With our family still with us, I thought it would be cool to try a Veal Roast.  The roast was pretty simple, except that I decided to make it complex, which was kind of yummy and complex.  I whipped up a batch of caramelized thinly sliced white onions and browned mushrooms.  My mother-in-law peeled the veal roast apart and laid the onion and mushroom mixture into the cavity.  She then wrapped it and placed the roast’s netting back on it so that the roast stayed together.  We roasted it at 350 until it was done.  The roast was a hit and so were the baked gefilte fish, eggplant mixture, and roasted vegetables, the recipe for the rest of the stuff is here.

Veal roast is a light weight meat and so, I wanted to try it with a nice Viognier.  I have spoken a few times about how much I love the Goose Bay Viognier and I must say that the Viognier is still going strong.  I am so proud of myself for opening it a couple of hours ahead of time, and it could have still used more air – crazy.  It paired crazy well with the Veal roast, but could have been colder.  A friend brought over the Petit Castel, so we popped it open and it too was a joy.  The Red Fern Chardonnay and Galil Barbera wines were opened prior to the meal for a wine tasting, and were enjoyed with the meal.

The wine notes follow below:

2007 Goose Bay Viognier – Score: A (no change from previous notes)
The nose of this light yet bright straw colored wine was filled with classic Viognier perfume, grapefruit, apricot and citrus aromas. The mouth of this medium bodied wine is strikingly fruity while also being infused with the perfume quality. The mid palate is strongly acidic and laced with grapefruit, lemon, and green flavors. The finish is acidic in an almost puckering way. I must say, that a nice perfumed nose and mouth while still dry, is great with heavy foods like roasted duck or turkey. But because it is so dry, it fails to stand up to spicy foods.

2006 Galil Mountain Barbera – Score: B+
The nose on this ruby to garnet-colored wine is hot out of the bottle, and has cranberry, cassis, plum, leather and oak.  The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine follows the nose, and is filled with cranberry, cassis, and plum.  The mid palate is mouth coating with soft tannins, bright acidity and nice rich oak.  The finish is long… with oak, leather, and chocolate.  The wine is quite enjoyable, and shows that Barbera can be made successfully in Israel.

2005 Red Fern Chardonnay – Score: B+
The nose on this light straw-colored wine is green with vegetal notes, along with citrus and apple.  The mouth on this medium bodied wine is green with bright acidity, citrus and apple.  The mid palate is creamy with oak, while staying crisp with nice acidity.  The finish is medium long, creamy, with custard and acidity.  The folks at Red Fern have done a good job of not trying to do more with the grapes than nature has given them

2004 Petit Castel – Score: A-
This wine was awesome and totally overpowered the poor veal roast.  Still, the wine was awesome.  The nose on this deep and dark garnet colored wine is popping with blackberry, cassis, currant, oak, and chocolate – lots of chocolate.  The mouth of this full bodied wine carries over from the nose with more black fruit and chocolate.  The mouth is full and velvety and complex with layers of fruit and chocolate.  The mid palate is balanced with just enough acidity to keep it all together.  The finish is long with fruit, pepper, and more chocolate.  Quite a nice wine, but drink up as it is at its peak.