One of our very favorite restaurants when we lived in NY, was David Chang’s Momofuku Ssäm Bar. The first time we went was in 2011 for a friend’s birthday not too long after we’d moved to the city. We’d pre-ordered their Bo Ssäm for the event and what a feast it was! It continues to be one of my very favorite food memories. 

Photos from our first Bo Ssåm at Momofuku Ssäm Bar, plus a much younger Greg with our friends Glenn, Rob, and Adam. We were there celebrating Glenn's birthday.

The Bo Ssäm features a pork shoulder that we cure overnight, then slow roast for 6–8 hours before glazing with brown sugar and roasting juices. It comes with a dozen oysters, white rice, Bibb lettuce, Korean-style barbecue sauce, kimchi, and ginger scallion sauce. In the spirit of “ssäm,” which is Korean for “enclosed” or “wrapped,” we encourage guests to make wraps with the pork and condiments, or eat as they please. (Available for parties of 6–10 guests)

I loved the amazing mix of flavors and playing around with the different sauces. The oysters were also a surprise. They seemed like they shouldn't have worked in the mix, but their brininess cut the fatty richness of the pork in a beautiful way.  The whole spread was unbelievably good. What I’ve now discovered is that it’s also unbelievably easy to make! 

 
After over two months of being quite strict about social distancing due to Coronavirus, Greg and I decided it was time to start figuring out our “quaranteam” or social bubble, whatever you want to call it. Our friends Lucy and Drew were the first additions, given we’d all been similarly strict and we all love preparing a good feast together. (Regular readers will recognize them from our many trips to the Culinary Cabin, and you’ll be seeing more of them since they’re part of the team now.)

A Bo Ssäm feast seemed like an excellent group project to celebrate reducing isolation! We used the version of the recipe up at NYT Cooking. That’s behind a paywall, but luckily the recipe is up at various different sites including Epicurious and Taste. The recipe is also in the Momofuku cookbook, which I definitely recommend. I prepped and babysat the pork while it cooked, Drew shucked and prepped the oysters (I love oysters, but I hate shucking them!), the guys and I divvied up the sides and fixings, and Lucy made dessert. 



The pork preparation could not be simpler. The curing and cooking were both super easy, it just all requires time, although it doesn’t require a lot of your attention through most of the process. We stuck to the recipe pretty faithfully, although we cut the quantity in half – I’d say even that made more than 6 servings. Shucking oysters aside, this has to be one of the easiest, most showstopping ways to feed a crowd and it packs a flavor punch. 


I realize we’ve been on a slow-cooked pork kick around here, as two piggy posts have landed next to each other. But hey, it’s so freak’n good!!!
 

Riesling Party

An added bonus of a dinner with friends is that you get to open multiple bottles of wine, and I love to mix and match to see what works best. The mix of spicy, sweet, fatty, and salty flavors here screamed out for Riesling to me. Since several bottles would inevitably be required, I figured, why not have a comparative riesling party?!

I’ve mentioned that Riesling is my favorite white grape, and a big part of that is its ability to make such a wide range of wine styles –– sparkling, bone dry, and every level of sweetness to full-on dessert wines. Moreover, the incredible range of flavors it’s able to produce makes it easy to pair with a wide range of cuisines. It also tends to be high in acidity, which is another plus when it comes to pairing it with food. This is also a very aromatic grape, that will often jump out of the glass with a whole kaleidoscope of aromas and flavors that can include everything from citrus, stone fruits, apples, pineapple, stones, honeysuckle, jasmine, ginger, and of course the petrol notes that it’s often known for.

I decided to open bottles from the Finger Lakes in New York (the subject of this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend discussion), Alsace in France, and the Nahe region of Germany. All three wines are from standard-bearers in their respective regions, and all were in a similar price range. In a way, this line-up also reflects the progression of my relationship with this grape. 

All wines today were purchased via Wine.com.

 

Dr. Konstantin Frank Semi-Dry Riesling 2016

My appreciation of Riesling started with a trip to the Finger Lakes in New York. Funny enough, this trip was just a few months after that Bo Ssäm at Ssäm Bar. We headed up to Seneca Lake for a party celebrating the wedding of two friends (the bride is from the area). We tacked on a couple of days to explore the wine region – I actually wrote about the experience here. (Wow! I'm realizing that trip was exactly 9 years and one day ago! Where does the time ago?)

We were delighted with the QPR of the wines of the region in general and we learned a ton. The trip really opened my eyes to the grape’s possibilities. The region makes its Rieslings in a full range of styles from dry to sweet, which quickly undid me of the notion that Riesling equals sweet. (This was before I’d started studying wine.) I also found that often a little a bit of sweetness was not a bad thing, as a touch of residual sugar often helps balance out the grapes searing acidity on the palate.

One winery I always wished we’d been able to visit is Dr. Konstantin Frank on Keuka Lake, as it’s a key benchmark winery of the region. There has been a wine industry in the Finger Lakes since the 1800s, however, native species like Concord grapes were the norm for the majority of that time. It gets REALLY cold in the Finger Lakes and their growing season is very short. It’s at the upper latitudes of where it’s possible to grow wine grapes and has a climate very similar to many of Germany’s wine regions. The lakes themselves help moderate temperatures and without them, grape growing would be impossible. Nonetheless, it proved quite tricky to coax Vitis vinifera, the species to which all of our beloved wine grapes belong, to grow here.

That all changed thanks to Dr. Frank. A professor of plant sciences who held a Ph.D. in viticulture, Dr. Frank arrived in the US in 1951 and soon took a position at Cornell University. He had experience working with cold climate grapes and became convinced that the real problem was that they weren’t working with the proper rootstocks for the conditions of the region. He eventually found a collaborator in  Charles Fournier, a French Champagne maker and president of nearby Gold Seal Vineyards. Their work made a difference and now the region is well-known for its fine wines. Dr. Frank founded his own winery in 1962, just over a decade after his arrival in the US, and it continues to be one of the benchmark wineries of the region.

We opened the Dr. Konstantin Frank Semi-Dry Riesling 2016 for our Bo Ssäm. I chose the semi-dry version because I thought a little residual sugar would help match the sweet and spicy components in our meal. It worked out great! It actually proved the pairing winner. Even Lucy, who is not a fan of off-dry wines in general, had to give it to this wine as the best match.

For me, this wine stylistically fell between the other two examples. It had a little more residual sugar and was fruitier than our wine from Alsace, which was key for the reason mentioned above, but it also had a more robust structure than the version Germany, which helped it stand up to the robust textures and flavors of the food. Admittedly, it was less complex than the other two wines, but it made the best pairing.

Tasting Notes: Pear, peaches, tangerine skin, ginger, and honeysuckle. It finished with lots of minerality, and showed the most petrol character of the three wines. Fresh acidity helps to keep the sweetness balanced.

Geeky Details
(From the tech sheet.)

Winemaking: The fruit was picked in the early morning to retain freshness and fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks. The fermentation was stopped before dryness to preserve the fruity character of this wine.
Additional paring suggestions:  Orange chicken, paella, gumbo, turkey with cranberry sauce.
Alcohol: 11.5%,
Acidity: 0.73 g/100mL
pH: 3.10
Sugar: 2.5%
Price: $19

Trimbach Riesling Alsace 2017

This is one of the wines that really cinched my love for  Riesling. I’m not certain, but I’m guessing I first tried Alsace’s take on this grape during my CMS Somm course. I started buying this bottle of Trimbach regularly because I always found it to be excellent at the price point. I’ve continued buying it ever since.

Alsace is generally known for a dry style of Riesling, although wines at all sweetness levels exist. Trimbach’s wine are known for being particularly steely. I went into depth on Alsace and it’s wines here, so I’ll invite you to check out that post for background on the region. It also happens to include a previous vintage of this wine with additional details.

The Trimbach Riesling Alsace 2017 was the crowd favorite when sipped on its own, but it did not work with the food. It wasn’t bad with the oysters, but it clashed with the pork. It was just way too dry for the sweeter components in the meal.

Tasting Notes: Stony minerals galore. Grapefruit, white peach, green apples, and white flowers. Super steely with lots of acidity. It was definitely the driest wine of the group and had the most minerality.

Geeky Details
(From the tech sheet.)
Winemaking: The grapes are normally harvested in late October and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel and concrete vats. There is no secondary malolactic fermentation in order to maintain as much natural acidity as possible.
Alcohol: 12.5%
Residual Sugar:  2.7 g/L
Price: $20 on sale. (I usually see this for around $24-$25.)


The Trimbach might not have worked with the Bo Ssäm, but here's another recent pairing where it did work. 

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@trimbach was one of the #rieslings that made it my favorite white grape. I still regularly come back to their wine. We recently enjoyed a bottle w #takeout from #khanapeena. #takeouttuesday . . . . . #winegeek #winenerd #corkdork #winelover #winepairing #drinkwine #WTnF #zipkick #foodandwine #foodietribe #winelife #theculinarylens #quarantineandcill #stayhome #riesling #eattheworld #sipgloacal #comfortfood #nomnom #indianfood #supportlocalrestaurants #supportlocalbusiness #saag #alsace

A post shared by Nicole Ruiz Hudson, DipWSET (@nibblinggypsy) on May 26, 2020 at 11:38pm PDT

 

Dönnhoff Estate Riesling Nahe 2018

It took me a little longer to understand and appreciate German Rieslings. While the are variations by region, the German style of Riesling tends to more ethereal, and they indeed escaped me for a while, like I couldn’t quite pin them down.  It’s also hard to get a handle on all of the classifications. (And we are not going to get into them today!) Now I love them, drink them regularly, and I’ve come to appreciate the precision of their system.

Nahe is a smaller region in Germany, and not as well known, perhaps because it’s flanked by the two more famous regions of Mosel and Rheingau. The Dönnhoff family has been in the area for over 200 years. They slowly grew from a modest farm to a full wine estate over time, and are now in their 4th generation. 

The Dönnhoff Estate Riesling Nahe 2018 is labeled as dry, but I got a little bit of residual sugar, which rounded it out and helped it work well with the food. We all agreed that it was a close second in terms of pairings. Drew actually preferred this wine with the oysters.

Tasting Notes: Flowers blossoms with white peach, pears, and light hints of spice. It was the most delicate of the three wines with the lightest body, but it still had lots of refreshing acidity.

Geeky Details
(From the tech sheet here and here.)

Soil:The vines grow in stony, weathered volcanic soils of porphyry and melaphyr in particular, with certain amounts of slate and quartzite.
Winemaking: Fermentations occur in a combination of stainless & used large oak
Age of vines:15 - 30 years
Alcohol: 11.5%
Price: $24

This was such a fun feast! And I love any excuse to pop open a bunch of Rieslings. Plus, now that I know how easy it is to make a Bo Ssäm, I will definitely be doing it again!

Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm is “Exploring the Wines of New York’s Finger Lakes Region.”

Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla is pairing “Bibimbap with Garden Banchan + Forge Cellars Classique Riesling 2017.”

Lori at Dracaena Wines is “Delving Into the History of the Finger Lakes with John Wagner.”

David at Cooking Chat is exploring “Finger Lakes Wine Paired with Everyday Favorites.”

Cindy at Grape Experiences shares “An Impressive New York Treasure: the Finger Lakes Wine Region.”

Teri at Our Good Life pairs “Zero Degree Riesling with Pan Seared Scallops over Cheesy Grits.”

Jeff at Food Wine Click! suggests “New York Finger Lakes – I Hope You Like Riesling!”

Jill at L’OCCASION offers “New York Finger Lakes: Wine For Summer Pairings.”

Pinny at Chinese Food and Wine Pairings shares “New York Finger Lakes Wines – Lonesome Stony Rose and Fox Run Rieslings Paired with Quick-Prepped Seafood.”

Jane at Always Ravenous offers “Picnic Fare Paired with Finger Lake Wines.”

Rupal at Syrah Queen discusses “The Charm Of New York Finger Lakes Rieslings.”

Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles is pairing “Finger Lake Riesling and Alsatian Salmon.”

Gwendolyn at Wine Predator offers two posts: “Two Riesling from the Finger Lakes Paired with a Potluck” and “#RoseAllDay for #RoseDay: 3 from New York’s Finger Lakes.”

Susannah at Avvinare shares “Delightful wines from the Finger Lakes.”

Jennifer at Vino Travels takes a look at “Wines from Around Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes Wine Region.”

Finally, Linda at My Full Wine Glass is sharing two posts: “Three Takes on Finger Lakes NY Cabernet Franc Rosé” and “Two Pairs of NY Finger Lakes Riesling – a Winning Hand.”

Additional sources used for this post:
Vinous.com: Finger Lakes Rising 
Wine-Searcher.com
Winefolly.com: The Taster’s Guide to Riesling Wine 


This post contains affiliate links, including the following Amazon Associate links, from which I might receive a commission at no cost to you.

If Auslese is too sweet for you, I think you might be able to go to a Spätlese, a riper Kabinett (see note below), or other off-dry Riesling, but I wouldn’t go tooooooo much drier than that. At very least you’ll want some ripe fruit in there. (Kind of curious as to how a ripe, buttery Chardonnay would work.) While these cookies aren’t super sweet, that sugar is still in there.

Pairing Grade: A -

Note:  Auslese, Spätlese, Kabinett – A lot of you are probably like WTF are you talking about with these words. They’re in reference to Pradikatswein, the German classification system based on the grape’s level of sugar ripeness at the time of harvest. The higher the sugar level in the grape, the higher the potential alcohol and/or sugar level in the final wine. While this is not necessarily a measure of sweetness in the wine, there is often a correlation. (Yeah, I know that’s confusing.) See here for a more in-depth explanation. 

Thin Mints

This might be my favorite GSC. It wasn’t when I was a kid, but now I gravitate towards this one partly because it’s not super sweet. That same quality made us think this might be one of our best bets for a drier wine pairing.

Pedro Ximenez (PX) Sherries are made from super ripe or raisinated grapes. These wines are INTENSELY sweet. They’re pretty much the end of the line on the sweetness spectrum in wine. However, they can also be really complex. They tend to have notes of dried fruits like fig and dates, as well as some nutty notes. The Gonzalez Byass definitely had the notes of dried fruits with hazelnuts and caramel. (Average price: $16.)

We figured the nutty notes in both of these wines would make them good contenders to pair with all three of these cookies. 

Do-Si-Dos

Pairing Grade for both the Tawny Port and the PX: A

The PX brought out the caramel in the cookies. The cookies, in turn, took down the sweetness in the wine a bit, and the combo also brought out hints of coffee in the wine. You might go into a little bit of sugar shock sipping the PX alongside the Samoas, nonetheless, it’s otherwise a pretty good match. Maybe just a sip and a nibble will do.

PX Pairing Grade: A-

We tried one more wine with the Samoas. To test the theories of pairing a dry wine with something super sweet like these cookies one more time, we also tried Carlos Serres Rioja Gran Reserva 2008. Wines from Rioja traditionally are aged in American oak, which adds flavors like vanilla and coconut to the wine. A coconut on coconut combo seemed worth a shot. 

On its own, the wine had notes of tobacco, red cherries, and a hint of orange skin, alongside those notes of coconut and spice. Quite tasty. Sadly, I thought the combo turned the wine pretty sour, however, one of our friends did find it kind of refreshing. (Average price: $30)

Rioja Pairing Grade: C+