A Midsummer's Night Italian Wine Dinner

Let me just start this post by saying that if you like wine and good food, and you haven't been to a wine dinner at Santa Fe Steakhouse, you need to go.  This is our second wine dinner, and we enjoyed it every bit as much as the Bryan Page Wine Dinner.  The wine and course list was a little lighter, but that was reflected in the price.  Still, a night with five fantastic wines expertly paired with five amazing dishes is something we looked forward too.

  

We started the evening with Prosecco Treviso Brut Cantine Maschio paired with roast asparagus and goat cheese ravioli with fresh basil pesto.  The prosecco, like most proseccos, had a light citrus nose.  On the palate it was light and fizzy with a crisp citrus aftertaste.  On its own, this effervescent wine is refreshing and easy to drink.  Paired with the food its rocketed up into a whole new level.  The dish was amazing, and the wine offered a fantastic contrast.  The lightness of the wine was a great counterpoint to the heavy pesto cream.  The mix of sweet citrus with the tart cheese and bitter asparagus was fantastic, and we were only getting started.

The second course paired a 2007 Fontanelle Chardonnay with sautéed mussels in a cilantro buerre blanc. The Chardonnay had a bold fruity nose followed by mellow spring fruits on the palate.  This wine was dry and full in the mouth, but not tart, with a smooth mellow finish.  The smooth finish was a surprise considering the slightly bitter finish found in some Chardonnays.  This wine paired perfectly with the mussels.  Smoky and briny met smooth and fruity.  The buerre blanc was amazing, and I noticed I wasn't the only one at the table soaking it up with the bread once the mussels were gone. 

On a quick side note, this is second time that Pris has eaten something well outside her comfort zone.  She'd never thought she'd want to eat mussels, but she went through them as quickly as everyone else.  So that's now duck and mussels thanks to wine dinners.

Our third course paired  a 2007 Castello D'Albola Chianti Classico with a dish of heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese and basil oil.  This was the first of two very different Chiantis, and an excellent compliment to the food.  The Castello D'Albola had a light coloration with a full fruit nose.  This is a Sangiovese through and through.  It was light, fruity, and contained just a hint of spice at the end.  Despite the lightness of the wine it still provided a nice full finish.  The Castello was mellow and way too easy to drink.  With the enhanced caprese salad it was lighter still.  The salt in the dish provided savory flavors to pair with the light sweetness of the fruit.  The one problem I had with this dish was that there just seemed to be too little of it. As a final note, this particular Chianti is also listed as #47 of last years top 100 wines to buy.

The main course followed with a 2007 Peppoli Chianti Classico paired with short ribs with soft polenta and sweet onion confit.  The differences in the two Chiantis was immediately apparent.  Where the Castello was light and clear, the Peppoli was a study in dark garnet.  A big bold nose started this wine off nicely.  It was followed by a smooth full dark ripe fruit on the palate.  This 90 point Chianti was earthy and spicy with plenty of black currant.  In a word this wine was perfect with the braised short ribs.  Dark rich wine cooked beef with a dark rich wine is a hard combination to beat.  Of course the creamy polenta with its smoky cheese and sweet caramelized onions was phenomenal.  As a total taste combination, this course was unbeatable.

Finally along came desert which was Passione Brachetto d'Acqui DOCG 2006 paired with a flourless chocolate cake with raspberry and orange sauces.  Normally I'm not the biggest fan of desert wines, but the Passione was different.  This wine was bubbly, sweet, and cloying but neither overpowering or syrupy.  It was also carbonated, which probably went a long way to keep the wine light and almost refreshing.  Loads of ripe berries can be found in the aroma and went perfectly with the berries in the dish.  The chocolate cake was a study in rich decadence.  The wine, while sweet, actually worked to cut through the richness of the cake.  It was a perfect final pairing.

We've now been to two of these wine dinners and we're looking to go to more.  They've both been amazing experiences that have provided both exceptional food and wine.  The price can be a bit high, but its well worth it.  These tastings are very different from the tastings at stores where the store is forced to regulate the amount you can be served.  Here, if your glass is empty, there's a waiter swinging by shortly to refill it.  The wine dinners are a great way to sample several wines across several different varietals and types.  What's more, you can find some really great pairings that you can incorporate into your own dinners at home.  I understand that in August the drink of choice will be champagne.  Pris and I aren't sure if we'll go since we're not that into champagne, but we might just to try the pairings.  Dinners are announced month to month and we'll be looking forward to getting to McAllen for more of them as we can.

I'm not sure where to find these wines, but its my understanding that Feldman's works with Santa Fe on these dinners so that would be a good place to start.  I've included the websites for the wines in order below if you'd like more information.  You can also do searches on them as there seems to be an abundance of information on the web about them.  Enjoy.

http://www.maschio-usa.com/home.html

http://www.castellobanfi.com/wines/index.php?wine=12

http://www.zoninusa.com/castello-d-albola/wineries/castello-d-albola

http://www.antinori.it/