Spanish & Utopia

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Friends invited me to join them for a Spanish wine dinner at Utopia restaurant, www.utopiarestaurant.NET, in Long Beach. I have never been to this establishment before but had heard good things about it. Susan the wine rep was hosting that night. I have met her at several dinners over the past couple of years. And the importer of the wine was in attendance. All the wines were from the Navarra region of Spain.

Starter was a "Mariscos Ceviche", fresh seafood w/cilantro, garlic & cherry tomatoes in a lemon olive oil dressing. This was an excellent dish and paired extremely well with the "Vino Blanco Afutado, Chardonnay 2006". This wine was 70% Chardonnay and 30% Muscat. Strange combination but it cut the spice of the ceviche really well.

Next course was "Paella", saffron rice with sausage, smoked ham, calamari, shrimp and scallops in a spicy light tomato wine sauce. Again a very good dish. The wine was a "Vino Rosado De Lagrima 2006". Granacha/Cabernet. A good pairing and a good wine.

Main course was "Grilled Lamb Chops" with carmelized garlic and onions topped with goat cheese and fresh basil. The flavor of this dish was great but I do not like lamb cooked so that it is the same color inside and out. I need pink. The over cooking made the lamb a little dry and slightly tough. If the meat had been cooked correctly than this would have been an outstanding dish. It was served with a "Vino Usoa De Bagordi Select 2005" . Tempranillo, Merlot, Graciano, Granacha. A good pairing.

Dessert was "Homemade Bread Pudding" It was a good dish and was served with a "Vino Laudate Domium White Wine 2005/2006". This wine was a 100% small berry Muscatel. It was slightly sweet but not overly.

We also sampled a couple of wines that the rep brought but were not opened for the dinner. They left the bottles on the table and needless to say they were emptied when we finished.

Normally I do not buy wines on these dinners as I have enough to keep me going for 10 years, but the wines were good and the price was reasonable.