Last week I invited some friends over to practice both my cooking skills as well as tasting skills.  I had smuggled a tin of duck confit back from France last year and it had been sitting on top of my fridge ever since.  I figured these dog days of winter were as good a time as ever to cook it up.  I paired the confit with fingerling potatoes roasted in duck fat and this fennel and radicchio salad.  I asked my guests to bring a bottle of Bordeaux wine (duck confit is said to have originated in the Bordeaux region).  We had 2 whites and 2 reds.  I’d like to say we had an educated discussion of each wine, but the catch-up and gossip got to the best of us so we were more focused on that.  And the duck…..ohhhh the duck.  So easy, so delicious; I’ll be bringing an extra suitcase to bring back more tins of duck from my trip in May!

My favorite wine of the evening was actually the first one that we opened.  2011 Graves Blanc by Jean Medeville Et Fils which Emily and I picked up when visiting Tribeca Wine Merchants last weekend.  Light, crisp, refreshing, balanced acidity with fruit, but not in an overly citrus way like some sauvignon blancs can be.  It went down easy….wish I could say I remember more of each wine but like I said, the wine, conversation, and food got the best of me, and I enjoyed every last bite!

Wine:  2011 Graves Blanc by Jean Medeville Et Fils 
Purchased:  Tribeca Wine Merchants
Price: $20 retail