MacRostie Wine Dinner

Friday, July 31, 2009

Delius restaurant in Signal Hill, www.DeliusRestaurant.com, hosted a MacRostie wine dinner this evening. I had heard of this winery but could remember tasting any of their wines. The wine rep from Arizona was with us tonight. It seems that the owner of MacRostie had some last minute problems and couldn't make it.

The appetizer tonight was "Crispy Shrimp Sushi Roll with Asian Pear Salad, Cilantro and Wasabi Aioli. This was paired with the 2007 Carneros Chardonnay. This wine had a touch of oak on it which disappeared with the sushi roll and spicy taste of the dish.

Salad was "Yellow Watermelon with Fried Goat Cheese. Micro Greens, Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette". Wine was a 2008 Carneros Pinot Noir Rose. Nice pairing and the wine was good.

Third course was "Five Spice Pork Tenderloin, Mustard Greens, Cherries, Pan Jus. A 2006 Carneros Pinot Noir was served. It was very interesting to see how well the wine paired with the mustard greens. This was an excellent food & wine pairing.

Main dish was "Chocolate-Coffee Roasted Beef Tenderloin Medallions, New Potato, Pearl Onion Confit and a Red Wine Reduction. I cannot say too much about the spectacular sauce. The meat was cooked to perfection. They made a rub of chocolate & coffee and then roasted the meat. When the sauce was poured over the rub infused itself to the sauce. Similar to a Mole but not as spicy. This dish was the hit of the evening. Served with a 2005 Wildcat Mountain, Sonoma Coast Syrah. A perfect pairing.

Dessert was a "Rhubarb Upside Down Cake with Toasted Almond Gelato" . The cake had to top that was similar to a creme brulee crust. Very tasty, not to sweet and just the right end to a fabulous meal.

MacRostie makes 30,000 cases of wine of which 20,000 are Chardonnay. That is their flagship wine. Wines prices were in the $20 to $35 range. All were good and I especially liked the Rose which was dry but still had a nice fruit taste to it