Woodfire Grill

My second visit to Woodfire Grill was for a wine dinner featuring wines from Robert Sinskey, a winery I was not real familiar with before this day. I was peripherally knowledgeable of them, knowing their reputation for Pinot Noir more than anything else.

The winery has been farming organically since 1991 and have also incorporated the practices of bio-dynamics. To learn more, watch this video on their website, it explains the concept much better than my words. This philosophy produces what I call slow wines. These are the wines you should appreciate with food, not on their own like some cheap vodka-tini drink (I hate those -tini modifications…shows no imagination whatsoever and disrespects the original drink…but I digress).

For $109 per person (all inclusive of tax and tip), we were treated to one amuse bouche, four courses and five wines, which was one more than promised. There were 37 of us total, all seated in the very back of the restaurant across several tables. Our table included a chef and his wife, who suggested we all rate the courses on a 1 to 5 scale. The below will cover each course, with comments on the food, the wine and the pairing.

Before I get to that, I have to make a quick comment on the 2006 Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir Willamette Valley that my wife enjoyed. First off, it was $9.50 a glass. Last time I remember seeing this wine, it was about $28, so this price by the glass was pretty decent. I’m guessing some sort of closeout deal to move out old stock, but what a deal. Plenty of dark cherry fruit and well placed spice notes make this a good choice to have on its own or with food.

Amuse bouche: Pimento cheese prefiterole

• Spicy and creamy, but mine squished out and got on me. I would have preferred a flatbread with the cheese. (B)

Seared scallop

First course: Seared scallop, ras el hanout, creamed lentils, walnut apricot jus with 2008 Abraxas Vin de Terroir

• My scallop was perfectly cooked through, but I would have preferred just a bit more crust. One guest said their scallop wasn’t done all the way through, but he didn’t send it back. The creamed lentils complimented the soft texture and sweet flavor, adding a welcome earth note to the seafood. Overall, I liked the dish. (B+)
• The wine is a blend of Pinot gris, Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Blanc. The two Pinots were most dominant to me, with plenty of clean, white and green fruit flavors, pear being the strongest taste. A fine wine for summer time and it went well with the dish, helping to cut the creamed lentils. (B+)
• Pairing: (A) – A case of where the two actually elevated one another.

Coca-Cola glazed pork loin

Second course: Coca-cola glazed smoked pork loin, truffled beets, spiced cranberries, tarragon puree with two wines, the 2004 Vandal Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2007 Pinot Noir.

• I loved the pork loin, though I will say I didn’t find a lot of the Coca-cola flavor. A couple of guests found the texture a bit firmer than they liked, to which I commented it reminded me of a thick slab of canadian bacon, which I like. The truffled beets and spiced cranberries made great accompaniments, but the tarragon through things off for me, adding a rather un-welcome note of licorice to the dish. (A)
• The 2004 Vandal Vinyeard Pinot Noir was very open and fruit forward, with wonderful baking spice notes. It was very fragrant and easy to drink, just like a library wine should. The heat of the vintage definitely showed and I’d recommend drinking these now and over the next year. (B)
• 2007 Los Carneros Pinot Noir: Tight as a drum, this really showed much better with the food. The bright red fruit flavors seemed to come out of the dark when you’d take a sip after eating the pork. This will benefit from aging and for those who drink it now, make sure to air it out for a bit. (B now, with B+ to A for potential)
• Pairing: I liked the Vandal better with the food. I’d say both were an A in terms of pairing up well with the dish.

Wood grilled quail

Third course: Wood grilled quail, currant-garlic glaze, roasted farro, mint, sweet potato paired with 2006 Merlot.

• Most folks found this really delicious, even those who commented they typically don’t like quail. I think I even heard the comment that quail were like chickens that never grew up. I think their portion size make them well suited for multi-course menus like this one. The quail was well cooked, but my favorite part was the bed of roasted farro and sweet potato the little birds nested upon. It was just the right balance of sweet and savory, with a variety of textures to please me. (B+)
• 2006 Merlot: Plums and spice, so nice. A medium-full body, this wine had some guts to it and wasn’t over ripened or oaked. I’d say this is a more classic style of Merlot, but still very California. (B+)
• Pairing: (C) I thought the wine was a bit overwhelming for the food. I could have seen this as a second course served with a nice Rose or another Pinot Noir.

Wood grilled painted hills beef strip loin

Main course: Wood grilled painted hills beef strip loin, roasted mushroom ragout, red wine glace, carmelized onion grits, pork fat croutons paired with 2005 POV (Point of View).

• First off, the flavors of this dish were my favorite of the night, but we had one big problem. The temperature was much too cool. Even our plates were cool. The chef at the table gave this a 3 on our 1 to 5 scale. I know it is difficult to serve 37 people the same dish at the same time, but if you can’t accommodate that many people, then keep the size smaller. Again, I don’t know what happened, but it happened to everyone at our table. Outside of that, everything else about the dish was awesome. The beef was well seasoned and perfectly tender. The mushrooms and grits added great layers of flavor, but without overwhelming the tender strip. I tried one of the pork fat croutons by itself, but it was too small to really get a lot of flavor out of. They added a nice crunch and make me think adding them to grits is a great idea. As served, (B-) due to temperature. Otherwise, an (A+).
• 2005 POV: A blend of 45% Merlot, with the remainder equally split between Cabernet brothers, Sauvignon and Franc. The most Bordeaux like, but with the signature fruit of California. Nice earth and dark red fruit notes made this my favorite wine of the evening, though that could have as much to do with the pairing as the wine itself.
• Pairing: A solid A.

Overall, the evening was quite enjoyable. We had very nice company and vibrant discussions, including one about the appeal of sugar sweetened Coca-Cola vs. HFCS, as one of our tablemates worked for the Latin American division of Coca-Cola. For those interested, read this article on the cult of Mexican Coca-Cola.

Have a great weekend.

Without doubt, bloggers are getting attention on both a national and regional level. Two nights ago, Artesa winery played host to several local wine and food bloggers, treating us to an outstanding dinner. This is my review of the wines and food. FULL DISCLOSURE: The dinner and wines were all paid for / provided by Artesa.

Our hosts were Tim Shippey, Brand Director, and Mark Beringer, VP of Production and Winemaking. Dinner was at Bone’s, rated the best steakhouse for food and service by Zagat in 2009. I sat at one table with my wife, Tim, Ed (winetonite) and his wife, Joe (suburbanwino), and Elizabeth (vine75). The other table, well that remains a bit of a mystery. Mark was seated there, but I recognized none of the ladies (and it was all ladies) sitting there. I wish we had all gone around the room and introduced ourselves, but I guess that thought has arrived too late.

Shellfish platter at Bone's

Dinner kicked off with the above and you know what, I’d have been happy to stuff myself and my arteries on these lovely delights. The platter had some of the largest cocktail shrimp I’ve ever eaten, along with lobster, lobster claw and crab claws. The best of the lot was the crab, which were sweet and succulent, but none of it lacked for quality. Paired with the appetizer were the two Chardonnays from Artesa, the 2008 Carneros and 2007 Carneros Estate Reserve. As recently discussed, I’m not one who seeks to drink Chardonnay, so keep that in mind. Between the two, I found the first wine to be crisper and well suited for the spicy cocktail sauce I was drowning my shrimp in. It retains a fair bit of acidity thanks to only seeing 30% malolactic fermentation, with nice tropical fruit leading out the parade, finishing with a touch of spiced cream. The oak treatment is fairly light, aging 8 months in 30% new French oak and 70% used. The Reserve is more in line with what I think the typical Chardonnay drinker is looking for, but in better balance and not a blow hard looking for attention through lavish outerwear. What does that mean? The oak is present, but not so loud that you can’t detect anything else. Think of it like a caramel swirl inside your apple pie ice cream. I think a few folks preferred this, especially with the lobster. Me, I liked the less expensive option due to the higher degree of tropical fruit and acidity.

2007 Artesa Carneros Pinot Noir / 2007 Artesa Carneros Estate Pinot Noir Reserve

Next up were the two Pinot Noirs, the 2007 Carneros and the 2007 Estate Reserve. Both of these were quite good, especially considering their price points, which should be around $20 and $34 respectively. Both wines are 100% Pinot Noir, yet show great depth of color without dipping into that “is there Syrah in this?” realm. The first wine was an easy drink, with red cherries, black plum and a hint of oak spice. The fruit was obviously ripe, but not so much as to kill all the acidity. A good expression of the varietal at a nice price point. The real star of the show and a contender for group WOTN was the Reserve. Loads of ripe black cherry, herbs, spice and vanilla make this more than a mouthful of a wine a real treat to drink. Load up all those flavors into a solid frame of tannin and acid and you’ve got yourself a relatively inexpensive wine worthy of laying down. Drink a bottle every year for the next five and enjoy your education on seeing how wine evolves. Oh yeah, I forgot, this wine was paired with Kobe Tenderloin Carpaccio with arugula and parmesan. Wow, this was amazing, with great richness in flavor, with the arugula and parmesan shavings providing a nice balance to the beef. Awesome stuff. Take a look for yourself.

Kobe Tenderloin Carpaccio with arugula and parmesan

The next, and what I thought would be last, wines were the two Cabernet Sauvignons. Both of these wines were from the 2005 vintage. The first was from Napa, the second from Alexander Valley. In most cases, the order would be reversed, but with Artesa, the Alexander is the bigger and quite honestly, much better wine. The Napa Valley Cabernet was probably my least favorite of all the wines the whole night and that doesn’t mean it was a bad wine, it was just that I was still really quite taken with the Reserve Pinot Noir.

The menu selections were filet mignon, NY strip or swordfish. I ordered the swordfish, my wife the NY strip. I really wanted to try more of the Pinot with both dishes and that was a good thing, because it worked really well with both. The swordfish had a nice butter sauce on the plate, adding some richness to the savory flesh. The steak was a perfect warm rare and the Pinot had plenty of grip, be it with a hand cloaked in velvet, that stood up to the steak. I don’t have any real notes or specific memories of either Cabernet, other than like I said above,  I believe that right now, the Alexander Valley is the better wine.

2005 Ridgeline Cabernet Sauvignons - Lone Pine and Standing Bear

We thought the wine was done with, but then Tim asked if we’d be interested in some small production single vineyard Cabernet sauvignons he had in the car. I was like umm, yes please. So, out came two of the six vineyard designates bottled under the Ridgeline brand, the 2005 Ridgeline Lone Pine Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Standing Bear Cabernet Sauvignon. The pic is linked from one Ed posted on Twitpic.

Both wines were quite delicious, with an interesting split of preference. According to Tim, most everyone who tasted the wines fell along gender preferential lines. Men almost all favored the Standing Bear, women the Lone Pine. The biggest difference you could taste was in the complexity, with the former being a simple hitch knot, the latter being Gordian. The Standing Bear was a spicy vanilla raft navigating a river of black currants. The 15.1% ABV was well framed on a supple core of tannin and acidity, with no perception of heat on the back end as many wines of this heft are prone to.  There are only 107 cases of this 100% pure Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged for 24 months in 75% new and 25% used French oak. The fruit was picked at 26.3 brix.

As for the Lone Pine, it was a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Cabernet Franc, which is where I’m sure much of the added complexity came from. There are 104 cases of this made, with an even higher brix of 26.7 for the fruit and a slightly longer oak treatment, clocking in at 25 months in the same combination of oak as the Standing Bear. I don’t remember much about this, other than I preferred the Standing Bear and went back for seconds on it before finishing the Lone Pine. Both were excellent wines, but hard to come by, though you can look into special ordering them. Just ask your local wine retailer to look into it for you and tell them Georgia Crown is the distributor.

All in all, I have to say I was really impressed. Granted, these wines were all tasted in a great setting, as we had a private dining room, a cornucopia of great food, the opportunity to talk to the brand manager (he sat at our table) and of course, it was all paid for by Artesa. All that considered, I think everyone was pretty pleased with the overall quality of the wines. Even the wines I liked the least were good, just not memorable as the Reserve Pinot Noir and the Standing Bear Cabernet, which were my top two picks. As Tim said, come visit the winery and you will be converted. I can totally believe it.

Once again, thanks to Artesa and Bone’s for hosting a wonderful evening of food and wine.

Haiku
Artesa makes wine
All were good, some were divine
Assimilated

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read what I have to say. If you enjoy, please share with your friends, sign up for the RSS feed, follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. Happy Friday to all!

UPDATED 01/28/10 9AM Here is Elizabeth’s assessment of the evening.