Huber Wine Dinner

Friday, May 29, 2009

Delius Restaurant, www.DeliusRestaurant.com, hosted the Huber Wine, www.HuberCellars.com, dinner this evening. Norman and Traudl Huber the owners of the winery were in attendance and being a single I was at their table. I have met the Hubers several times at different functions and they are a delightful couple. I was looking forward to this dinner as they make a Dornfelder wine, which is a red grape from Germany. Their Dornfelder is from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA and it is a really big wine. Much bigger than the wine from Germany. Norm Yost of Flying Goat is their winemaker and Brewer-Clifton are their vineyard managers. Not a better combination around.

When I was up in the Sta Rita Hills last October for Steve Pepe's birthday and Oktoberfest party. I went to the Huber's afterwards and tasted their new Dornfelder Port. At the time they did not have label approval yet so it was not available for sale. I was hoping they would have it with this dinner and was disappointed to not see it listed. Norman said not to worry he would pour it as an extra with dessert.

First course was "Chilled Lobster Salad with Tomato Tartar, Micro Greens and Blood Orange Vinaigrette". The vinaigrette was really refreshing and paired nicely with the lobster. The wine served was a 2007 Chardonnay ( slightly-oaked). Good pairing.

Second course was " Crispy Braised Pork Belly with Asian Pear Slaw and Honey Ginger Glaze. (no steak knife with this pork belly as with DaVicini's). This dish was paired with the 2007 Chardonnay (non-oaked) . When I saw this on the menu I was surprised as I would have thought a Pinot would have been poured. I would never thought to pair a Chadonnay with Pork Belly. But as it turned out to be a very perfect pairing. Everyone was really surprised and Norman Huber looked at me and "who would have thunk".

Third course was "Pan Roasted Duck with Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Carmelized Onion-Cherry Compote". This came with the 2007 Pinot Noir. Duck and Pinot are always a good match. This duck was much more to my liking that the one with the Argentine wine dinner but I think I have surmised that I really prefer to have my duck sliced before they present it to me. Its my own personal preference.

Fourth course was "Braised Boneless Beef Short Rib with Herb Polenta Cake, Baby Carrots and Red Wine BBQ Sauce". The beef was so tender it pulled away with a fork. Excellent flavor and the polenta cake was a nice touch. This was the best dish of the evening. All the food was really very good but for some reason the short rib really tasted extra special. The Dornfelder was paired with this dish and it again was an excellent pairing.

Dessert was "Chocolate Terrine with Carmelized Banana and Toasted Almond Cream". They took the banana and sliced it very thinly lengthwise ans carmelized it in a simple syrup. The banana was like along banana chip, crunchy and slightly sweet. The chocolate was so dense and rich. My kind of chocolate. The Dornfelder Port appeared. I ate my dessert first and then enjoyed the wine on its own. I do not care for sweet with sweet. To me its overkill. But I will say the Dornfelder Port was not overly sweet. An extremely nice wine.

This again was an excellent dinner and wine pairing with Delius. Their dinners are always good and a few are really outstanding and I would put this dinner in the later category.

Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Traudl Huber. She will be having a kidney transplant in July. Because she is 75 years old she could not get on the waiting list for a new kidney. A neighbor has donated a kidney to her. Turned out to be a perfect match and we wish both the doner and donee a fast recovery. How lucky Traudl is to have such a generous friend.