Pilgrimage to Pasadena - July 28, 2008

We attended a wine dinner at Bistro 45 tonight in Pasadena, CA - our first blogging foray to the well known wine and dine fixture (I suppose we must not get out much, or perhaps we just overlooked it lately). Our attendance at this event was the result of a recommendation from Christina (more later about a previous wine dinner she was responsible for). This was an excellent wine pairing dinner - moslty in part to the quality of the wine and food pairings, and also because we were dining in memory of our recently passed wine mentor, Fred.

So, let's begin. The wines are from Pelerin ("The Pilgrim") Wines, a small but artisinal producer of all things Burgundian located in the Santa Lucia Highlands ("where's that?"), a place with cool springs and moderate falls require expert grape mashing. Chris Weidemann is the alchemist for the juices, and the chefs at Bistro 45 paired them with some unusual grub!

(quick menu - to be expounded upon in a grossly verbose manner later!)

Chilled Frutes de Mer - lobster gelee with shrimp, scallop, and salmon
2007 "Les Tournesols", a Roussanne, Viogner, and Chardonney blend
notes - this pairing was perfect - crisp, clean fruit with a nice concoction of "poisson frais"

Seared Maine Skate Wing with sweet corn risotto, sea urchin emulsion and Persian cucumber
2006 "St. Vincent's" Cuvee Pinot Noir
notes: say what? the skate was perhaps not as fatty as a nice Copper River salmon and the wine was not as mature or refined as a Willamette Valley concotion (Chris admitted it was not a premium year). Two sad faces.

Slow braised Kurobuta Pork Guanciale with white bean/tomato salad and roasted Bartlett pear sauce
2006 "Mesa Del Sol" Sangiovese
notes - this wine had a great story of how it came about (more later) - we loved this combination - I thought the San could have been better but with the food it was perfect

Colorado Lamb Two Ways (crepenette farci, grilled loin) with organic vegetable salad and star anise essence
2005 Monterey Syrah and 2005 "Les Violettes" Syrah
notes - what a great combination with the "Les Violettes" and the tenderloin, but why add the third wheels with the Monterey and the sausage? Too rococco a ldish for me - simplify, simplify! (ps: the anise needs to stay in Greece)

Toasted Coconut Lemon Cake with mango drizzle and summer berry compote
note: a great dessert! Fred, you should have been there!!

(we will finish this up at a later date - promise!)