This past weekend we enjoyed one of my favorite dishes – risotto, but to be fair it is a complex problem when it comes to Shabbos. In the past I used to cook the risotto Thursday night and then I would throw in liquid on Friday and throw them into the oven with the chicken or meat or whatever protein I want to enjoy it with.

This time I wanted to try a more delicate approach – where I cooked the risotto right up until Shabbos started – which is far easier in the summer, and then threw the risotto and EXTRA broth into the oven, which was set to warm.
When I took the risotto out Friday night, it was a bit dried, but once I threw the extra broth into the pot and mixed it around a bit – the dish was looking much better, and it came out really nicely!

To pair with the mushroom risotto, I opened a bottled of the much-heralded 2010 Midbar Viognier! I wrote about the Midbar Winery (AKA Asif Winery), and my love for their product has not waned in the least! A few weeks ago I opened a SICK bottle of the White 44 and this week I opened my only bottle of the Midbar Viognier.

To say that Viognier works well with Risotto is like saying; the sun comes up each morning and that true port wine works well with blue or Stinson cheese – Duh! The viscous white, spicy, and honeyed liquid matches perfectly with the earthy and rich risotto flavors – a match made in heaven!

Thanks so much to Ya’acov Oryah and Midbar Winery for selling me the wines – money well spent!

2010 Midbar Viognier, Midbar Collection – Score: A- to A
We tasted this wine at the winery and having it again at the house brought back many of the great memories and remined me of the flavors we had there. The nose explodes with varietal true aromas of jasmine, rose, violet, pear, guava, honeysuckle, and green notes. The mouth is viscous like oil and textured with it as well, with ripe nectarine, peach, green and yellow apple, a body that goes forever and honey on top. The finish is long and spicy with great mineral, lemon/lime curd and tart notes on the long and green finish – BRAVO and WOW!