Al Fresco Wine Dinner with Wes Hagen

Friday, September 6, 2019

Dave and Louise who had Delius Restaurant are now doing dinners in private homes.  Louise has had Chef Louise's Catering for several years. With the close of Delius and Bistro Table 301 they are venturing off into private dining experiences.

This dinner tonight was held at their home. 4 large tables are set up in their backyard.  Wes Hagen, formerly of Clos Pepe and now with the Miller Family wine group was our winemaker in attendance. Was nice to see Wes again.

We started out with an appetizer of house made meatballs with  a smoked cheese. It was supposed to be mozzarella but Louise was not able to  procure it so she substituted a German cheese. Quite good.  This was accompanied by a 2017 Ballard Lane, Zinfandel that was slightly chilled. Very fruit wine.

First course is a Kabocha Squash Quiche with oven dried tomatoes and Burrata. Very good flavors that went well together  Paired with a 2018 J. Wilkes, Santa Maria Valley, Pinot Blanc. Good selection and one of my favorite wines of the night.

Next was a House smoked salmon salad, with roasted sweet corn, frisee, arugula, pickled shallots and a chardonnay whole grain mustard vinaigrette. A 2017 Ballard Lane, Central Coast, Chardonnay was the wine choice. Slightly oaked but not offensive.

Third course is a Duck and mushroom confit crepes with dried cherry relish. Loads of flavor. Paired with a 2017 J. Wilkes, Santa Maria Valley, Pinot Noir. We also have a small pour of the 2018 Pinot that has not been released yet. Nice pinots.

A braised boneless short rib with parsnip-potato puree and broccolini  was our fourth course. Cooked perfectly. tender, good  flavor. 2017 Barrell Burner, Paso Robles, Cabernet Sauvignon was the selection for this dish.

Dessert is a Stone fruit crumble with crème anglaise and spiced whipped cream. A light touch at the end of dinner. '

Good dinner, great dining companions. Perfect weather for dining al fresco. Wes Hagen  was in his normal perfect form. We learned how everything in life from the wine press,  printing, press, eye glasses, telescope etc. originated with wine. Only Wes can come up with these unusual facts and tell a great lesson in life.