Showing posts with label wine dinner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine dinner. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

U.S. vs France Pinot Noir Wine Dinner at Bistro du Midi (Boston, MA)

Bistro du Midi is an old-school French restaurant in Boston's Back Bay and about once a month they hold a special wine dinner for a small group in their private room, curated by head sommelier Ray Osborne. I attended their last wine dinner on November 29, which was a U.S. vs France Pinot Noir dinner. Ray explained each wine and pairing, as well as other tidbits about wines and pinot noirs. He told us that dark, less opaque colored wine is the mark of cooler climate wines.

We started the dinner with Beet-cured salmon, caper, creme fraiche
Bistro du Midi
This was paired with a 2014 WillaKenzie "Giselle" from Willamette Valley, Oregon.
Bistro du Midi
WillaKenzie Estate is a big name in Willamette Valley, started by Burgundian Bernard Lacroute. The name WillaKenzie refers to the soil, which is near Willamette River and MacKenzie River.
This was a great pairing, the wine tasted much smoother with the fatty salmon and sweet, earthy beet puree.

Spanish octopus, sunchoke, golden delicious, smoked almonds
Bistro du Midi
Paired with 2016 Louis Latour from Gevrey-Chambertin
Burgundy is particularly sensitive to vintages, and 2016 is a classic vintage. Louis Latour is an 11th generation winemaker since 18th century. Wines from Gevrey-Chambertin is known to be irony, earthy, mineral.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

A Sauvignon Blanc Dinner with Brancott Estate at Soho House

Sauvignon Blanc makes up 70% of all the wines produced in New Zealand. Brancott Estate was the first to plant Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes in Marlborough, back in 1975, and they seek to keep breaking ground with their new Chosen Rows Sauvignon Blanc. New Zealand sauvignon blancs are typically fruit forward and drank within the first 2 years. Their prices range no more than $30-35, in comparison to French sauvignon blancs which can go for $120-150. Brancott Estate and a few other pioneering wineries are now trying to make sauvignon blancs that are more about the structure and complexity, and can be aged, which is atypical for New Zealand.

I got to taste some of these wines and compared them to the French ones during a private dinner held at Soho House. Great food, great wine, and a beautiful view of Los Angeles.

IMG_0256
2010 is the first vintage of Chosen Rows to be released to the world (it will be released this year), and as such, we compared them to all 2010 vintages of two other New Zealand and two French wines.
Brancott Estate Chosen Rows Pour
Photo courtesy of Brancott Estate
IMG_0262

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

A Taste of Piemonte: Vietti Wine Dinner at Ombra (Studio City)

What better wines to pair Italian food with than Italian wines? Recently, the newly opened Ombra in Studio City held a wine pairing dinner with an old winery from Piemonte, Vietti. Mario Vietti started making Vietti wines in 1919, although the history of the winery itself traces back to the 19th century.

Ombra is chef Michael Young's first venture as a chef/owner, but he has trained under some big Italian names in Los Angeles including Angelo Auriana at Valentino and Celestino Drago. Story has it that the lawyer working with French Laundry was impressed by his cooking at Domenico's in Silver Lake. He then suggested that Young open his own restaurant - and that was Ombra.

As with any meal at Ombra, our wine dinner started with arancini (fried risotto) and bread with eggplant caponata.

Amuse


Vitello Tonnato (roast veal with tuna sauce)
Vitello Tonnato
Apparently this is a traditional dish from Piedmont. Why have I not had this before? All the garnishes that normally come on smoked fish is here, but with veal! I will have to keep an eye out for this dish in the future.

This was paired with a 2010 Vietti Arneis
arneis

A very clear white, with hints of stone fruit and light acidity - refreshing but does not overpower the dish. The wine takes away the sharpness of the onion and the fishiness a bit, while the creamy tuna sauce cuts the acidity.

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