Beaulieu Vineyard at Arte Cafe

 Thursday, November 4, 2021

I have missed the last 2 wine dinners at Arte Cafe due to conflicts. Heard from various people that those dinners were OK but not great. Issues with the quality of the  food.  Was wondering how tonight's dinner would be. Turned out to be very good with only one very minor complaint. Inside dining area was full and most of the patio area was filled in spite of the chilly weather. But there was that large fireplace and heaters.  BV's wine rep Billy was there. Very personable.

We started out with Pacific Shrimp Cocktail.  Two very large shrimp sitting in a glass of ceviche of Roma tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and celery. Topped with an orchid.  Shrimp were perfect. The ceviche is too acid for me so I had very little of it. What I did taste was good.  Wine was a 2019 BV Carneros, Napa Valley, Chardonnay. A bit oaky but went very well with the cocktail. 

Next was a salad with salmon. Romaine, apples, pears, bacon, pecans, cranberry and Feta cheese with a Mandarin vinaigrette. Excellent. Salmon was moist and cooked perfectly. The flavors played off of each other. Paired with a 2017 BV Napa Valley Merlot. A strange pairing was it worked perfectly. I was very pleasantly surprised.  Wine rep, Billy explained because of the nuts, bacon and feta cheese the salad could handle the red wine. I would have never thought. 

Pork medallions with wild mushroom and leek risotto, drizzled with Rosemary au jus was our third dish. Great flavors again.  Pork cooked perfectly, Moist, succulent and pink. My only complaint of the entire night would be the risotto needed just a tiny  pinch of salt. Paired with a 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet. Another very nice wine.

Last dish is a New York strip steak with a maple wine reduction sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. Steak was cooked more medium than rare but it was still pink inside and moist. A 2018 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon was the wine choice. A very good wine and nice pairing.

Dessert was house made apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Not too sweet and a good ending to a very good meal.