It’s a Mud House – lettin’ it all hang out

Last Friday Tim and I decided to play hooky and head down to Monterey to visit the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. As a faithful Facebook fan and Twitter follower of the Aquarium, I have been jonesing to visit for quite some time now. I mean, a person can only take so many photos of those cute little otters before they just gotta see them in the flesh. Plus I think it had been ten years since I had been to the Aquarium, so I figured it was time. After some yoga, frittata, Cole Coffee and a quick trip to H&M, we were on our way.

When some of my foodie friends caught wind that we would be in the Monterey area, they recommended we go to Passionfish – a restaurant known for its marriage of fresh, local, sustainable seafood with a superb wine list. I decided dinner at this renowned green restaurant would be a fitting way to cap our visit to the Aquarium.

I was expecting my butternut squash soup with green onion cream and applewood smoked bacon to be delicious – and it was. I was expecting my sea scallops with tomato-truffle butter, risotto custard and minted celery to be amazing – and they were. But knowing relatively little about wines from New Zealand, I didn’t quite know what to expect from my 2009 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough.

I was blown away.

Now for as much as I love zinfandel, I might love Sauvignon Blanc more. I just love its dry crispness and the tart, tropical fruit flavors that come with it. I tend to favor Sauv Blancs with more tart fruit – citrus, pear, apple – but I’m warming up to the grassier ones as well. Even so, when our server told me that Mud House was fairly grassy, with hints of fruit, I wasn’t sure I’d like it. But I went for it anyway. And I’m so glad I did.

It was a remarkable wine – enticing nose, strong tropical fruit and hints of grassy earthiness. It was delicious on its own and it paired nicely with the scallops. It was very crisp and dry, tart and refreshing. It was the kind of wine that you would drink on your front porch or back patio on a hot summer day – and it would go down so smooth. Sigh…

I managed to stretch my glass throughout the meal and wanted to order another glass (or bottle) to continue to enjoy for the rest of the evening, but alas it was not meant to be. With a quick check of his NBA playoff iPhone app, Tim determined that we could make the second half of the LA Lakers – Oklahoma City Thunder game if we got on the road straight away. So we were off.

We did manage to see the second half, which made Tim happy. But three days later, I still regret not getting that second glass. I plan to get a bottle to make up for it. And with summer on the way, I should have no problem finding a warm evening to enjoy this refreshing treat.

Amy Award: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Spendy scale: $10-15
Best bet: A cool, fresh meal or a hot summer night