11 Pinot Grigio
Lightly Fruity & Fabulous!
$18

For those of you who LOVED our Multiple Silver Medal Award Winning 2009 Pinot Grigio, this new vintage PG is as close as nature would let us get.   We are so pleased with the way this new wine turned out.  In fact, Mrs. Vino actually likes it just a tiny bit better than the 2009 – and that’s saying something.   Very light and slightly fruity this wine starts clean and crisp, and has a beautiful fruity finish!  Like the 2009 PG, it is very silky and has a bit more body than many Pinot Grigios.  It is the perfect summer sipper!

Mrs. Vino thinks this wine will pair even better with food than the 2009 Grigio – and she is currently working on a great recipe for a Spicy Thai Coconut Pineapple soup.  In the meantime, try this wine with Chicken Dijon (recipe follows).

AWARDS
Too soon!  Check back after we enter a few competitions.

GEEK SPEAK

Alcohol, 13.5%

Residual Sugar, 2.0

pH, 3.4

Brix at harvest, 22%

MRS. VINO’S SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN DIJON

3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces, (thighs, drumsticks and/or breasts), skin removed, trimmed (Mrs. Vino always makes this with chicken thighs!)
1/2 cup minced shallots (1 really big shallot)
16 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup red-wine vinegar
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup 11 Pinot Grigio
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
1 8-oz package sliced baby bellas or other sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 GENEROUS tablespoon Dijon mustard (please, please don’t use that neon yellow stuff)
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoon(s) finely minced fresh chives (use chives or Mrs. Vino’s favorite substitution: minced green onions)
Salt and pepper to taste

This rich, warming dish starts in the slow cooker and finishes in a saucepan. If you use a whole, cut up chicken, try to make sure you have hacked the chicken pieces to roughly the same size. Place chicken, shallots, garlic, vinegar, chicken broth, mushrooms and Pinot Grigio in the crock of your slow cooker.  Nestle thyme sprigs in with the chicken.  Cover and cook at least 4 hours, or until you get home from work. 

When you get home, chop the tomatoes and chives/green onions, drizzle them with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Set aside, these are the garnish!  Whisk the sour cream, Dijon mustard, tomato paste and flour together in a small bowl (looks gross, will taste good).  Remove the chicken from the crock pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Discard thyme sprigs.  Carefully pour the cooking liquid from the crock into a saucepan and put it over low heat.  Slowly whisk in the sour cream mixture and simmer until it thickens to sauce consistency.  (Slooooooowwwwwwwly or the sauce will break – which means get kind of curdled looking, note it still tastes good if it breaks, it’s just not so pretty.) Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary (you should ALWAYS do this).  Add the chicken back to the sauce mixture and reheat for about 2 minutes. Serve the chicken mixture over wide egg noodles, topped with the tomato/chive/green onion garnish.  Mmmmmm.