Dragonette Wine Dinner at Taste

Monday, March 12, 2018

Wine dinners are starting with all the local restaurants. There seems to be a season just and after and just before the holidays. Usually on the first days of the week so not to interfere with the weekend diners. Tonight it was at Taste in Long Beach. www.taste-wbk.com .  And  Dragonette Wines. The tasting room is in Los Olivos and they source their grapes from Sta Rita Hills and the Santa Ynez Valley area.  John Dragonette was in attendance. Sold out dinner tonight so the restaurant was extremely noisy. Dinner was scheduled for 6:30. Did not get a glass of wine poured until after 7:00

Started out with a Grilled Gem lettuce salad, heirloom baby beets, charred goat cheese medallion, pistachios and a creamy lemon-garlic dressing. Pulled aside several grilled romaine leaves. Was not that appetizing to me. The dressing was excellent as were the beets.   Wine was a 2017 Happy Canyon Grenache Rose.  This wine had only been bottles a few weeks before and it showed. Personally I don't think they should have poured it. Still in bottle shock and did not show well as it would in a couple of months.

Second course is a Crispy Potato Wrapped Salmon with sauteed spinach and red wine mushroom sauce. Again a excellent dish. Salmon was cooked just right. A 2015 Radian Vineyard Pinot Noir was paired. Big wine. I  tasted it at the Wine and  Fire in August.  I am starting to really like the  Radian vineyards fruit. Needs some time.

Next is a Seared Scallop Raviolio with carmelized onion soubise, basil, blistered tomatoes along with a Cast Iron Duck Breast, wilted swiss chard, tart cherry sauce and confit turnips. No complaints at all about the food. The chef, Brad Neumann  does and excellent job. A 2015 and 2016 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir was served. Blend of Radian, LaEncantada, Fiddlestick, Cargassachi, Duvarita and Sebastiano grapes.  I preferred the 2015. It had a year more aging. I don't think the 2016 should have been poured. It is only 2 years old and needs a few more years on it. But I find at wine dinners they do pour newer wines because that is what they want to sell you. 

Last course was a Mixed Roasted Root Vegetable Tart, puff pastry, ricotta and rosemary along with Roasted Elk Loin, smoked carrots, carmelized shallot puree and black pepper wine sauce. I had not had elk since the mid 1970's. I forgot how good it is.  Both dishes gain were excellent. Paired with a 2012 and 2014 Sta Rita Hills Pinot Noir. The 2012 was a big disappointment. Not much can be said about it because it just wasn't there.



They gave each of us a box of cookies to take home instead of serving dessert.