Picture: Christian G.E. Schiller with Oyster Guru Jon Rowley in Seattle tasting oysters and oyster wines: West Coast Oysters and Wine with Jon Rowley in Seattle, USAThe 10 winners of the 2014 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition were announced. The Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition is an annual event, now in its 20th year, orchestrated by Seattle-based Oyster Guru Jon Rowley and sponsored by Tayler Shellfish Farms.
Panels of top food and wine experts convened on April 8 at the WaterGrill in Los Angeles, April 9 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis and April 10 at Anthony's Homeport at Shilshole Bay in Seattle to select the 10 best West Coast wines to go with oysters on the half shell as the culmination of the month-long, three-tiered 20th annual Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition. "Not many wines go with oysters", says Rowley, "but when one does, bingo!...it's a beautiful thing.”
Historically, the benchmark wines for oysters were French Muscadet and Chablis. The idea behind the Competition is to identify West Coast wines with similar oyster-friendly characteristics. West Coast wineries were invited to submit the crisp, clean-finishing white wines that best complement oysters on the half shell. California fielded 59 entries, Washington had 49 and Oregon 15.
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Jon Rawley explained to me how the contest works when I met him some time ago in Seattle: “We're not judging the wines on their own merits, but on how the wine's flavor goes with oysters. The ideal oyster wine is crisp, clean, and gets out of the way to let the taste of the next oyster to come through. The wines come in batches of five labeled A-T, swaddled in shiny mylar bags to protect their identity. You thoughtfully eat an oyster, chewing carefully, then take a sip of the wine and see how the two jive. Like speed dating, you go with your first impression, take notes on the comment sheet if you like, give the wine a score, and move on. At the end, you rank your top 10 wines and the amalgamated scores from the three cities lead to the winners.”
For previous Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competitions, see:
The 10 Winners of the 2014 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition, USA
The 10 Winners of the 2013 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition, USA
The 2012 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition - 10 Oyster Wines
The Best Wines for US West Coast and Other Oysters
The 10 Winners of the 2014 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition
Listed alphabetically:
*Acrobat 2012 Pinot Gris (OR)
**Chateau Ste. Michelle 2013 Sauvignon Blanc (WA)
**Foris 2012 Pinot Blanc (OR)
**Geyser Peak Winery 2013 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
**Kenwood 2012 Pinot Gris (CA)
**Kenwood 2013 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
Lost River 2013 Pinot Gris (WA)
Revolution Wines 2013 Chenin Blanc (CA)
Sebastiani 2013 Sauvignon Blanc (CA)
**Van Duzer 2013 Pinot Gris (OR)
*Prior Oyster Award **Multiple Prior Oyster Awards
4 Types of Oysters
The judges consumed about 1200 Kumamoto oysters. The Kumamoto belongs to the family of Pacific oysters. In fact, it is one of the most famous Pacific oysters. But oysters are found all over the world. I recently had delicious oysters in South Africa and Madagascar, which are typically not on the radar of the mainstream oyster eater.
I distinguish 4 types of oysters:
The Pacific
Originally from Japan, the Pacific or Japanese oyster is the most widely cultured oyster in the world. It accounts for 75% of world production. In France, it has crowded out the Belon and now accounts for 99% of oyster production there. Gone are the days of the Belon in Paris. The Pacific oysters are marketed under a variety of names, often denoting their growing area. The Kumamoto is one of the most famous Pacific oysters. I tend to think of a Pacific oyster as a creamy oyster, with a mineral note.
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The Olympia
The Olympia is a very small oyster seldom exceeding 2 inches. For comparison, in Massachusetts, oysters must be a minimum of 3 inches to be sold. Olympia is a native American oyster, which once flourished on the West Coast, before the Pacific took over. Olympias are hard to find today as they grow very slowly and are difficult to transport. They hold very little liquid and dry out quickly. The Olympia has a very full flavor with a distinct aftertaste.
The Atlantic
Another American native, there are many varieties of Atlantic oysters, such as the Malpeque from Prince Edward Island in Canada and the Blue Point from Long Island in New York State. Bluepoints were originally named for Blue Point, Long Island but now the term is generally applied to any Atlantic oyster two four inches long. These two are now the most common restaurant oysters in the US. Also called Eastern oyster, the Atlantic has a thick, elongated shell that ranges from 2 to 5 inches across. It's found along the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico in the US.
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The Belon
The Belon, or European Flat, is Europe’s native oyster. The Belons are round and shallow. That’s why they are called Flats. They are also not very liquid and dry out fast. They have a long history. They used to grow in Brittany, Normandy, England, Spain, Holland, Greece and the Black See. But a disease is wiping them out worldwide. The Flats from the Belon river in Brittany were at some point the connoisseur’s top choice and the name was soon adopted by all oyster growers, a bit like the Blue Points from Long Island. The Belon oyster grows in limited quantity in Maine on the rocks of the Damariscotta river bed.
For more on the different kinds of oysters, see:
Oysters and Wine
Wine that Goes with Oysters
Not every wine goes with oysters - a vibrant combination of minerals, sweetness and the sea. In general, first, I always try to go local. Second, the best oyster wines are dry, crisp, clean-finishing white wines, both sparkling and still. I avoid red wines and the sweeter style German Rieslings, although in South Africa I had a Cabernet Sauvignon with my oysters on the half shell, as suggested.
Jon Rowley
The 2014 Pacific Coast Oyster Wine Competition was orchestrated by Jon Rowley again. Jon is a fascinating and entertaining man. I enjoyed very much an afternoon with him and my wife Annette in the summer of 2011 in Seattle. I felt very honored to spend time with a man who was inducted into the prestigious “Who’s Who of Cooking in America” in 1987.
Before my trip to the US West Coast, I had not heard much about Jon Rowley. But in preparing for the trip, I quickly learned that Jon had a major impact on the flavor and quality of fish, shellfish, fruits and vegetables that are served in the North-West of the US. All his life, he has fought to get better-quality food on the tables of restaurants and households in this part of the world.
"I am fascinated by oysters" Jon said over lunch. “Today's availability of oysters was unimaginable here say 25 years ago. Almost no oysters were served on their own half shells in Seattle. Instead, oysters were eaten in cocktails, shucked and swathed in red sauce laced with so much horseradish that any tang of the sea was largely conjectural”. This has changed completely as I could witness at Elliot’s Oyster House, partly thanks to Jon’s efforts. He has organized restaurant oyster programs and promotions.
See more:
West Coast Oysters and Wine with Jon Rowley in Seattle, USA
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