Truth is, the Pinot Noir and the Grenache tasted pretty good with this salad, so if you want to drink a red wine to start those can be good choices. But the champ was the Preston Marsanne Dry Creek Valley Organically Grown Grapes 1994. It has an almond edge that folds in nicely with the pear flavors. With the dish, the fruit becomes positively exuberant, yet the soft texture of the wine firms up. A terrific combination.
Passion fruit perks up the sauce for the main dish of steamed sea bass.
Passion fruits look like wrinkled, dark purple eggs, but inside they have a yellowish flesh with pale green, soft, edible seeds. For this recipe, however, we must strain out the seeds, which would make the sauce bitter. Use a coarse strainer. Although the flavors are bold, they are actually nicely modulated enough to want a really lively wine. And boy, do we have one.