Another fabulous Food and Wine Dinner
The idea for this event was for everyone to bring a new varietal that maybe no one had tasted before and to pair it with an appetizer. We had some very good wines and as always the food was incredible.
We started with a greeter, a sparkling wine from Anderson Valley. The Roederer Estate Brut is made from Chardonnay grapes and is blended with oak aged reserve wines to create a complex, dry and harmonious sparkling wine. It was truly a cause for celebration, good health, great friends, and wonderful memories.
The Watermelon Strawberry Sangria was a new drink for everyone. Have you ever tried Watermelon Sangria? Well it is a creative way to enjoy watermelon and for all you vodka drinkers there is a cup added in just for you, (Recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay). Wish Bobby could have joined us!!
This was paired with Grilled Zucchini with Jalapeno Yogurt Dipping Sauce, also from Bobby Flay.
Next up was a delicious French white that came straight from France and unfortunately you can’t get it here, a 2005 Cour Cheverny Fleurs de Lis from the Loire Valley area; a crisp, acidic, minerally white wine. We had never heard of the varietal- Romorantin, one of those grapes that France keeps all for themselves. It paired nicely with cheese puffs. The recipe was basic with Gruyere cheese added to one batch and Fontina added to the other.
A 2012 Finca Cerrada Viura from Spain. The wine is 100% viura varietal which was a new one for us. The citrus fruits and minerality add complexity to this crisp easy to drink wine. The pairing was a Provencal goat cheese and fig tart which was a perfect balance of flavors.
Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking may be the best Risotto and Asparagus recipe I've ever had. Amazingly it was paired with an Italian red wine, a 2007 Sagrantino Di Montefalco. Sagrantino is a grape varietal that grows only around the hilltop town of Montefalco, in the Umbria region of Italy. In fact, it is grown nowhere else in the world. The wine has solid tannins and sweet dark fruit flavors making it a good wine pairing for the risotto.
A Lucky Duck Moscato was paired with a rich lemon chicken, infused with just enough red chili heat to compliment the wine. The chemistry between the sweet and spicy is always an amazing phenomenon to me!