The last time I was in Israel (for my Nephew’s wedding), I picked up some oily pilaf mix for rice from a spice dealer at the shuk.  You can make it yourself, it is really simple.  It is a combination of olive oil, raw lentils, dehydrated raw onions, and a couple of spices.  The spices were not initially obvious, but the ones I could pick out were curry, cumin, paprika, and maybe cloves or ginger, though I could not be sure.  Either way, we threw a cup of it into two cups of brown basmati rice, and it was ok, but it needed more of the mix, as the rice overpowered the minute amount of the pilaf mix.  My wife made her famous lemon hot pepper chicken, and we had a nice relaxing shabbos.

To match the brown rice and lentil/onion pilaf, chicken, and fresh green salad, I opened a bottle of the Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  I must say that I never really get tired of Goose Bay wines.  They are a bit more expensive than when they came out, but they still keep a fine QPR (Quality to Price Ratio), and the ripe, floral, and perfumed nose and flavors of their wines, make them unique and wonderful to just enjoy.

The wine note follows below:

2007 Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc – Score: B++
The nose on this light straw colored wine was hopping with ripe gooseberry, light petrol, lemon, green apple, lychee, melon, oak, and lemon/orange peel. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich with tart apple, lemon, gooseberry, and lychee. The mid palate is bright with bracing acid, light oak, and citrus peel. The finish is super long and tart, with lemon, gooseberry, and citrus peel lingering long on the palate after the wine is gone.