Four Vines Wine Dinner

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Delius Restaurant hosted a Four Vines wine dinner this evening. in conjunction with Wine Getaways. I had not seen Peter and Bart in since the old restaurant. I was surprised that they remembered me. We also had Bill Grant, one of the owners at Four Vines at our table. Quite a character. Gave very good presentations of the wines being poured and a lot of the history of the old families of the Paso Robles area.

First Course: Crispy Pork Cheeks with baby watercress, black radish and pear sorbet. This paired with a 2008 Naked Chardonnay. No oak. Excellent pairing. I would not have thought to pair pork with chardonnay but this was a real surprise.

Second Course: Duo of Duck - Duck terrine with toasted brioche and caramelized onion compote. Also Roasted Duck Breast with confit of potato, micro arugula and spiced duck "jus". Paired with 2007 Biker Zinfandel and a 2007 J.Dusi, Dante Dusi Vineyards Zinfandel. Interesting to compare the two different winemakers approach to the grapes from the same vineyard. I would say the J. Dusi was a little bit more European in style. I think that was the consensus of most people at our table. But it was split on which wine they preferred. Again a very good food and wine pairing.

Third Course: Lamb Cassoulet - grilled lamb loin with white beans, dried blueberries and baby carrots. I will say that this particular dish was my favorite of the evening. It had such good earthy flavor. This was paired with 2006 Killer Canyon Syrah.

Fourth Course: Braised Short Rib, red wine cherry glaze, polenta puree and crispy shallots. The wine with this dish was a 2007 Heretic Petite Syrah. Again another very good pairing and good food. The short rib had excellent flavor and was very tender

Dessert: Frozen Raspberry Mousse, chocolate granache and caramel tuile. Served with a 2005 Zinfandel Port. The dessert was just the right "lightness" to end a heavy meal and take care of your sweet tooth.

Again another excellent dinner at Delius. These dinners are never the cheapest around but the quality of the food surpasses everyone else in the area. They use the best ingredients which shows up on your plate.