Stephen Ross Wine Dinner at Taste

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Taste restaurant in Long Beach, www.taste-wbk.com, hosted a wine dinner tonight with Stephen Ross wines from the San Luis Obispo area. When I have been in the Edna Valley wine tasting I have seen the signs for the winery but never visited. It is at the far end of the Edna Valley and I usually leave before I get that far. They have a vineyard but source most of their grapes from others.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I did like his wines. So much so I did buy a few bottles which is something I don't do too often at wine dinners. 

We started out with a 2016 Albarino from the Spanish Spring Vineyard, which was just my style. It was a perfect match to the Spicy Thai style fried rice. the rice had carrots, fresno chilies, scallion, shallot and lime and was topped with an organic quail egg. Dish had a slight bite to it but flavor was very good. I thought the quail egg was slightly over cooked by a few seconds.

Second course was a Grilled Octopus salad with warm herbed fingerling potatoes, arugula, shaved celery and pickled red onions. The octopus had a slight fishy taste to it which was a first for me. usually I don't get that. But it was cooked nicely and very tender. The potatoes were great. A 2014 Edna Valley Chardonnay. Nice nose but a bit oaky for me. It did pair well the the food.

Third course is a Braised Duck Ragu with torchiette pasta, shaved parmesan and sauteed mushrooms. Excellent flavor but I would have liked to see less pasta in the mix. Pasta fills you up quickly. But the ragu was wonderful along with the wine. A 2014 Santa Lucia Highlands, Olson Ranch, Pinot Noir. A very well made Pinot, bright fruit, soft mouth feel and a burgundian style. 

Main dish is a Slow Roasted Pork Short Ribs with a creamy smoked polenta and grilled sweet peppers. I had two bites of the meal and had it packed to go. The pasta in the previous dish filled me up. What I tasted was excellent. Good flavor, tender meat. Wine was just as good. A 2015 Dante Dusi Vineyard, Zinfandel was the choice. This was a great Zin. Slight pepper, spice but still jammy without being over.

Dessert was a Rose Spiked Cheesecake with macerated strawberries, coriander and toasted almonds. Not sweet but rich. Paired with a 2017 Edna Valley Rose of Pinot Noir.  This was the only wine that I did not care for. It had a flowery note to it and just was not my style of Rose.

Taste is now getting all the vegetables from a organic garden in Long Beach. They do not sell retail. The two owners of the gardens , Roy and Adam were seated next to us. They also provided the organic quail eggs.

A fun evening. Kathy and Janice was there celebrating Jan's birthday. Hope to see them at the upcoming Stolpman dinner. This was their first wine dinner at Taste although they do dine there often.