Center of Effort Wine Dinner At Delius

Saturday, May 30, 2015

I came across Center of Effort Wines a few years back when they launched their first release. I had gone to an open house at the old Corbett Canyon Winery in Edna Valley to taste Sinor-LaValle and Effort was pouring that day. Very small production at that time but they have expanded somewhat now. Still on the small size but growing. Chardonnays and Pinots only.

When I saw that Delius, www.deliusrestaurant.com was hosting a dinner I thought it was a good time to catch up.

We started out with a Lobster Salad - Frisee (not my favorite), red onion. d'anjou pear and lobster vinaigrette. It did pair well with the 2013 Fossil Point Chardonnay. A clean, crisp wine.

Second course was a Crispy Sweet Bread, rhubarb apple compote, goat cheese souffle. This was my favorite dish of the evening. Flavors married well. The pairing was perfect. A 2014 Effort Rose of Pinot Noir was poured.  No skin contact at all. Color was almost "champagne"

Third course served is a Tasmanian Ocean Trout, celery root puree, kale, red wine reduction. Good flavors. Trout was excellent and the celery root puree was a very good compliment.  A 2013 Effort Pinot Noir was the wine. A nice pairing.

Main course was  Roasted Rack of Lamb, blackberry jam, creamy grits, cipollini onions, lamb demi glace. As usual lamb was perfect. Delius has a real knack with lamb. Too bad my lamb chops the other night at Baba Ghanouj weren't like this.  The jam and grits went well together. My second favorite dish of the night. Wine paired was a 2013 Center of Effort Pinot Noir. A bit bigger Pinot than the Effort. Again the pairing was good.

Dessert came out. A Stone Fruit Popover, cinnamon ice cream, cherry drizzle. Not too heavy. Ice cream was excellent, popover was good.

Again another very good dinner at Delius, Reasonable price when compared to other restaurants. More bang for your buck.