Savannah Chop House Sets BV Dinner; Greeley Salutes Lobster
Michel Picard French wines are working their way onto wine lists and they are finding a coterie of appreciative fans based on the quality and value pricing. Those who still order the basic Chardonnay and Cabernet or meritage blend based on a California label you recognize need to let me take you by the hand and get you out of that dull rut.
We recently invited some serious wine-tasting buddies to the house and opened some of the current Picard imports. Chardonnay is the only grape used in the 1999 Pouilly-Fuiss & #233;. Its home terroir is south of M & #226;con (Burgundy) where soil contours are pronounced around the edges of the rock cliffs. The soil is a mix of clay and chalk, and it has excellent exposure to the sun. Delicate aromas of papaya, kiwi and pear introduce this crisp and full-bodied classic white wine. There are hints of oak (four to six months of aging) in the long finish. Color is pale straw yellow. Try it with fish, shellfish and a cheese course. Suggested retail is $19.99.
I love getting people hooked on wines made from French Chenin grapes. They usually cannot believe the lovely fruity quality (citrus, pear, peach and apricot) and innate charm of one like the 1998 Vouvray. Tinges of green edge the light yellow color. The Chenin vineyards are on gentle slopes whose earth is rich in calcium. Both early harvest grapes (for acidity) and late harvest grapes (for sugar) are used for this wine, with an elegantly balanced off-dry result. It’s a great aperitif wine that also goes well with delicate fish or chicken dishes. You should be able to get the Vouvray in your wine shop for about $11.99.
When carbon dioxide is injected to make the fruit ferment from inside the skin, it is called carbonic maceration. The resultant wine retains a fresh, fruity character. That is the basic premise of the 1998 Beaujolais-Villages, which comes from the heart of the Beaujolais region, just south of Burgundy. With all the poultry and salmon and veal we seem to eat, this is an ideal wine match. Made from 100% Gamay grapes, there’s a gentle nature to this classic red wine. The berry flavors are melded with a hint of vanilla and crisp apple and a slight spiciness opens up in the finish. This is a very nice wine to sip alone as well. Suggested retail is only $9.99.
Yet another of their red wines that costs but $9.99 is the 1998 C & #244;tes-du-Rh & #244;ne. Grenache and Syrah grapes from the sun-drenched southern Rh & #244;ne Valley are blended into this rich, round, very ripe tasting full-bodied wine. Loads of blackberry, cassis, spice and a bit of cocoa escape into every sip. It is wrapped in a light nuance of new French oak (six months). The restrained wood in the background and a dollop of acidity brings it all into focus and there’s a happy vibrancy in the mouth-feel of this deep red wine. Match this one with grilled and roasted meats and with Italian foods featuring tomato-based sauces.
All of the Michel Picard wines feature a lovely family crest label incorporating the city of Michel’s birth, Chagny, in the heart of Burgundy. The latter is where you also will find one of my old friends in his own charming chateau and dining mecca, three-star chef Jacques Lameloise. Of all the two- and three-star chefs I’ve visited, Jacques and two-star chef Alain Dutournier in Paris (his restaurant is the gorgeous Carr & #233; des Feuillants) have stolen my heart.
You should be able to get the Michel Picard wines at your local wine shop. And, be sure to look for them on the restaurant wine lists. Trust me, California vintners will survive without you holding their hand every time you dine.
BV Wine Dinner Tonight
This item is only going to work for those of you who really read this paper on Monday and then have the good sense to call immediately for a reservation for tonight’s great wine dinner at Savannah Chop House. Wines by BV and food by the chefs of David Wilhelm’s restaurant empire, Culinary Adventures Inc. What a lineup.
The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with passed appetizers: Terrine of foie gras, Vietnamese spring rolls and ahi tuna hand rolls with the 1991 BV Carneros Brut Reserve. Then, chef Thomas Tran of Chimayo at the Beach presents his first course of spicy shrimp with green chile and papaya matched with the 1999 BV Napa Sauvignon Blanc. Chris Reischl, chef of Savannah Chop House, follows with his baby frisee salad with barbecued quail and the 1998 BV Carneros Reserve Pinot Noir. Lemon pistachio sorbet serves as the intermezzo. Corporate CAI chef Ryan Adams and the CAI catering chef, Lou Manginelli, collaborated on the evening’s entr & #233;e of dry aged Colorado rack of lamb with the 1997 BV Tapestry Reserve and the 1997 BV George de la Tour Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Finally, dessert of seasonal berry shortcake with Mascarpone ice cream will be made by chef Justin Monson of French 75. Muscat de Beaulieu dessert wine will accompany the course.
I have had various parts of this menu and can tell you for food alone you are in for a real treat. Add the quality wines of BV and it’s all the more reason to rush over there tonight.
A Lotta Lobster
You have five nights this week, Tuesday through Saturday, to take advantage of Alan Greeley’s homage to the end of the California lobster season. He’s doing a “Lobster Everything” menu at his Golden Truffle restaurant. That would mean lobster Louie, warm lobster salad, Ni & #231;oise-style lobster pizza, lobster Puerto Nuevo, and lobster in tacos, chilaquiles, risotto, taquitos. There’s also a Caribbean lobster entr & #233;e, steak and lobster combo, and lobster thermidor. Prices vary.
