Eating An Alarming Number of Oysters

Or how I came to love Vin Jaune.

First to the oysters.  For our little get together we ordered 200 un-shucked, Blue Point oysters which in retrospect was way more than we needed.  However the idea of nearly unlimited fresh, briny oysters to enjoy on a rare day off was too tantalizing to pass up.  We  went berserk and poor Kyle ended up cleaning and shucking a crap-load of them as well as coercing our guests into doing the same.   Shucking oysters is a skill I probably need to learn but as long as there is a nice guy out there willing to get the job done, why bother?  I could learn to change my oil and fix the washer too but it’s not real likely to happen.  So props to Kyle, he is really good at it and his oysters have a minimal amount of grit and plenty of sweet liquor.

Find a nice guy willing to shuck, even if he shows up in a Crayola t-shirt.

I like my raw oysters with a squeeze of lemon and that’s it.  The sweet briny-ness is just heavenly with the perfect wine adding all the extra flavor I need.  My usual pairing with raw oysters is a Sancerre with my favorite being the Claude Riffault ‘Les Boucauds’.  It tastes of pink grapefruit and minerals and I love it but just didn’t feel like the right thing in cold weather.  Maybe a little too light and breezy for a chilly day.  My brother (and business partner) Matt suggested a Vin Jaune from the Jura.  A wonderfully unusual wine that is the sort of regional specialty that makes me love French wine all the more.  Vin Jaune translates to ‘yellow wine’ and is so named because of the color achieved after fermentation.  It is fermented without topping up the barrels, like Sherry, to produce a slowly oxidized wine.  Unlike Sherry it is not fortified and the acidity tends to be higher making it perfect to pair with strong cheeses or raw oysters.  The wine has aromas and flavors of apricots but is dry like a Fino Sherry.  It could not have been a more perfect pairing.

So good, who remembers moderation?

I am just a little ashamed, but mostly proud to say I think I ate over 30 oysters (not in one go, but spread out over the course of the day).  I know, ridiculous and a little awesome.

Drink:  To pair with the oysters we drank the 1998 Arbois Vin Jaune made Rolet Père et Fils.  Totally worth the splurge.