May is Oregon wine month…who knew? Celebrate one of the best as Grace Restaurant hosts Domaine Serene on May 24th for the unveiling of the new Domaine Serene Grand Cheval.  From what I understand it is a blend of their stunning Willamette Valley Pinot Noir with Syrah, a beef and potatoes wine with complexity and character.  Domaine Serene Southeast Sales Manager, Ginger Dollins, will be on hand to walk guests through the tasting of Domaine Serene’s beautiful wines paired with a succulent menu prepared by Chef Blaine Staniford.  More information and reservations available at 817-877-3388.  Full menu and pairings here. If you can’t make it out to Ft. Worth on the 24th join Master Sommelier Melissa Monosoff at Maximo Cocina Mexicanafor an Orin Swift wine dinner featuring the racy, interesting blends the winery has become known for – Prisoner, Abstract, Mannequin and Papillion.  Call 972-233-5656 for reservations.

The monthly “come as you are” wine dinner at The Grape will always please a wine loving palate.  May 30th Chef/Owner Brian Luscher and Sommelier/GM Courtney Luscher welcome Travis James from Favorite Brands for the introduction of the new wines from Pierre Henri Morel, longtime winery manager for Michel Chapoutier in the Chateauneuf du Pape region of the Southern Rhone Valley.  As always you can come any time you like between 5:30 and 9, and the pairings are always spot on and delicious. Call 214-828-1981 for reservations.

If your spirit of choice is vodka Wednesday is your lucky day.  From 6p-8p on the 23rd at Sigel’s – Greenville 75 distinct and different vodkas from around the world will be available to try and buy at discounted prices.  Reservations required, 214-739-4012.

Jimmy's salumi and formaggio plate Served at the Damilano Barolo tasting event.

Dan Redman is lucky salesman. He sells Damilano wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. His biggest problem is not selling wine. The biggest bump in his job is that he never has enough wine to sell. Last week Dan’s Mosaic Wine Group brought  Brand Manager, Barbara Levi Cavaglione, to Dallas to showcase the wines. It was the last stop of her 7- day 6-city tour. I was an invited guest at the tasting, which took place at the Dallas epicenter of Italian wine: Jimmy’s Food Store.

You can’t be a Piedmontese wine producer without being judged on your Barolo, the the king of Italian wines. It projects Italian viticulture more than any other wine. Basically the wine is 100% Nebbiolo grape which is grown in or near the small town of Barolo. Despite countless attempts, no other place in the world has succeeded in growing Nebbiolo that tastes like a Nebbiolo grape from this region. Every once in a while, someone succeeds for a year but then the product disappears. Last time I checked, Hunter Hammett, the eagle-eyed sommelier at the Pyramid Restaurant, had an Argentinean Nebbiolo that was a ringer for a Barolo on his wine list, but his inventory was down to half a dozen bottles.

Dan Redman and Barbara Levi Cavaglione discuss The Damilano Wines

Damilano’s portfolio is rich in Barolo. It is 70% of their production and the jewel in the crown is a 34-acre vineyard named Cannubi. It’s ownership is shared among some 20 producers. Damilano acquired their first shareholding in 1935 and now controls two thirds of the acreage. They served their 2006 to a packed house at Jimmy’s. The wine is intense in the nose and the mouth with earthy notes in the nose. It can be enjoyed now (we ate it with Jimmy’s cinghiale sausage) but will keep for 15-20 more years, based on previous vintages. At $80 it is a wine to collect, but you don’t have to spend that much on an authentic Nebbiolo to drink tonight. Damilano Nebbiolo d’Alba absolutely exudes a footprint of how great Nebbiolo should taste and is available for $15 at Jimmy’s. I’m pleased to see more ‘ordinary’ Nebbiolo wines appearing on the market to make this unique grape more accessible to consumers. I’m just puzzled why it does not grow outside Piedmont.

Footnote: That food, including the sausage, and the wines for this tasting was only $25+tax per person. An amazing bargain. Check Jimmy’s web site to get notices about future tastings.

[Ed's Note: We corrected our spelling of "Damilano."]

Scheduled Master Sommeliers include James Tidwell, Drew Hendricks, Wayne Belding, Brett Zimmerman, Guy Stout, Tim Gaiser, Laura Williamson, Keith Goldston, Nate Ready, Melissa Monosoff, Brian Cronin, Cameron  Douglas, John Szabo, Geoff Kruth, Laura DePasquale, Jay Fletcher, Andrew McNamara, Peter Neptune and Greg Harrington. The speaker lineup also includes James Beard Award Winners Rajat Parr and Paul Grieco, Master of wine Christy Canterbury, wine marketer Paul Wagner, Union Square Hospitality Group Wine Director John Ragan, and Leonetti Cellar Owner Chris Figgins.

The seminar topics, times, and various ticket prices are listed below. For more information or to register, click here. Like, fast.

You can be a sommelier like this Guy!

In addition to the seminar schedule, the Texas’ Best Sommelier competition runs behind the scenes. The prize for the winner includes scholarship money to be used for a Court of Master Sommeliers’ certification program. The winning sommelier will be announced at the Grand Tasting on Monday, August 13, which will include 150 world-class wines and hors d’oeuvres from Four Seasons Executive Chef Christof Syre.

CONFERENCE CALENDAR
Saturday, August 11-—Pre-conference tasting and social media boot camp
9:00am to 3:00pm
TASTING TRACK
9:00am –12:00pm:      Tasting Workshop: Understanding the Process of tasting—led select Master Sommeliers (TBD)
12:00 – 1:00pm:           Lunch (not included in admission)
1:00 – 3:00pm:            The Kimmeridgian Chain—led by Wayne Belding MS
SOCIAL MEDIA TRACK
9:00am –12:00pm:      Social Media Boot camp—led by blogger Tony Jones
12:00 –1:00pm:           Lunch (not included in admission)
1:00 –3:00pm:             Engaging People with Social Media—led by social media expert Rick Bakas

***Seminars are open to the public. Saturday passes cost $50 per person and include access to either the Tasting Track or Social Media Track (attendees are not permitted to interchange track offerings). Please note lunch is not included with admission.

Sunday, August 12
9:00am to 5:00pm—Educational seminars on contemporary issues to include:
•         Bordeaux—led by Wayne Belding MS and Brett Zimmerman MS
•         Texas Terroir—led by Guy Stout MS and Christy Canterbury MW
•         Riesling—led by Tim Gaiser MS, Laura Williamson MS, Paul Grieco and Keith Goldston MS
•         Oregon—led by Nate Ready, MS
•         Beer—led by Melissa Monosoff MS and Brian Cronin MS

***Seminars are open to the public. Sunday passes cost $175 per person and include lunch. Sunday and Monday passes are available at a discounted price of $225. Each class features at least eight wines to taste and lasts one hour and fifteen minutes. Seating is limited to 50 participants per seminar.
Although open to the public, these seminars are also appropriate for those working in the industry— such as distributor representatives, sommeliers, restaurant managers and servers.

Monday, August 13
9:00am to 5:00pm—Educational seminars on contemporary issues to include:
•         State of the Industry—led by Moderator James Tidwell MS and panel members
Drew Hendricks MS, Paul Wagner, Rajat Parr, John Ragan, Rick Bakas
•         New Zealand: Trends for the Future—led by Cameron Douglas MS and Andrew McNamara MS
•         Niagara Peninsula—led by John Szabo MS and Geoff Kruth MS
•         Cabernet Franc—led by Laura DePasquale MS, Jay Fletcher MS and Peter Neptune MS
•         Winery Retrospective: Leonetti Cellar—led by Chris Figgins and Greg Harrington MS

*** Monday, April 13 courses deliver industry-specific material and thus are only open to the trade. Each seminar features at least eight wines to taste and lasts one hour and fifteen minutes. Monday passes cost $75 per person and include lunch. Sunday and Monday passes are available at a discounted price of $225. Seating is limited to 50 participants per seminar.
6:00 to 7:00pm—Wine Pre-Reception
7:00 to 8:30pm—Grand Tasting and Texas’ Best Sommelier 2012 Announcement Ceremony
***Open to the public. Tickets cost $95 per person.  Attendance to the Grand Tasting is included in the multi-day pass.

***Complete package tickets including Sunday and Monday passes and Grand Tasting tickets can be purchased for $300

INFORMATION: TEXSOM will be held on August 12-13, 2012 at the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth a pre-conference tasting and social media boot camp will be held Saturday August 11. For more details and conference registration information, please visit www.texsom.com.
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES: For media interested in attending or covering TEXSOM 2012, please contact Keely Garibaldi at C. Milan Communications, keely@cmilancomm.com or 415.392.6600.
ABOUT TEXSOM

TEXSOM and the Texas’ Best Sommelier Competition were founded by James Tidwell, MS, CWE, Sommelier at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas and Drew Hendricks, MS, CWE, Director of Beverage Education for Pappas Restaurants in Houston. Presented by the not-for-profit organizations, the Texas Sommelier Association and the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, TEXSOM is the only event of its kind in the world. Since its inception in 2005, it has attracted more than 1,500 wine professionals, and more than 160 Texas sommeliers have competed.

ABOUT THE TEXAS SOMMELIER ASSOCIATION
The Texas Sommelier Association is a trade association comprised of Texas wine professionals. The Association promotes professional wine service standards, outlines paths for further wine education and certification, and raises public awareness about the professional standards and certifications for sommeliers. The organization sponsors the “Texas’ Best Sommelier” competition, with the winner being awarded scholarships for professional certification courses. This competition is held behind the scenes during the TEXSOM conference. For more information, visit www.texsom.com.

ABOUT THE WINE AND FOOD FOUNDATION OF TEXAS
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas was established to connect its members and the general public with the value, creativity and craftsmanship inherently present in the culinary and viticulture arts. This mission is fulfilled by funding grants, scholarships and research aimed at elevating the quality, awareness and enjoyment of good food and fine wine as well as hosting education and social events that enhance the quality of life for members and communities. These programs offer unique opportunities to enrich the minds and palates of guests, who in turn can relate their experience with friends sharing common interests. For more information, visit www.winefoodfoundation.org.

Wolfgang Puck's donated dessert course: Vanilla bean panna cotta with a blueberry shot + blueberry white cheddar crumble (photos by Carol Shih)

John Cox, Ray Skradzinski, Oliver Sitrin, and Heather Dorris may not be names that trip off your tongue. But if history is any guide they will be big-name chefs in Dallas in the next few years. They were the four winners in this year’s Rising Star Chefs Contest: Heather Darris (Bolla), Oliver Sitrin (Marquee), Ray Skradzinski (Five-Sixty by Wolfgang Puck), and John Cox (Hyatt Regency) Former winners have included Andre Natera (now execuchef at The Pyramid Restaurant), J. Chastain (now sous chef at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek), Omar Flores (now execuchef at Driftwood) and Anthony Bombaci (now execuchef at Nana).

Jump for photos and the rest of the story.

This year’s winners presented their dishes to a banquet of paying customers at their awards dinner held as part of the 2012 Dallas Wine and Food Festival last night. The sold out event was held at in a packed dining room at the Nasher Sculpture Center. Emcee Gary Cogill introduced videos of each chef in action while guests dined on a meal prepared by the chefs consisting of each of their winning dishes plus a dessert from Wolfgang Puck Catering (who provide catering to The Nasher). Sponsors ‘d’Arenberg and and Lilikanoon provided the wine. For a full list of the many sponsors involved see here.

See the photo show below for the food in all its glory!

John Cox's pan seared halibut, venison sausage, English pea, roasted poblano fricassee with Buerre Blanc

Ray Skradzinski's pan roasted pork tenderloin, trio of cauliflower black pepper blood orange sauce with marjoram

The winners of the Rising Star Chefs' Contest: Heather Darris (Bolla), Oliver Sitrin (Marquee), John Cox (Hyatt Regency), and Ray Skradzinski (Five-Sixty by Wolfgang Puck)

Oliver Sitrin's steak moutarde with parsnips and brussels sprouts

Heather Darris' pan roasted boneless lamb rack, yellow curry puree, sweet apple relish, and spinach beech mushrooms

The View From Côte Bonneville's DuBrul Vineyard

James Tidwell, Master Somelier and Beverage Manager at the Four Seasons Las Colinas, takes a lot of wine-related trips. Each time he visits an area he usually discovers a new or off-the-radar winery making a special wine. Last year on a trip to Washington State, Tidwell ran across Côte Bonneville, a family-run winery centered around their DuBrul Vineyard which the Shiels family planted in 1992.  Kerry Shiels, winemaker and daughter of the founders, came to town and Tidwell contacted the Texas distributor,  Hear Hear, and arranged a a dinner featuring Côte Bonneville wines at Café on the Green at the magnificent Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving. I was an invited guest, which gave me the chance to digest two birds with one stone, so to speak. Besides tasting the wines from Côte Bonneville, I also got to taste new chef Jonathan Rivera’s cooking.

Côte Bonneville Winemaker Kerry Shiels

Kerry Shiels began like most west coast winemakers with an engineering degree from Northwestern University. This was followed by a stint at Fiat where she worked in Turin and Chicago. Only later did she have an epiphany (or 500 Abarth moment) and plunge into making wine full time. She enrolled at the temple of US wine education, UC Davis and earned a Masters degree in viticulture and enology. She spent her breaks working at some A-list wineries: 2006 vintage at Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa; 2007 harvest at Tahbilk in Australia; 2007 vintage at Folio, Michael Mondavi’s Napa winery; 2008 harvest as the assistant white winemaker to Rich Arnold at Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa; 2010 harvest at Tapiz in Argentina. All of this time she was involved with the family winery and now works there full time.

The Côte Bonneville winery makes its wines from the family’s DuBrul vineyard. This steep-sloped, rocky vineyard grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Riesling. One testimony to the quality of the grapes is that over a dozen other wineries buy them, including some of the best in Washington State.

We started with Côte Bonneville’s Riesling and Cabernet Franc Rosé served with hors d’oeuvres. Then it was down to the meal and 2009 Dubrul Vineyard Chardonnay which was paired Jonathan Rivera’s foie gras torchon over five-spice waffle, pecan brittle, green apple scented with cardamom. This wine has a mineral backbone, Chardonnay’s classic back-off-the-mouth bite, and pineapple and tropical fruit in the nose, all wrapped up in a very tight style.

Next, it was on to the first of two Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines. The 2006 Carriage House is named after the part of the DuBrul vineyard from which it comes. By contrast, the 2005 DuBrul Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is produced from grapes scattered across the vineyard. It was striking how different the characters were, given just a few hundred yards (and a year) difference in the grapes. The Carriage House had pronounced red fruit in both the nose and mouth. Also, notes of toffee in the bouquet! It is fruit-forward with a smooth texture. It reminded me of a characteristic of many Washington State Cabernets: it was non-prototypical. That is, the winemakers eschew following a prototype from Bordeaux or California and just let the (very expressive) fruit unfold in a style of its own. The 2005 DuBrul, by contrast, is reminiscent of Napa valley floor Cabernets with pronounced tannins, very ripe fruit and a wider spectrum of notes in the nose, including cedar and black pepper.

Foie Gras Torchon Over Five Spice Waffle, Pecan Brittle, Green Apple and Cardamom

The wine pairings finished on a high note with the 2009 DuBrul Vineyard Late Harvest Riesling. Sweet but not cloying, commanding weight in the mouth and all wrapped up by a long fruit finish.

It was remarkable to find such a wide variety of grapes growing in such close proximity with apparently no compromise in wine quality. It is no surprise that Côte Bonneville has won many awards from the wine press and more broadly.

It is too early for me to form a judgment of Jonathan Rivera’s cooking, but the execution of the dishes you see in the pictures was spot on. The style seems to be elegant and light, and he seems to have a knack for ‘the right touch’ – a case in point being the solitary marinated amarena cherry nuzzled against the duck breast. I was seated next to Mike Hiller, a familiar Dallas food critic known for his terminal addiction to golf, and he was completely overcome with unintelligible gurgling noises. That is how perfectly the tartness of that cherry infused with the fat in the duck. Yummy as they say over at his publication.

Cocao Dusted Duck Breast, Mushroom & Leek Brandade, Sautéed Swiss Chard, Amarena Cherry Sauce

Great things come in small quantities. These wines are available through Off The Vine in Grapevine, but some are limited to as little as eight bottles for the whole state of Texas.

2009 Chardonnay, Yakima Valley

Slow poached cod with sous-vide artichokes and spring peas in olive oil from Chef Isma Prados

In simplest terms, the ideal way to enjoy a glass of wine is paired with the cuisine of the region the wine is from. In early days of wine making, wine was intended to be the drink enjoyed with food during the daily meals; even before you could safely drink water there was wine.  If you ask most winemakers, they will agree their wine is  made with thoughts of the food pairing in mind,.  Think about how “California Cuisine” was created in the heart of Napa in the 1980’s and early 1990’s by chefs like Alice Waters, Michael Chiarello, Thomas Keller and Cindy Pawlcyn who focused on local products meant to highlight the flavors of the area and pairing well with wine coming from the valley; it is also why you enjoy a hearty, beefy Malbec in Argentina while feasting on smoky, barbecued meat, pork and lamb at an afternoon Asado; why tomatoes are one of the hardest things to pair, yet Chianti is always the ideal match for pasta with marinara sauce; and why artichokes and asparagus can give a Sommelier a headache when they see them on a pairing menu except in Spain, where the ideal pairing can range from a crisp, acidic yet still fruit forward Cava or racy, dry Fino Sherry.

The idea of eating and drinking regionally is fully embraced by the Spanish culture, as was evident on my recent trip as a guest of Segura Viudas.  Wine lists were filled with selections from throughout Spain’s diverse regions paired with menus containing lavish selections of seasonal veggies, fresh seafood and shellfish, lots of pork and locally produced olive oil flavoring everything.

Chef Isma Prados

The final day of the trip was spent with Chef Ismael Prados touring the Barcelona Mercat de Sant Josep de la Bouqueria, one of the oldest open markets in the country dating back to 1217; followed by a four-course cooking class upstairs at the market with the chef and his team of fellow cooks.

Chef Isma is a rock star among Spain’s celebrity chefs, often referred to as the Jamie Oliver of Catalonia. He is a cookbook author, former star of several popular television cooking shows including “Cuina X Solters”(Cooking for Singles) and “La Cuina de l’Isma” (Isma’s Kitchen,) and soon to be restaurateur who also visited Dallas last year as a featured chef with Central Market during their Spanish celebration.  And, he is charming, gracious, funny, talented, knowledgeable, fiercely proud of his roots and delightfully humble as he shook hands with fans throughout the amazing market filled with gorgeous produce, freshly baked bread, dried mushrooms, and every kind of pork, meat and fish you could want.

While walking the Bouqeria and listening to Chef Isma describe various items and purveyors I quickly got a sense of the type of chef he is, similar to some of the other chefs we had met throughout our week like young Chef Pere Massana of Divinic, a new tapas and wine restaurant in Vilafranca del Penedès.
Mainly, cook locally, cook seasonally and, perhaps most importantly, cook with respect to the ingredients.

Chef Isma notes his heritage and the heritage of all Catalan cooks when describing his cooking style, whether these cooks have been formally trained or trained at the knee of their Spanish grandmothers, the use of their local products prevails over everything else.

Arros Moli de Pals, a rice used in a baked paella style dish Isma created during our lunch came from a regional producer established in 1452; his sofrito, the common base of most dishes in Spain, was created from regionally grown onions, red peppers and tomatoes, and slowly cooked in a bath of local olive oil to a sweet, caramelized layer of local flavor; Catalan artichoke hearts bathed in fragrant olive oil, were slowly cooked sous-vide, and quickly finished in a hot pan with freshly shelled market peas; and piles of cod, squid, lobster, shrimp, clams, jumbo whole scallops, oysters, octopus, and razor clams that arrived that morning from boats docked just a few miles away at the Mediterranean Sea were tempting elements to chose from for our luncheon meal.

Preserving and honoring the heritage is as important as creating great food; but when the ingredients available need such little manipulation to be delicious, that preservation is easy.  Chef Isma noted that every region has their own way of making rice, just like every family has their own way of making their sofrito – the main tool you need for good cooking is a smart head and the best, freshest ingredients, his preferably from Catalonia.

When pairing these ingredients with the wines of the Penedes region you quickly understand why eating and drinking locally is so ideal. Chef Isma’s menus often start with the wine, pairing his flavors around what wine will be served.
For our cooking class and lunch we made a salad of huge Fresan strawberries, just in season, and spicy baby mustard greens garnished with fresh trout roe paired with the cherry, berry and spice filled Segura Viudas Brut Rose, enhancing the sweet and savory elements of the dish lifting the juicy fruit flavors of the Tanat grape based Cava.

A second course of slow poached cod throat (with a high amount of gelatin helping create the sauce) was served with the sous-vide artichokes and baby peas, finished simply with more of the beautiful, local olive oil was paired with Segura Viudas Aria Brut, the second tier, slightly more high end Cava from Segura Viudas which the multi-talented chef sabered for us. The fresh, vibrant and lively bubbly cut through some of the richness of the dish, while marrying well with the clean, spring flavors of the veggies.

Roasted blue foot chicken roulade served with the fragrant baked rice dish was served with Mas D’ Aranyo Reserva, a food friendly, slightly earthy red blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, the only red still wine Segura Viudas makes and unfortunately only available in Europe.

Segura Viudas Off Dry Cava, just slightly sweet and spicy, paired well with warm baking spices in a delicate dessert of poached pears with cardamom and vanilla ice cream.

Baked paella style rice with sofrito

After the time spent with Chef Isma and his talented team, along with the delicious tastings and pairings tried throughout the week, the obvious love of wine and food permeates every element of the Spanish culture, with incredible attention given to pairing regionally.  I am not sure they are quite like some Italians I know that plan what is for lunch during breakfast and what is for dinner during lunch, but the celebration of food with wine is an honored part of their culture.

Chef Isma and his team

Foie Gras with Segura Viudas Brut Rose

A few other interesting and delicious pairings I tasted throughout the trip included poached cod with honey and pistachios served with the tropical fruit filled still white wine Segura Viudas produces from the Xarel-lo grape, Crue de Lavit; a foie gras and mushroom stuffed artichoke with the Segura Viudas Brut Rose, giving the foie the berry and spice notes it shines with; spring pea soup with shaved ham and lots of olive oil with the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva; roasted pork shoulder with Shiitake mushrooms paired with 2006 Valdubon Reserva Ribera Del Duero Tempranillo, Segura Viudas’ sister winery; simply sauteed baby squid with olive oil and pulled roasted pork tacos with pickled red onions were served with red fruit and spice filled Fra Guerau Rose from the Montsant region, another sister winery of Segura Viudas.

With flavors like these and the elevated respect given to each ingredient it is hard not to fall in love with the food, wine and the people of Spain. And, in bringing these ideas home, to enjoy the flavors of the season and to celebrate the products of our region.  To help pair your favorite foods with a light, crisp Cava Segura Viudas just launched their Discover and Share Your Perfect Pair facebook app to help create your perfect pairing. The app is available here and open to anyone over the age of 21.

If you love the feisty, difficult, rebellious, beautiful, seductive, sultry Burgundian grape that has made wine makers weep in both joy and sorrow, pay attention as there are some great opportunities to enjoy a glass of Pinot in the coming weeks.

The amazing Mac McDonald

Earlier this week Andrew Chalk noted the wine dinner next Wednesday night, April 25, at Abacus with owner/winemaker Mac McDonald of Vision Cellars, pairing his wines with produce from Farmer Lee Jones of The Chef’s Garden.  I want to add a bit to the notes on this dinner as it really isn’t one to be missed.  The first time I tried Mac’s wine was at a similar dinner thrown by Kent Rathbun pairing Mac’s single vineyard Pinot Noir wines from Russian River, Marin County and Santa Lucia Highlands with his Southwest inspired cuisine, and at first sip I knew I had found a friend.  Not only are Vision Cellars wines interesting, layered and distinct with character and personality, the passion, joy and humor within Mac McDonald is contagious.  I am honored to call Mac and his lovely wife, Lil, friends and know with one taste of his wine shake of his hand you will feel the same way, especially when paired with fresh from the garden produce from The Chef’s Garden.  There is nothing about Rosemary Roasted Niman Ranch Pork Loin, Roasted Baby Cauliflower Wilted Root and Tropical Spinach, Mustard Cream paired with Vision Cellars Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Rosella’s Vineyard 2008 that doesn’t sound inviting.  The dinner starts at 6:30 at Abacus, reservations required -214-520-0151

Can’t make a 6:30 dinner but would love to enjoy a stellar Pinot Noir over dinner on the 25th, this one from slightly north of California?  Consider sipping one of the best from Willamette Valley at The Grape’s monthly “come as you are” wine dinner with Oregon’s Anne Amie Vineyards with reservations available anytime between 5:30pm and 9pm.  Anne Amie was started in early 2000 when Dr. William Pamplin purchased the historic Chateau Benoit Winery with the goal to make the highest quality, most varietally correct and regionally representative Pinot Noir.  Anne Amie crafts Old World style wines with balance, approachability and elegance now, but also with the ability to age several years into the future.  These will be paired with Chef Brian Luscher’s delicious cuisine in the Grape’s welcoming and always cozy setting. Reservations required – 214-828-1981.

Add May 1 to your calendar as the must attend tasting event for any Pinot Noir lover as Sigel’s holds their Benchmark Pinot Noir tasting at The Park Cities Club.  This is the second year in a row Sigel’s has presented this Pinot Noir tasting event and this one is guaranteed to be as good, if not better, than last as this year will include 40 different Pinot Noir wines from France, California, Oregon and New Zealand.  An array of tasty bites will be paired with impressive selections from Miner, Patz & Hall, Brewer Clifton, August Briggs, Steele, Bertrand Ambroise, Jadot and many more.   Reservations required -214-350-1271.

Viader and Dare Wines wait for their close-up.

Viader is a boutique California winery nestled in the foothills of the Howell Mountain Region of Napa Valley. This week they brought their wines to Dallas for a tasting. I was honored to be invited to the  dinner and tasting which took place at Bijoux, Scott and Gina Gottlich’s gem of a restaurant in Inwood Village. Predictably, the dining room was packed, reflecting the local following for both Viader and Bijoux. Guest of honor was Janet Viader, Director of Sales and Marketing for Viader and daughter of founder Delia Viader.

Let’s taste.

Janet Viader, Viader Vineyards and Winery

Viader produces just a few thousand cases year from their 30-acre vineyards set in one of the most picturesque parts of  California wine country. They are at 1,200-ft elevation on the road to the peak of Howell Mountain. Their focus is on the Bordeaux grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Verdot. They also make a little Syrah and Tempranillo (the latter from purchased grapes). In addition to the flagship Viader label, they also produce a second label, ‘Dare’. We dared to taste two of these wines as well.

It was obvious from the beginning that people where excited about this tasting. As the wine tasting progress, the amount of chatter in the dining room increased. The 2007 Viader, Napa Valley was  the wine of the evening. This blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Cabernet Franc has a nose of dark fruit with hints of chocolate. In the mouth it has ample body, intense forward sweet fruit with a hint of stewed raspberry. All this leaves to a harmonious finish. New oak is kept at about 50% which is modest for a premium Napa Valley red wine. It was paired expertly with braised veal cheeks by chef Scott Gottlich.

April 20^th Pappas Bros: “An Evening With The Super Tuscans”. Details here, but it’s basically a walk-around tasting of 15 of the wines that changed the way the world regards Italian red wines.

April 21th Bistro Watel’s:  4:30pm.  Taste 8 Cabernets retailing from $50 to $150 for only $20 per person.
Limited space, reservations required by reply email, or at 214 720 0323.

April 24th Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek: 7:15pm. Wine dinner featuring wines from California’s Continuum Estate and Hirsch Vineyards. Mingle with Carissa Mondavi and Jasmine Hirsch and enjoy a reception and four-course menu created by Executive Chef Bruno Davaillon. 214.443.4747

April 25th Abacus: Vision Cellars Wine Dinner.  6:30pm. Please call Abbey Close at 214-559-3111.

April 28th, 7pm at Café  on the Green at The Four Seasons Resort and Club in Irving has a wine dinner with Côte Bonneville wines and winemaker Kerry Shiels  (972) 717-0700. The take: check out this rising star winery from Washington State. It is going to get a lot more national coverage in the next few years. New chef at the Café is worth checking out too.

May 1^st Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: “US Release of Penfold’s 2007 “Grange”. Details here, but it’s basically a national release party for one of the top ten wines in the world at 59 Ruth’s Chris steak houses across the country. The Dallas location hosts the dinner in north Texas.

As I continued on with the Cava assemblage experience, as an invited guest of Segura Viudas in the Penedes region of Spain, my traveling companions and I were introduced to Winemaker Gabriel Suberviola, who is hands on throughout this whole Cava making process for Segura Viudas. We spent day two with Gabriel, introducing himself to each of us, his students, with a warm handshake and glint of excitement in his generous eyes. Eyes that exuded wisdom….the kind of wisdom that only comes through dedication and experience.  For Gabriel, this encompasses decades of experience, three of them with the Freixenet group, owner of Segura Viudas.

Segura Viudas Winemaker Gabriel Suberviola (right) with Gloria Collell, Winemakers' Ambassador for Ferrer Family Wine Estates

A native of the Navarra region of Spain, where Gabriel grew up helping his father with their small family vineyard. Like many Spanish families, they had a small vineyard his father tended which Gabriel and his neighborhood friends would help harvest and then stomp the grapes with bare feet each year. As often happens with families that grow grapes and make wine, his childhood helped define who he would become as an adult, earning a degree in Chemical Sciences from Valencia University, and certification in Oenology and Viticulture at the School of Agronomist Engineers of Madrid, as well as the type of winemaker he wanted to be, letting the flavors of his native Spain shine through the wine he made, using varietals of Spanish origin. He joined the Freixenet Group in 1980, working in different capacities throughout the company, eventually stepping in a Head Winemaker for Segura Viudas in 1998.

During our time with Gabriel we came to quickly understand that though every step of the process of creating a wine from vine to bottle is laborous, intense and detailed, the most important piece of the elaborate puzzle happens during the assemblage. Assemblage is the time the winemaker creates the blend that will define the wine, winery, and overall brand for the year.  Though there is a general idea of what that blend will be, what percentages of each grape will be used, which of these grapes will be used (the 14 point inspection the grapes initially went through when they arrived at the winery is key here), and the overall profile of the wine, every year is different. Add in the fact that the blend is made from still wine, which still has to go through a second fermentation, aging the wine from one to five years on the lees, disgorgement and final addition of the dosage (or the original wine base with a bit of sugar), before the final product is complete.

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva

Needless to say you have to be good. Gabriel has a team of tasters he works with to decide this blend, while keeping the final decision in Gabriel’s apt hands. Their goal is to create a wine that once blended tastes better than each individual wine did on its own. To do this they must rely on their skills and memory to ensure the quality of their finished product will meet these high expectations. Hundreds of different blends are created, tasted, varied, re-tasted and so on for several days, with changes often being a single percentage point more of Macabeo or 2 less percents of Xarel.lo; but the lengthy and laborious task will ensure the wine for this year will be as perfect as Segura Viudas can be., and follow the same general flavor profile the Cava has become known for.

With that Gabriel gave us a few final bits of instruction before we had our own, individual assemblage. Mainly, he said, to remember how each wine tasted on its own, which we had sampled the day before; take the properties and profile of each wine into consideration; and create a blend that tastes better than each individual wine did is on its own….and then consider that it will be turned into a Cava instead of a still wine.
With three bottles, one each of Macabeo, Xarel.lo and Paradella, three beakers and three tasting glasses, 10 individuals set out to create the perfect blend for Segura Viudas. I liked my blend, a combination of almost equal parts Macabeo and Xarel.lo with about 10% Paradella; but think it may be a better still wine than Cava. The best blend of our group came from a buyer on the trip who created a blend of over 80% Macabeo, then about 15% Xarel.lo with the slightest touch of Paradella.

Heredad Reserve Rose aging in riddling racks

As Gabriel judged our blends we toured the Segura Viudas facility, with massive fermentation tanks, an impressive bottling line, the largest lab and research area I have ever seen in a winery, and the expansive caves where bottles of Segura Viudas are sitting in their riddling racks at 45 degree angles undergoing their second fermenation.  Here bottles will be turned either mechanically or by hand to allow the yeasts to settle in the necks of the bottle prior to disgorgement. The long awaited Segura Viudas Heredad Reserve Rose also ages in the caves in riddling racks. This Rose is a new small production bottling of 100% Pinot Noir Rose for their high end Cava.

Bottling

Storing the bottled Cava in the Segura Viudas caves.

Disgorging by hand

Labeling

Using plyers to disgorge and remove the cap on a 1960's bottle of Segura Viudas.

Though we begged, Gabriel wouldn’t budge on giving us a try of this new Rose bubbly, knowing that the time wasn’t right for us to taste the new selection. Instead we toured the disgorging area in the caves to see how a bottle is disgorged, or how the yeasts are removed from the bottle after it has been aged. We saw both the modern and traditional methods, both of which seemed labor intensive, but necessary.

After the sediments from the lees have settled in the necks of the Cava bottle, the neck is frozen. Freezing the top will allow the lees to shoot out of the bottle when the temporary bottle cap top is removed. After disgorgement a small amount of wine base is added with a touch of sugar, the dosage. The bottle is then corked, labeled and ready for shipment. This is traditional, labor intense, methode champanoise style, how Champagne has been made for generations, and the only way Segura Viudas creates their Cava, making them one of the highest regarded and most refined Cava produced in Spain, with layers of flavor and complexity, and of course, all of those wonderful, tiny bubbles.

The flavors of the finished products reflect the terroir of the countryside in each sip, highlighting the rustic, earthiness of the land. The Brut Reserva, the highest production Cava Segura Viudas makes from the Macabeo, Xarel.lo and Paradella grapes and bottle aged for up to three years, is crisp, lively and aromatic with citrus and tropical fruit flavors of banana, lemon, lime and pineapple, with mineral notes mingled throughout. Very dry and very clean, a perfect pairing with briny seafood, white fish and grilled calcots (or large green onions, most similar to a mix between a leek and a spring onion) with Romesco sauce.

Grilling calcots

Toni Domenech, Public Relations Manager, Freixenet performs the art of eating calcots

Cod with dill and tomato confit and simply smoked salmon with tomato.

Segura Viudas Brut Rose is made using the same method with a combination of Trepat, an indigenous grape to Spain used most in the production of Rose Cava, with a touch of Garnacha (or Grenache in areas outside of Spain.)

Filled with layers of strawberry, ripe cherry, orange zest and raspberry with sweet spice and the slightest touch of cracked pink peppercorns, this is delicious sipped on its own or paired with grilled or smoked salmon or seafood paella.

Segura Viudas second line of Cava is Aria, modeled after the high end Reserva Heredad. The Aria Estate Brut is made from the first pressings of the Macabeo, Paredella and Xarel.lo grapes, with the final blend made up of 7 different base wines creating the 50% Macabeo, 40% Paradella and 10% Xarel.lo Cava, which is then aged a minimum of 15 months on the lees. The resulting golden colored wine is floral and fruit forward, from the high percentage of Paradella and Macabeo, filled with wild flower, honeydew and subtle citrus notes. Nicely balanced, elegant and inviting.

The Aria Pinot Noir may be my favorite of the bunch. Though not made from the traditional Spanish grapes, this bubbly is all Spain, with Gabriel’s finesse and skill clearly defined in each and every bottle. Bright raspberry and ripe red cherry aromas spill out of the glass with delicate spice and caramel notes, followed by big raspberry and strawberry flavors with just a touch of toasted nuts and dark chocolate. I enjoyed this bubbly from the start to the end of one of our dinners while in Barcelona, sipping it with everything from barely seared, creamy foie gras to fried whole calamari to my favorite bite of the trip, Chef Carles Abellan (owner of Comerc,24; Tapas 24 and Bravo 24) “Bikini” sandwich – fresh mozzarella with Iberico ham grilled on white bread with black truffles….the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve had.

Tapas 24 Bikini sandwich

Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad is the top tier Cava produced using the very best grapes and allowed to develop in the bottle for at least four years. Hand picked and hand riddled, aged for 30 months on the lees, then “poignettage” or given a final flick of the wrist to shake the yeasts and move them one final time throughout the wine before disgorgement to ensure  an optimal flavor, complexity and character.  Toast, floral, mineral and honey notes lift from each glass of the Reserva Heredad with thousands of tiny dancing bubbles inviting the drinker to sip and savor.

Vibrant herbal notes and flavors of melon and dried tropical fruit fill the palate followed by a long, luscious and lengthy finish.  A bubbly to enjoy on any occasion, on its own, as a starter with a mound of tapas or sipped throughout a leisurely dinner.  Delicious with anything from seafood to fish to roast chicken to a simple meal of some of Spain’s favorite staples, Pan con Tomate (tomato bread), shaved Iberico ham, slices of Drunken Goat and Manchego cheese, olives, and of course, lots of olive oil.

Below, every picture tells the story.

Pre-game: The chef explains the menu. He said: "This is not necessarily indicative of what will be on the menu at Spoon." Yeah, sure!

Main line: Mushroom Cappuccino

We had to drink this . Sommelier Scott Barber recommended it.

Novelty: Smoked Trout Roe and Smoked Uni with Duck Egg & Bottarga. This arrived with a transparent lid, revealing the swirling smoke within.

Main Line: Pan Roasted Arctic Char with Spring Pea Emulsion, Pea & Pearl Onion Salad with Truffled Pea Tendrils. Tom Spicer's pea tendrils atop the crisp wild arctic char.

Novelty: Homemade Fusili with Red Wine Braised Octopus Spicy Tomato Sauce & Bone Marrow. Could Octopus go mainstream in Dallas?

We didn't get drinking orders from sommelier Scott Barber to drink this, but we did share it with him.

Main line: Pan-Seared Braised Beef Tongue with Potato Purée & Wild Mushroom Ragout. Indicative of how a good chef can elevate beef tongue to the approachability of a standard muscle cut.

Unfortunately my dessert of Peanut Butter Mousse, Chocolate Peanut Crumble, Cocoa Nib Coulis, Caramel Cream & Chocolate Ice Cream was eaten too quickly for my camera to capture it.

I was an invited guest at this event. Great service was provided throughout the meal by the staff of Milestone Culinary Arts Center.

With Spoon Bar and Kitchen due to open this summer, Tesar may host  three more underground dinners in the interim. E-mail here to get on the announcement list and expect all of them to sell out.

Smoked Steelhead Trout with beet-horseradish puree, red onion, pickled celery, and apple (photos by Carol Shih)

Jeff Harris first appeared on my radar at the 11^th Annual Stephan Pyles Celebrity Chef Diner and Auction that took place at Stephan Pyles Restaurant. I knew he was execuchef of Craft at the W Dallas Victory Hotel but I hadn’t visited the restaurant or sampled his food.  At the event he produced Duck Cavatelli, Swiss Chard and Shaved Foie Gras. He successfully juxtaposed earthy, sweet, and bitter sensations in perfect proportions. It was one of those rare, out-of-the blue  “Great Dish Moments.” I resolved to become a regular customer.

Jump for the plot twist.

Veal Sweetbreads with smoked egg purée, sherry-maple gastrique, bacon lardons, pickled peppers and lime zest (Carol Shih)

In January 2011, it looked like he would carve his name indelibly on the Dallas food-o-sphere when it was announced he would have his own gig, Redfork. Harris paired with York Street alum Matt Balke Harris made a dynamic duo and it looked like their talent would draw the crowds necessary to “Hendersonize”  the road all the way to Jimmy’ Food Store. Moving out from the corporate umbrella at the W, educated palates in Dallas felt Harris would  project his own identity. People would stop complementing with “I thought you were great in A Man Called Horse.”[Ed. note: He's on his own here!]

A month after opening Redfork, the dream was over. The restaurant’s backer wanted something different and Harris and Balke left. Redfork’s new incarnation lasted just four months. A Vietnamese restaurant is scheduled to open in the space soon. The building will have gone almost full circle since its first days as a Chinese buffet.

Harris didn’t wait around. Two months after leaving Redfork, he and Balke joined Bolsa, the pioneering Oak Cliff farm-to-table eatery. It is hard to imagine a more philosophically compatible successor to Graham Dodds (now execuchef at Central 214), the chef who put the restaurant on the map as a leader in the farm-to-table movement and a source of the Bolsa mantra of four-star food at two-star prices (that sounds like a culinary Hotwire).

I got a chance to see and taste Harris’ new menu at a media event last week and I think it will please Bolsa diners as much as any of the former menus there.

Lamb breast with tuscan kale, kalamata olives, and baby artichokes (Carol Shih)

A starter of Smoked Steelhead Trout ($12) with beet-horseradish purée, red onion, pickled celery and granny smith apple was a welcome change from the ubiquitous salmon appetizers. There are some strong flavors there: beets are unmistakable. Horseradish, ditto. Granny smiths are tart (even if the rumors of Granny Smith being a tart aren’t true). But it works. There is even a textural interest maintained by the slices of picked celery against the oily-fleshed fish.

An Asparagus & Sugar Snap Pea ($10) salad was delivered with breakfast radish, black olives, cherry tomatoes, ricotta salata (TRENDING!), and lemon crème fraîsche vin. An especially good choice if this warm weather continues. It would go well with a rosé wine. Bolsa “Grand Fromage,” Chris Zielke, paired it with one from Red Caboose Winery and Vineyards, a Meridian, Texas winery that does a better job with its wines than it does with its web site.

For entrées, the Windy Meadows Farm Chicken ($19) with fiddlehead ferns, spring peas, roasted potatoes, and mustard jus was the most succulent chicken breast dishes I’ve been served in Dallas. The breasts are skinned, brined for two hours, and, once the skin is replaced,  they are wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Cooking consists of sautéeing to a deep gold exterior. To serve, the breasts are sliced into disks and laid against each other on the plate. This regimentation is more than just a show. This chicken is tasty.

Asparagus and sugar snap pea salad with breakfast radish, black olives, cherry tomatoes, and ricotta salata (Carol Shih)

Lamb Breast ($24) with Tuscan kale (TOP OF THE TREND), kalamata olives, and baby artichokes is an unusual take on a meat that is too rarely seen on Dallas menus. It is cooked and then the skin seared to produce a textural effect not unlike pork belly. The flavor, however, is unmistakably lamb and able to take the bitterness of the olives.

It would be wrong to call Harris’ food rustic, though it does exhibit a controlled rusticity. It could appear finicky only in the charming dilapidation that is Bolsa. It may be stylistically indistinguishable from Graham Dodds’. It is honest food. Great care is taken choosing and combining ingredients and this contributes a rigor that one should not overlook in the lack of pretension.

Kudos too for Chris Zielke’s odyssey to put good Texas wines on the list. He served Red Caboose Winery Tempranillo (2008, I believe) as well as their rosé. He also stocks an interesting selection in the somewhat abbreviated wine inventory at Bolsa Mercado.

Yarden wines from Galilee are the perfect wines for Easter, coming from the northern most part of Israel, what is considered the best area in the country for growing grapes. Grapes flourish in rich volcanic soil in vineyards with elevations ranging from 1300 to 3900 feet. The 2011 Yarden Mount Hermon white blends Sauvignon Blanc with Chardonnay, creating a aromatic wine filled with citrus, white flowers and stone fruit with good minerality and herbal notes. A delicious wine paired with grilled white fish, steamed shellfish and roast chicken.

The Carneros region of Napa Valley is considered by many to be one of the best places for growing Chardonnay. The maritime climate and dense clay soils influence everything from the acidity to the balance and flavor of the wine. Waterstone Carneros Chardonnay captures the vibrancy of the area with bright citrus, green apple and ripe pear flavors with just a touch of toasty vanilla on the finish, influenced by the French oak barrel fermentation and 11 months of sur lie aging.

Similar to finding the best land for growing Chardonnay, vintners throughout California note some of the best regions for growing Pinot Noir flow along the Pacific coast line from Sonoma down to Santa Barbara. Belle Glos Meiomi blends Pinot Noir grapes from Sonoma, bringing in bright fruit and mineral notes; Monterey, with earthiness and structure; and Santa Barbara County, filled with spice and a well rounded, silky texture. The result, a supple, food friendly Pinot Noir with notes of berry, cherry, cola and just a touch of earthiness with a long, luscious finish.

The latest release of Treana from Hope Family Wines continues to show why this Paso Robles winery has thrived in the region since the late 1970’s. They know how to make Paso Robles grapes shine, creating blends from varietals best suited for California’s Central Coast. The 2009 Treana blends 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with 30% Syrah for a wine filled with red cherry, plum and berry notes with just a touch of rich espresso, cocoa and licorice. Nicely balanced with texture and personality, this is a wine to sip and enjoy on its own, or with grilled meat, a good pork roast and game.

Spring Valley Vineyards is one of the gems of the Walla Walla, WA region. With generations of first wheat farmers, now grape growers running the farm, the winery celebrates their traditions and heritage in every bottle of wine they produce. The Nina Lee Syrah is named after the determined and independent Nina Lee Corkrum, who married into the wheat farming family in 1929 and worked beside her husband to keep them and the farm afloat her entire life. The Nina Lee Syrah celebrates her tenacity with a racy, spicy wine with aromas of wild flowers and violets, followed by blackberry, pomegranate and cherry flavors layered with touches of sweet spice, caramel and rich dark chocolate.

Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc also comes from Spring Valley Vineyard, and might be my favorite wine from this special winery. Named for the matriarch of the family who began the Walla Walla farm with her husband, Uriah Corkrum in the late 1800’s. This wine pays beautiful homage to her, blending 83% Cabernet Franc with 11% Petit Verdot and just a touch of Malbec, then aged 18 months in 35% new French oak barrels. Bold, well rounded and balanced this wine opens with lively aromas of strawberry, anise and cigar box leading to Asian spices, toasted vanilla and layers of dark fruit on the palate. A delicious wine paired with anything from lamb chops to steaks to smoked brisket.

Wines from Livermore continue to demonstrate how great California soils can be, especially when the right grapes are planted. Concannon made their mark on history as being the first winery to produce a single varietal Petite Sirah in America. Their 2009 Conservancy Crimson and Clover celebrates this, and the winemaker of this first Petite Sirah, Jim Concannon in celebration of his 80^th birthday. A blend of 50% Petite Sirah with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah and 10% Zinfandel, this is a food wine with nutmeg, clove and blackberry aromas, followed by bold punches of black plum, blackberry and pepper on the palate, mingled with touches of tobacco.

Spain’s old vines set the stage for incredible wine and Las Rocas 2009 Garnacha Vinas Viejas exudes rich, robust and well rounded flavors of the Spanish countryside using vines which range from 60-100 years old grown in elevations ranging from 2500 to 3500 feet. Old vines create small, concentrated grape clusters with ripe black plum, cherry and cranberry aromas with touches of spice and earthy minerality. A big wine, 15.2% alcohol, this is a food wine, pairing well with aged beef and barbecue ribs. It is still a bit young though, so consider opening and decanting a few hours prior to serving.

If Easter means pasta and roast lamb in your house consider a bottle of 2006 Brunello di Monalcino from Banfi. For many Italian wine lovers the page stops with a great Brunello and Banfi does it consistently well. Big ripe red plum and cherry flavors leap from the glass followed by layers of licorice and hints of leather. Balanced, velvety and delicious paired with an herb rubbed lamb roast.

Soter Vineyards wine maker James Cahill addresses the diners on Oregon wine

One of the titans of California, and later, Oregon, winemaking is Tony Soter. After successes consulting to Araujo, Niebaum-Coppola, Shafer, Spottswoode, Viader and Dalle Valle he scaled back to focus on his Californian venture, Etude and, more recently, his Oregon property Soter Vineyards. Last week his winemaker at the Oregon property, James Cahill, worked the crowd at Bailey’s Prime Plus in the latest in a series of impressive wine dinners that the restaurant has hosted.

I was an invited guest and had the opportunity to talk to Cahill directly about some puzzling questions that surround Oregon wine. For example: In Europe, the most successful Chardonnay is found growing in the same region as the most successful Pinot Noir (the French region of Burgundy). Yet in Oregon, world-class Pinot Noir has been accompanied by generally average to forgettable Chardonnay. Cahill agrees with this widely leveled view. He attributes the situation to early plantings of the wrong clone of Chardonnay grape. He explained that early growers took a lot of their cues from California Chardonnay growers (who, after all, were a model of success). That included the Wente clone of the Chardonnay grape. It did poorly in Oregon’s cooler climate. Later plantings using Dijon clones, he noted, had started to produce impressive Chardonnays.

Cahill showed an impressive sparkling wine, the NV Soter Vineyards ‘Beacon Hill’ Brut Rosé, Yamhill-Carlton, Oregon ($29) made from the same Pinot Noir vines as the winery’s red Pinot. The objective here was a Champagne style sparkling wine and success is complete. Serve this in lieu of the expensive French bubbly either as a toasting tipple or throughout the meal.

Pheasant Galantine with Traditional Accoutrements by Michael Ehlert

Also impressive was the 2007 Soter Vineyards, ‘Little Creek’ Proprietary Red Blend, Napa Valley, California ($125).  Tony Soter’s last California Cabernet before he picked up sticks and moved north. This is an imposing blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. It is way too young to be enjoyed to its fullest right now. Best to put it away and try again in a decade (then each decade thereafter?).

One facet of this dinner that drew it apart from its predecessors at Bailey’s was the installation of Michael Ehlert as acting chef for the night. He is normally kept in a small pen at the back of The Chesterfield (a den of ill repute and great cocktails in the town once occupied by that great civic leader, Jack Ruby). From that pen he serves some of the most sensitively prepared French food in town. His efforts at the wine dinner from Bailey’s impressively equipped kitchen boasted a Pheasant Galantine with Traditional Accoutrements, a Crisp Polenta, Fiddle Head Ferns and Escargot de Bourgogne and finally a Beef Bourguignon so robust that it stood up to the Soter Red Blend.

This was a very instructive and enjoyable event. Bailey’s holds these winemaker dinners once a month. Call the restaurant to reserve places at the next one.

Crisp Polenta, Fiddle Head Ferns and Escargot de Bourgogne