German Wine Dinner at Delius

Friday, August 29, 2014

I have done this German Wine dinner for quite a few years at Delius Restaurant. www.deliusrestaurant.com.  I will say this is the first time I have had some disappointment in the wines and food pairing. Apparently part of the wine problem was that the distributor couldn't get what was originally selected from the warehouse in Napa because of the earthquake. So they had to use what was available locally.

We started out with a glass of 2012 Von Buhl Riesling Sekt Brut - very nice sparkling.

First course: Seared Scallops, Salad of Sea Beans, Enoki Mushrooms and Daikon Sprouts. Paired with a 2013 Wirsching Silvaner Dry Estate. Wine was good and went well with the salad but not with the scallops. Maybe just a little too crisp of a wine for meaty scallops. The sea beans were interesting. Looked like mini seaweed and had a salty taste to them. My problem with these salads that are so finely shredded it is difficult to get onto your fork and when you get them in your mouth you have small spears sticking out They are not "date food". The salad had great flavor and looked really nice on the plate but a pain to eat.

Second Course: Caramelized Gnocchi, Alle-Pia Ruspante Sausage, Roasted Baby Heirloom Tomatoes and English Peas. The Gnocchi was excellent, the sausage was a chicken and turkey with fennel (Alle-Pia is the brand and available on line) was wonderful. Could have ditched the tomatoes, they seemed out of place and did not add anything to the dish. Too acidic. Wine was a 2011 WHS Heger Pinot Gris Estate. Pinot Gris is not in my top likes of wine. This one paired well with the sausage and nothing else.

Third Course: Crispy Skin Red Snapper with Pickled Shallots, Curried Cauliflower.  Snapper had good flavor but was a bit salty and mine was a little dry. The cauliflower had great flavor but needed a few more minutes cooking. Just a little to "al dente", almost raw. The wine paired was a 2013 Becker Pinot Blanc Dry Estate. Very light weight wine but clean. I think I would have preferred a very light red wine with this dish.

Fourth Course: Duck Breast, Creamy Polenta, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Pearl Onions, Green Peppercorn Demi-Glace.  Duck was perfect. Paired with a 2011 Becker Family Pinot Noir. The wine was herbal and too warm. It needed a slight chilling. But a good pairing. Best dish of the evening and best wine pairing.

Dessert: Pine Nut Lemon Sabayon Tart with Honey Marscapone Cream and Fresh Raspberries. Excellent tart. Not to heavy and a great lemon tartness to it.

A good dinner but not up to the standards I have come to expect from Delius. Every restaurant has an off night, menu, food pairing etc., so you don't hold it against them.  In all the years I have been patronizing Delius (since the late 1990's) this is my first real disappointment in the wine and food together.