The Vintner's Dinner - The Whites

Welcome to a posting the nature of which has not been seen since The Herbfarm. Yes, it is long enough that you might want to snag a cocktail or glass of wine and settle in for a wild ride. This dinner was the second that Jodie, Rob and I assembled. The first had the theme of bacon back in May and tonight, it was all about the Apple. The dinner is a work of love that takes several days to prepare for and right up until it begins things can be fluid and open to last minute opportunities. In the end 7 people came together for the evening. As I posted in facebook it was Fapplebulous!

Arriving just before 3pm the excitement is in the air and the pork loin is on the rotisserie. That would prove to be course six. The cheeses get opened up to breath a bit and the first wine is opened as the rest of the guests arrive. Tonight besides the hosts mentioned above, we welcomed Johnna, Nancy, DeeDee and Heather. Who knew that the vintner’s dinner was going to come complete with entertainment but Heather proved to be a complete delight as I had never met her before this evening. Once seated, it was time to get down to business.
A lovely seafood stuffed avocado was matched with a bottle of Roussette de Savoie Altesse 2007 French White Table Wine. Quite crisp and fresh there were floral overtones to the wine that complemented the appetizer. This course highlighted the Honey Crisp apple.

The sun had not set as you can see and so we got to share what we had done this day as it was a stunningly beautiful day. But that did not stop us from proceeding to the second course of the evening. This was a lovely mayonnaise-less Waldorf salad. Yes, I realize that it is then not a Waldorf, but don’t walk away but hang and listen up as Jodie made an amazing caramelized dressing that had a bit of a kick to it that was tossed at the last minute to make it pop.She was so detailed that the grapes were all not cut the same. Due to their great flavor Honey Crisp’s made an immediate return to this course next to the walnuts and oh what a night. Look close and see, but also notice the wonderful wine being presented and it is a Vin du Lac of Chelan favorite. The 2009 Les Amis is a Riesling in the European style being less sweet. This was a dinner that was just a delight. Before we all gathered Jodie and Rob decided that several times we would pause for a bonus bottle of wine.
So the first bonus bottle was Joel Gott 2009 Sauvignan Blanc and in addition to enjoying the wine we got to get our first real glimpse of what was on the grill, the pork loin I mentioned Rob was grilling. A thing of beauty (the pork loin), I have to say, Rob is amazing at the grill.Time had come to enjoy the soup course and for that Jodie had created a rich and thick squash soup that was golden and just screamed autumn. The Gala and Granny Smith Apples were used in the soup. This was matched with a Dusted Valley Vineyard’s 2009 Viognier. Don’t know if you have noticed just how wonderful Viognier’s have come into their own of late and boy what a high light for the whites. But we were not quite ready to leave the white’s quite yet.
Yes, do not adjust your eyes, you read right – Apple Pie Ice Cream was the Intermezzo and was a total surprise as I found it at Metropolitan Market this very day. Too funny and a perfect match with the Moscato D’Asti 2009 from Strev which I found on sale last week. Initially I thought Jodie is going to kill me, and I even warned her to be open minded. It was not until everyone dug in and blown away that I think I was safe. Like I said, you just have to be open for the accident to happen. And this brings to a close the White Wine portion of our dinner. At this point the score is 4 courses and 5 wines.