The Grapevine was Involved … the Pig was Committed.

We have been “on” the Sonoma Diet for several years now … and when I say “on” the diet, I mean we use the cookbook to make our favorite recipes.  One of our favorites is the Sonoma Plum and Rosemary Pork Roast.  I follow the recipe pretty closely but substitute prunes for the plums which I have convinced everyone are basically nothing more than dried plums.  Not only that, they are good for flushing out the system.  I paired the pork with roasted broccoli (fixed with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper) and roasted sweet potatoes (olive oil, cumin, coriander, fresh nutmeg, salt and pepper).  This meant we had both ovens going at the same time which was probably not a great idea on this; one of the hottest days we have had recently. 

While everything cooked, we vacated the kitchen (if you can’t stand the heat …) and opened up a bottle of Barbaresco to go with the dinner.  This was a 2004 Pio Cesare which we bought on sale at Wegmans for $47.  I can’t say enough about this wine!  We decanted it for about 45 minutes before pouring it for our initial taste and it was great … full body, great nose, and very complex flavor.  It paired very well with the pork and complimented the flavors of the sauce as well as the potatoes and broccoli.  Later in the dinner we poured a second glass and it had opened up even more.  We don’t usually drink $50 bottles of wine but this one was certainly worth it.  I highly recommend it!  Well now I believe it is time to see how it pairs with chocolate!!!