Cider
We started our exploration of the seafood grill pack with mahi-mahi tacos using the included blackening spice blend. Since blackened fish can be pretty spicy, a cider with some residual sugar seemed like a good choice. As it turns out, the spice blend is tame enough that a wide variety of wines would pair beautifully with the tacos. Cider worked, too!

Château de la Bonnelière M. Plouzeau Chinon Rosé AOC “Rive Gauche” 2020 ($18 locally or online here) 12.5% abv
Eye: Medium orange
Nose: medium intensity aromas of watermelon rind, orange peel, fresh cranberries, under-ripe strawberry, wet gravel, hint of anise.
Mouth: Dry, tart high acidity, medium minus body, medium alcohol, medium flavor intensity, medium plus finish with lingering tart fruit.
Observations: Very nice and refreshing, excellent example of a perfect rosé for summer. Opened 3 different wines to pair with our salmon burgers, this was clearly the spot-on match.

Salmon Burgers with Zesty Remoulade Sauce and Chinon Rosé
The folks at Vital Choice included a recipe for a zesty Louisiana style take on classic French Rémoulade Sauce and true to form, the Louisiana version ups the pizazz factor in the sauce significantly. We tried a couple different wines with the sauce before settling on the Chinon rosé as being just right with a nice combination of fruit and zesty acidity. We finished off the plate with our summer staple sweet corn and a tomato salad. Perfect for an early summer evening in Minnesota.

Click on any photo to view full size slideshow, hit escape to return