Piedmont Wine Dinner

Friday, March 26, 2010

Delius Restaurant in Signal Hill hosted a wine dinner tonight. The wines of Piedmont, Italy were featured. It was nice to have dinner with Kevin Butler of the Henry Wine group. It had been a few months since I saw Kevin. He introduced to to the new rep that will be handling the wines of Henry Wine Group in the area. It's always a good thing to get to know the wine rep's.

First Course: Hamachi with Soy Ginger Braised Daikon Root and a Wasabi-Yuzu Aioli, Kaiware. I knew about everything except the Kaiware. I figured it was the dark dots of something on the plate. I will have to research this food item to see what is was. All I know is that to take a slice of Hamachi with the Daikon , hit the Wasabi with it and taste it was an mouth watering experience . It also was a perfect pairing with the 2008 Broglia La Meirana Gavi di Gavi wine.

Second Course: Vichyssoise (cold) with Candied Brussel Sprout Leaves, Warm Pancetta Vinaigrette. What can I say. Everyone agreed that this was a superb dish. Also a great pairing with the 2007 Masanta Dolcetto Langhe. I'm not a big Dolcetto fan but this was a great combination.

Third Course: Potato-Herb Crusted Trout with Warm Root Vegetable. This dish was a big disappointment. The flavors were wonderful but the trout was really strong which detracted from the entire dish. It is not to often that I have a dish from Delius that disappoints me. The wine served was a 2007 Borgogno Barbera d'Alba.

Fourth Course: Pan Roasted Duck Breast, Duck Prosciutto Risotto, Radicchio, Pearl Onions, Blackberry-Honey Glaze. This was a big winner. The duck was cooked to perfection and all the flavors just seemed to come together like you always hope for. This was served with a 2005 Paolo Scavino Barolo. Perfect pairing.

Fifth Course: Blueberry-Mascarpone Gelato with Meyer Lemon Confit and a Roasted Pistachio Tuile. Just the right flavors and size to end the meal.

Delius' new Chef de Cuisine likes to add an Asian flair to his dishes and it seems to be working quite well. All the dishes were executed well, the wines were paired very well and if it had not been for a too strong fish flavor to the trout it would have been a perfect meal. Everyone was talking about how good everything was. Yes, the wine dinners here are not cheap but what you get and the quality makes up for it. We all like a bargain but we also have to set our standards lower to get the bargain price. Of course some peoples palates don't seem to care what the food is like as long as its cheap. These people seem to have the same palate in wines..