Southern Hemisphere Wine Dinner at Chianina

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Interesting dinner tonight at Chianina.  www.chianina.com  All wines were brought in from Southern Hemisphere wine shop in Hunting.ton Beach. 5 different wineries, 3 different areas.

We started out with a Hamachi Crudo, aji amarillo, which is a Peruvian chili, avocado, tomato and snap peas with a yellow tomato juice.  Very good flavors. The snap peas were cut in sections with the tiny peas exposed. Different. The wine paired was a 2017 Casas del Bosque "Pequenas Producciones"  (small production) Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca, Chile. I really liked this wine. Soft without the harsh New Zealand and California style. One of my favorite wines of the evening.

Second Course:  Pork Stuffed Caramelle Pasta, English peas, braised leeks. This dish was good but the least favorite of the evening. I just didn't find a "wow" factor in it. A 2014 David Finlayson "Camino Africano" Cabernet Franc, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Big, bold cab franc. It did pair well with the pasta.

Third Course: Roasted Duck Breast, Maitake mushrooms, black lentils, picked cherry. Decent flavor but lacked seasoning and we all agreed that the duck at 4th and Olive last week was much better. Paired with a 2014 Casas del Bosque "Gran Bosque" Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile.  For a Cabernet this was a good wine. Cabs are not my favorite wines so I guess I am not a good reference.

Fourth Course:  56 Hour Chianina Shortrib, raclette and potato croquette, shallot confit and brocollini. Meat was very tender but like the duck seemed to lack seasoning. Paired with a 2011 Luddite, Shiraz, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Good wine. Bold flavors, a bit of pepper. Good pairing.

Dessert consisted of a Chocolate Ganche, dulce de leche and raspberries. Not too heavy or too sweet. A nice ending for the dinner. The wine was another issue. A NV Bleasedale sparkling Shiraz, Langhorne Creek, Australia. Great label with a picture of "Uncle Dick" on it who looked like they took a homeless old man off the street and photographed him. Wine was just too sweet for me. Actually none of us finished it.

All of us agreed that dinner was a bit of a disappointment. Not up to Chianina's standards. Needed seasoning and something else. Wines were OK, but I don't think the best representation of the countries they were sourced from. But with Chianina's track record I guess we can have a "not up the standard"  dinner once in awhile. Have no idea why. Maybe new help in the kitchen. Who knows. But the dinner was not sold out. Masimo and Miichael Dene were not around. Maybe they knew.