There are several upcoming dinners in some of our finest restaurants and hotels that I think you’ll enjoy.
On April 13, the St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach, through its Aficionado Program, will host an exclusive Far Niente Winemaker Dinner featuring its Cave Collection and new releases.
Larry Maguire, president and partner of Far Niente, will narrate the dinner and share his insight and secrets on the wines of Far Niente and its sister winery, Dolce.
Frederic Castan, executive chef of the resort, has created a menu that certainly sounds like it’s full of rich and luxurious flavors to complement the fine wines.
Since its first vintage of Chardonnay in 1979 and the introduction of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1982, Far Niente’s philosophy has been to produce estate wines of luxury and elegance. Almost all wineries make wine at several different quality levels, but Far Niente produces one Chardonnay and one Cabernet Sauvignon of the highest quality. That’s it.
In the early 1980s, wine caves took on important meaning. Excavation at some of the more luxurious wine properties in Napa and Sonoma began in order to replicate an important part of the wine production, aging and storage process that’s been standard in the great wineries of France and Italy for centuries.
Caves have qualities beneficial to wine aging that are impossible to capture in an above-ground building.
Far Niente wine caves were the first to be constructed in North America since the turn of the century. Its Cave Collection program offers a unique opportunity to enjoy fully mature wines that have been cellared under perfect conditions. They are available only from the winery or at this exclusive event.
Also featured for this dinner is Napa Valley’s Dolce Winery, the most recognizable and highly rated late harvest wine produced in North America.
The wines to be poured: Chardonnay New Release 2005, Chardonnay Cave Collection, (Jeroboam) 2003, Cabernet Sauvignon Cave Collection 1999, Cabernet Sauvignon Cave Collection 1995, Cabernet Sauvignon New Release 2004 and Dolce Cave Collection 2000.
The five-course dinner, including all these deluxe wines, is $250 per person. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. on April 13. For reservations: (949) 234-3765. St. Regis Resort: One Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point.
Fine Beers
Slow as it has been, we’ve turned the corner when it comes to appreciating fine beers.
Some readers still don’t realize Orange County is very much respected in today’s world of brewing, here and abroad, thanks mostly to Taps Fish House and Brewery in Brea and its highly acclaimed brew master, Victor Novak. He makes a wide range of beers representative of famed European counterparts.
Twice a year, Taps holds two special beer- and food-matching dinners. Guests taste a variety of beers and have a special meal prepared by the restaurant/brewery’s chef Robert Urquidi.
This semiannual dinner is set for April 18 at 6:30 p.m. and it’s only $50, so plan to make reservations.
An amuse-bouche to get your palate ready for the meal starts the evening. Point Reyes blue cheese and beet greens will be served with Victor’s light, turn-of-the-century American Cream Ale. This was a gold medal winner at the 2001, and again at the 2005, Great American Beer Festival judging.
The first course features a goat cheese souffl & #233; with a trio of accompaniments and Dupont Moinette beer. This is unfiltered organic Belgian ale from a well-respected artisan brewery. The second course: Brie cheese wontons with papaya-pineapple marmalade and Victor’s Hefeweizen, a classic Bavarian unfiltered wheat beer. It was judged best Bavarian Hefeweizen at the 2002 California State Fair.
The entree suits the season well. It’s a mustard- and herb-crusted roulade of pork with true Southern style mac ‘n’ cheese and braised vegetables matched to Taps’ Vienna Country Lager. This is a medium-bodied, smooth amber lager as brewed in the countryside around Vienna. It won the silver medal at the 2004 L.A. County Fair.
Keeping the tempo, a blueberry cheesecake tart appears for dessert, paired with the toasty and what Victor calls “dangerously drinkable” 90-Schilling Scotch Ale.
What a fun and educational bargain. Call (714) 257-0101 for your reservation because seating is quite limited. Taps is at 101 E. Imperial Highway (at Brea Boulevard), Brea.
Memorable Fund-Raiser
The 2007 Culinary Masters fund-raiser put on by the Roosters Foundation was held in early March at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel.
It was quite an affair,one you might want to make a reminder of for next spring. OC’s highest tier of 34 chefs dazzled only 14 guests each at their individually sponsored tables.
It was emceed by celebrity chef Jamie Gwen and raised more than $150,000 for children’s charities in the county.
The Roosters Foundation raises a half-million dollars a year to help at risk and disadvantaged children in the community. Proceeds from Culinary Masters are going to grassroots charities that address the most pressing needs of children. There’s also the annual Roosters Holiday Food Drive. Through 24 local charities, more than 13,000 homeless and displaced children and their families in OC are given meals during Christmas and New Year’s.
As for the Culinary Masters event, it’s a lot of fun to be seated at a table with only a baker’s dozen sharing the experience of one chef cooking right in front of you.
And this is no casual cooking affair. It’s as gourmet as it gets with each chef serving his or her own stellar dishes in a multicourse meal with wines to match, which this year were hosted by Southern Wine & Spirits.
For more information on the 2008 event, call (949) 706-7613.
