Challenging the Ordinary I had the pleasure of hosting a stellar Wine Dinner on February 5, 2002 at Nikolai's Roof, the premier restaurant of The Atlanta Hilton and Towers in Atlanta. The featured wines were from Morandé, a Chilean wine company that has recently established a presence in America. Morandé's US offices are sited in the Atlanta area in Kennesaw, Ga. Nikolai's Roof is one of Atlanta's most prestigious restaurants. The service is known to be impeccable and the view offered is a panoramic and breathtaking glimpse of Atlanta on high. We were fortunate to have a clear winter night and one could see clearly that this was going to be a night to remember. As the host for this evening, my challenge was to engage the interest and participation of people who were willing to spend $75 per person for a five course meal with Morandé wines accompanying each course. Given that we selected an evening less than two weeks before Valentine's day, marketing this event proved to be more than a notion. The "we" to whom I refer includes my partner and friend, Pamela George of Events By George which handled the massive event coordination effort and to whom I owe deep and sincere appreciation for her tireless efforts. The night turned out to be very special for the 26 people who attended and savored the culinary gourmet experience. Regrettably, we had eight cancellations the evening of the event and I have learned that that is about the norm for the business. The evening began with a separate reception in the lounge area of Nikolai's and the guests were greeted with a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc (Morandé Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc 2000) and offerings of salmon and fresh oysters flown in fresh from Maine. The collective sense was that the Sauvignon Blanc had just the right combination of citrus and tropical fruit fragrances. The tone for the rest of the evening had been set. The guests spent about 30 minutes meeting and greeting, and relaxing as the meal preparation was being finalized. It was interesting to note that many of the attendees knew each other professionally and/or by reputation. I, of course, knew most of the people present as they responded to my invitation or the invitation of someone I had invited. (Special thanks to Karen Whitfield Wilson or "Scoop" as I call her for inviting several of her friends and colleagues.) It was time to be seated and get on with the business of dinner! The seating for a wine dinner is often critical to the event. Nikolai's and Events By George set up the dinner in a private alcove of the restaurant with three tables - two rectangular on either end of the room and in the center a round table. The set-up afforded everyone a view of the skyline as well as the participants - intimate yet still sufficiently private so that one's conversations could be as private as desired. Donning my "WOOD ON WINE" hat, I made a few introductory remarks expressing my thanks to the patrons and challenging them to shed their inhibitions and to sit back and relax and savor what was going to be an exquisite sensory assault. I invited everyone to be bold enough to avoid allowing their preconceived notions of what they like and don't like about wine to color and influence their evening. I urged everyone to forget that "they don't like red wine and always drink Chardonnay". We were further challenged by Jaime Moreno, Vice President of Morandé USA as he gave a brief but informative talk on Morandé and Chilean winemaking. We learned that Morandés wines are made from grapes grown in three distinct locations in Chile: Maipo Valley, Central Valley and Casablanca Valley. We were advised and dared to "challenge the ordinary.. it's time for a change." Then ... it was on! We were greeted by a cadre of servers who said hello and began the feast. The hors d'oeuvres were Les Petits Piroshkis En Amuse Bouche. The piroshkis were flaky and quite tasty and they were accompanied by more of the Sauvignon Blanc we had during the reception. The next course was the appetizers: Galantine of Pintelle and Squab on Ashland Farm Salads and slices of Marinated Root Vegetables with Spicy Pecan Vinegar. This was delightful. It was light yet pleasing to the eye in terms of presentation. The squab was cooked to perfection and the pecan vinegar provided a unique sensory experience. The wine paired with this offering was Morandé Casablanca Valley Pinot Noir 2000. It worked quite well with the squab and the pecan vinegar. Prior to and during this course, we were treated to an informative "quickie" seminar of tasting by Bruce Stewart of Quality Wine and Spirits, a Morandé distributor in Georgia. Bruce gave an outstanding presentation to the group, many of whom were not that familiar with the "how-to of wine tasting". He demonstrated three ways to smell the wine in a glass: putting the top of the glass rim on the top of the bridge of the nose; putting the side of the rim of the glass on the side of the nose and putting the rim of the glass just below the nose. He pointed out that this gives you three distinctly different smells of the wine. Predictably, we all received different olfactory reactions with each "sniff." Enlightenment appeared in the eyes of many of the novice wine enthusiasts present. I smiled a smile of satisfaction as I knew then that we had "touched" a few new people and they would be "hooked" on wine and might become regular participants of future events. Bruce also suggested that a good way to "taste" the wine initially was to suck it through your teeth allowing air in with wine. This gave rise to an explosion of the taste buds and allowed the wine to hit the taste areas of the mouth that generate the sweet, sour, salty and bitter sensations that comprise taste. Kudos to Bruce for making the experience a learning one for my guests and enhancing their knowledge of the art of tasting. The seafood course was next: Pan Seared Scallops on Baby Spinach and Yellow Tomato with Little Neck Clams in Lobster Bisque and Garnished with Micro Watercress. What can I tell you - this was a small delight. The scallops were flavorful and the clams and bisque worked quite well. In all, this was a special offering. The wine paired with the course was Morandé Terrarum Chardonnay 2000 - a golden yellow hue with hints of vanilla and caramel. Comments among the diners varied as to this wine. It seemed clear that those who preferred white wines seemed to prefer the Sauvignon Blanc to this Chardonnay. Nikolai's then served us an "interlude" - a light sorbet served with a splash of flavored vodka. This was refreshing and served to cleanse our palates and gave us an opportunity to rest, talk a bit more and move about the room to other tables. The entree portion of the meal was unique in my limited experience with wine dinners. Usually, there is one set entree with some opportunity (in advance) to make a change - fish in lieu of beef, for example. Nikolai's offered a choice of three entrees and Morandé paired the wines with each choice. We chose from:
Morandé paired the Hen and Swordfish with Morandé Vitisterra Chardonnay 2000 - golden yellow in hue, fragrances of citrus and vanilla and with a distinctive oakiness. This was a wonderful match with the honey brushed Hen which I chose and it worked quite well with the oyster mushrooms. The lamb was paired with Morandé Vitisterra Cabernet Sauvignon 1999. The "cab" was good and one could discern that it was going to be even better in time. It was deep red violet in color with a distinctly fruity bouquet. By this time in the evening, we were all quite saturated with the sensory assault to our palates. The decibel level in the room had increased significantly and the people at each table had gotten to know each other quite well. I moved from table to table engaging my guests in discussion and seeing and sensing that everyone's expectations had been met and exceeded. Nikolai's then served a Cheese Course: Reblochon with Poached Figs and Vincotto. Morandé paired this with their Morandé Terrarum Carmenere 2000. The red wine lovers in the group loved this wine. It was deep red violet in color with a spicy/ peppery flavor. It was full bodied yet soft with little aftertaste. My sense was that this wine was the hit of the evening for the red lovers. The figs provided a different "feel" when hooked up with the cheese and Carmenere. Unfortunately, by this point in the evening, the white wine lovers were sufficiently "full" and my sense was that had they tried this wine earlier in the evening, they too, would have found it to be quite unique and distinctive. Finally, the dessert course. We had a choice of:
Morandé paired these with their Morandé Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2000. For me, this was the wine highlight of the evening. It was deep golden yellow in color with a multiplicity of scents including peaches and fruits as well as springlike flowers. While it was sweet as dessert wines tend to be, it was not overbearing and it complemented the brulee I chose nicely. Several attendees were unfamiliar with dessert wines and again, this was a novel experience that I believe will remain with them. Predictably, the red wine devotees found this wine to be overly sweet while the white wine enthusiasts found it quite good. So, nearly three hours later, the evening was a done deal and what an evening it was. The folks left with a smile on their faces and an enhanced sense of pleasure and gratification. We all had survived this sensory assault and were much more enlightened as a result. Some closing thoughts are in order. Morandé wines are most affordable- surprisingly so. They range from a low of about $9 a bottle to a high of about $18 a bottle. The price- quality ratio is outstanding. I was most impressed with the wines in terms of their drinkability and their compatibility with the elaborate food served by Nikolai's Roof's Chef Johannes Klapdohr. It occurs to me that the challenge for a wine company is to provide affordable, drinkable wines for a variety of purposes. There are "fireside wines" that one drinks with little or no food and which must sink or swim alone. Then there are "food companion" wines that are at their best when properly matched with food. Morandé Wines met the test in both areas in my view. Good food can stand alone and will still be good without wine. Wine can definitely enhance good food and make the meal even better- that's the challenge for a wine dinner like this one. It is equally clear that poor wine or improperly selected wine can serve to take away from even the best food offerings. Fortunately, we had no issue with the quality of the wine or the compatibility of the food and wines presented. Dining is a communal occasion. I seldom enjoy dining alone simply because I get bored with my own company much too quickly. This dinner was special in and of itself in that it allowed a random group of people to come together, share the same foods, the same wines and get to know one another. People left Nikolai's Roof full ( but not overly so), slightly flushed given the variety and quantity of wines imbibed, happy to have shared a common culinary experience and satisfied that they got their money's worth. What more is there? My compliments to the Chef de Cuisine: Johannes Klapdohr and the Maitre d': Henk Jeurink. Special thanks and appreciation to our wine sponsors: Morandé USA - Jaime Moreno and Michael Fletcher and a special thank you to Bruce Stewart of Quality Wines and Spirits. Thank you Pamela George - Events By George for a yeoman's job well done. Finally, much love and appreciation to all of my guests - I thank you for your support and confidence. The highest tribute and testimony of the evening was made by Edith Houston, a special lady who asked if I would host one of these dinners once a month. Not a bad idea. We do plan to do it once a quarter and I can't wait until the next one. We "challenged the ordinary" and did so in style and with grace. Feb. 6, 2002
http://pages.zdnet.com/linwood/ Back to the Wood on Wine Index
|
