We first "discovered" the City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019 during a visit to the winery for their MADE Hudson Valley Spring 2022 held in late April 2022. We were intrigued enough by what we tasted at the winery to want to explore its nuances at home. Located in Montgomery, New York in a former wool mill, City Winery makes wines from select grapes (or the juice from the grapes) from the vineyard partners. 

Technical Notes: For their Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019, they partnered with a vineyard in the Finger Lakes known for their Uvas Blancas. The grapes were crushed, fermented for 6 weeks in a stainless-steel tank, followed by aging on fine lees. Fermentation stopped by chilling the tank to keep 6 g/L residual sugars. City Winery notes, "This Riesling was naturally high in acidity and by keeping more residual sugars, we support the structure of the wine by creating a perfect balance of acid, sugar, and alcohol." 

City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019

Tasting Notes: The City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019 is a dry white wine that has lots of citrus, floral, and mineral notes on the nose and on the palate and is lovely to drink on its own or pair with food. We created a pairing menu that showcases the nuances of this lusciously crisp wine with a diverse and easy to make summer menu to complement this gorgeous Riesling. 

Luxury Experience Pairing Menu with City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019 

Raw Oysters with Grapefruit Riesling Sorbet

Raw Oysters with Grapefruit Riesling Sorbet 

Raw oysters are usually accompanied by a mignonette made with vinegar and chopped shallots to add a bit of acidity to the brininess of the oysters. For our oyster recipe, instead of a traditional mignonette we created Luxury Experience's Grapefruit Riesling Sorbet to complement the grapefruit notes of the wine and add a bit of acidity and a hint of sweetness to the oysters, and the result was magical. We added extra polish by finishing them with tiny edible flowers (yellow boy choy and purple chive blossoms from our garden), accompanied by whitefish roe to add an extra luxurious touch. The sorbet is also lovely on its own, served as a palate cleanser between courses, or paired with a fresh fruit compote for a light and refreshing summer dessert. 

Note: We selected Rappahannock Atlantic oysters (farm raised) and Skinny Dipper oysters (farm raised) for their meaty texture and clean finish, although you can use your favorite oysters for this recipe. 

Ingredients:
Raw Oysters
Whitefish Roe 

Sorbet Ingredients:
 

Sage Simple Syrup Ingredients:
 

Method for the Sage Simple Syrup: Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan, boil until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is clear. Do not stir. When the liquid is clear, remove from heat, add the fresh sage leaves, and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid into a glass jar and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Will last for 1 week. The syrup makes a great addition to cocktail recipes, used to sweetened iced tea, lemonade, used in marinades, or brushed over fresh fruit. 

Method for the Sorbet: Use a micro-plane to zest the grapefruit onto a piece of parchment or wax paper. Scrape zest into a blender, add sugar and process until sugar and zest are very fine and powdery. Add 6 ounces of water and liquefy the mixture. Add the mixture to a saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil until the liquid is clear and the sugar is dissolved. Let cool. 

Add the sage simple syrup, grapefruit juice, 14 ounces of water, 4 ounces of the City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019. Pour the mixture into a 2-quart plastic container and freeze for several hours or overnight. 

Once frozen, remove the sorbet from the container and process the mixture in a food processor to give it a smooth consistency that is light and fluffy. Place the container back in the freezer and freeze until ready to serve. 

Presentation: Shuck the oysters and set aside. Add crushed ice to a large platter or plate, place the container of whitefish roe in the center, and arrange the oysters. Top the oysters with a spoonful of grapefruit sorbet, and scatter fresh edible flower petals over them. 

Note: Do not use a metal spoon for the whitefish roe as it will ruin it. Use a mother of pearl oyster spoon, wooden spoon, or even a plastic spoon. 

Luxury Experience - Chilled Sunchoke and White Bean Soup Kissed with Riesling is delicious and perfect for easy, summertime entertaining. The white beans give the soup body, creaminess without adding milk or cream, and provides protein, and the Riesling elevates the flavors. This soup can also be served hot during cooler months. 

Yield: 8 Cups 

Soup Ingredients:
 

Method: Drain, rinse, and soak white beans in cold water for 10 minutes. Set aside. Wash, peel, and dice sunchokes, place in bowl with cold water. Set aside. Peel and dice white pearl onions. 

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, add onions, cover, and sweat them until they are translucent. Drain sunchokes, add to onions, cover, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups chicken bouillon, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer and cook until sunchokes are tender. 

Pour the sunchoke mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the white beans and additional chicken bouillon and blend until smooth. Let cool to room temperature. Finish with 2 ounces of the City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019. Blend, then chill in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. 

Presentation: Divide soup into bowls. We garnished the soup with cappuccino foam and dusted it with green fennel powder to add a posh finish, however the soup is just as tasty without the foam. 

Luxury Experience - Smoked Salmon Roulades are easy to make and lovely to serve. We cut smoked salmon into rectangles, mixed 2 tablespoons of homemade Greek yogurt (you can use store bought) with one-half teaspoon City Winery Montgomery Mills Riesling 2019, spread it on the smoked salmon, and rolled them up pinwheel fashion. We topped the roulades with whitefish roe. 

City Winery Hudson Valley - Wine Cellar

Until next time, cheers and Bon Appetit! 

For more information, please call them +1-845-424-0222 or visit their website: https://citywinery.com/hudsonvalley 

You might also like to read about our experience at City Winery Hudson Valley: Wine and Food Pairing at MADE Hudson Valley Spring 2022 at City Winery 

Until next time, cheers! 

City Winery Hudson Valley
23 Factory Street
Montgomery, New York 12549
United States
Telephone: +1-845-424-0222
Website: https://citywinery.com/hudsonvalley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/citywineryhv/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/citywineryhv/ 

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