An "Exceeds Expectations" German wine dinner

The room was dimly lit, and my camera's flash was misbehaving, so I didn't get any good pictures of food or wine that night, but I would be remiss if I did not mention what a fantastic wine dinner I had the opportunity to co-host last Friday evening.

The dinner took place at a restaurant in Long Beach, a terrific owner-operated place with class and elegance, Delius Restaurant. Owners Dave and Louise are among the most generous and fun hosts I have ever met. They were turned on to German wine years ago by my former boss, Randy Kemner of The Wine Country. They became fans of the Rudi Wiest portfolio ever since.

And, for the past 5 years, or maybe more, they've hosting a German wine dinner once a year in their elegant "prix-fixe" dining room, matching some of the most luscious German wines with their eclectic and well-executed cuisine.

And, very importantly to me, the setting is so perfect. Dave and Louise already feature prix-fixe dinners every evening, with special themes that change weekly, featuring seasonally fresh ingredients, and taking diners through 5 or more courses of delightful, exciting fare.

So what did we have that was so wonderful? We started off with some refreshing and minerally 2009 Wirsching Iphofer Kronsberg Silvaner trocken from the traditional Franken bocksbeutel, which was paired with a pickled trout done in-house and served delicately upon a slice of cold Yukon gold potato that had been roasted to al dente, and topped with some creme fraiche. Perfect. An appetizing dish, not a hint of grease, a fun and stimulating way to start the meal.

The second course was a sauteed sweetbreads served with cauliflower and salsify - as if the sweetbreads themselves were not interesting enough, I thought the menu tacticians were taking great care to serve interesting vegetables as sides, too, like salsify - which was very salsifying! The sweetbreads were meaty and nicely done to a golden brown, and the entire dish went nicely with 2008 Pfeffingen Estate Riesling Kabinett (a.k.a "Pfeffo") which is a medium-dry style Riesling with nice body and weight, owing to the fact that it is from the Pfalz, a warmer growing region than say, the Mosel, and also owing to its vinification style, which is toward the drier side vs. a fruity Kabinett. I thought the pairing was nice - it was the wine recommended by my boss Rudi Wiest - though Randy mentioned that he wouldn't mind something with a bit more residual sugar (read: sweeter) with the dish. I could see his point. For someone who doesn't mind a well-made German Riesling with residual sugar - or someone like me who likes a fruity Spatlese with dinner - a fruity Kabinett or Spatlese would have been fine, even delicious, with the meal.

The next two courses were paired with German red wines. People were pretty excited to hear that, I'll tell you what! And I was pretty excited too. First, we had the 2008 Becker Estate Pinot Noir paired with the duck course. Now, Pinot Noir & duck is a natural perfect pairing, so this was a no-brainer in the planning department. But little did I know how AWESOME this was until I tasted it. Seriously, I'm not just pumping up the wine right now to sell it - it was terrific and showed beautifully that night - I'm not sure if the Becker is just at a really perfect stage right now, or if the duck dish brought out all its wonderful cherry fruitiness. Wow. The duck was no ordinary duck, but it was a Muscovy duck breast, thick, tender, rich, cooked just perfectly, ie. medium-rare, and served with black beans (the menu said "black bean and pear chutney") and it was supposed to be cinnamon scented. I didn't notice the cinnamon accent when I ate the dish, but then I was pretty distracted by the lovely wine. Wow.

The final savory course, after that generous slab of duck breast, was a pan roasted veal loin paired with 2007 Schnaitmann Lemberger from the Wurttemberg. Now, I won't lie to you - I have trouble selling this wine. One restaurant buyer summed it up most succintly in this way: "Look, I can't sell a wine with three words on it that no one knows what they mean: Schnaitmann, Lemberger, and Wurttemberg." So there you have it - no one knows what Lemberger is, and if they had a guess, it would be a stinky cheese. Well, it isn't "limberger" - the stinky cheese, but instead, it is the same variety as Blaufrankisch, the name the Austrians give to this grape. But in Germany, the wine is called Lemberger. As soon as this wine was poured into the glass, its aromas made themselves known to our noses. Yum! Enticing blackberrry and blueberry lept from the glass, but on the palate, we didn't get gloopy Shiraz, but instead, elegant, structured, fruit-forward yet not jammy Lemberger, a delicious and satisfyingly rich red that is unlike anything else I represent. Oh it was tasty, and it was so fun to introduce it to a roomful of people who had never tasted Lemberger. This wine would fly off the shelves if only it didn't say Lemberger!

Finally, we came to dessert. There was no dessert wine, just coffee with it - a chocolate mascarpone cheesecake baked to perfection, light as a cloud and not super sweet - very nice, with a side of blackberry gelee. No dessert wine to compete with that lovely ending.

In all, I was super impressed with the caliber of the Delius kitchen, the fantastic culinary adventure, the way the wines performed, and the mood of the entire dining room. Everyone was pleased. And I got requests to do another wine dinner this fall at another local restaurant that I've done a wine dinner at before - Fora in Naples... two years ago we did a hunter's wild game dinner with German red wines. We've been asked for an encore, and that's now in the works. Stay tuned...

A Week without Wine (almost!)

Wine has its place, and can add so much to an experience. But there are also times when it is not much missed. Last week, when I was on vacation in Vancouver, B.C., that was one of those times, a non-wine-focused holiday.

Not to say that British Columbia doesn't have some great wines. It does. In fact, my sister brought me back a couple of bottles from her trip out to Burrowing Owl, and I do look forward to tasting those (Pinot Noir & Meritage). It is just that I prefer to drink wine when it is a wee bit cooler outside.



The weather, was for the most part, sweltering hot. I was happy guzzling my B.C. tap, some bubble tea, and some good beer.

But most of all, it was a time to spend with family. And re-acquainting myself with the city. The city in its summer self, when lawns were yellowy-brown and parched, unaccustomed to being so starved for water in a city known for its plentiful rains.

The days were so hot at one point, that I thought I was visiting my family in Vegas or something - I couldn't sleep at night, and complained that it was so much hotter than in L.A. Then one evening, before sunset, I declared that it was enough, I had to get out of the house, so my sister took me and my husband down to the beach. English Bay. And it was gorgeous.

We had front row seats for the sunset. Literally, a great park bench that no one else had claimed. The sun took its sweet time descending from the sky to tuck in behind the mountains. I even heard myself complaining that it was taking too long to descend. "Why isn't it going down already??" I am cranky when hot and the sun is in my eyes. But then I learned that the farther one is away from the equator, the longer it takes for the sun to set. In the Caribbean, it would dive down in a minute, I was told.

During the week, we even went to a concert - Michael Buble - a veritable Vancouver boy - 34-3/4 years old, crooning the oldies. He was opened by this group, Naturally 7, who did "voice play" - a version of a capella, except not only do they use their voices to sing, they used them to simulate instruments. Sometimes, they even became their instrument. They were cool. One group member reminded me of Barack Obama. He was the double bass, I think.


Then came Buble. He sang for a solid 2 hours. By himself. No back-up singers. No duets. Just himself. He sang lots of oldies. I enjoyed it but didn't go crazy over it. Being at this concert at Rogers Arena (formerly GM Place & Canada Hockey Place) made me feel nostalgic for a George Michael concert I attended maybe 20 years ago, when I really went nuts for all the songs.

Memories...

Now, for my next post, I'll share with you the one wine-inclusive evening that I did have in Vancouver...

A tale of Oliver Haag in Two Cities

When I first learned about German Rieslings, then later about the subcategory of Mosel Rieslings, I began to learn from Randy, owner of The Wine Country, about how special the Rieslings of Fritz Haag Estate were. These Rieslings always seemed the most pure, the most classic, the most full of stuffing while still delicate on their feet... full of mouth-filling flavor and crystalline beauty. In a quest to find out more about these beautiful wines, I learned that they were made from a site called Brauneberg, a wine village dating back to Roman times, when it was called the Latin name Dusemonde or "sweet mountain." It was later named a more Germanic sounding Brauneberg, or "brown mountain," which, while being less poetic, was an accurate description of this site which, unlike other hills covered with vineyards, Brauneberg was not topped with a rich forest of trees which served as a sponge for rain water, but instead was topped by an almost bare hilltop, with little to no water reserve. This hillside vineyard is therefore dry and brown.

Aside from the legend of the wine village and hillside vineyards Juffer and Juffer Sonnenuhr was the legend of the man, the winemaker Wilhelm Haag, whom I met the first time I attended a Rudipalooza tasting with Randy, back in 2006. Wilhelm Haag is a legend because he has worked his family's winery from the age of 20 to the age of 70, 50 years of winemaking, while being, I believe, the head of the VDP at some points..... the details of which I am unclear about, but I do know he was a major advocate of quality wines in the Mosel region. I also know that as a person, he is very kind, generous, open, and hilariously funny. In my various meetings that I have had with him since that first time at that tasting in 2006, he has told some funny jokes with great delivery - charm, I think it is called - for example, he said of his wines from the vineyard Juffer ("virgin" in German), "it is the only virgin that gets better with age." Guffaw guffaw...

Anyhoo... approximately 5 years ago, Wilhelm Haag did retire and pass on his estate to his son, Oliver Haag. Oliver Haag worked for years for the Wegeler estates, and finally, he had returned to run the family estate and carry on the strong tradition on great winemaking in the Mosel. I had met Oliver Haag on several occasions going to taste in Germany, but I didn't really get to know him as a person until in July this year when he came to work with us in California, and I got to work with him in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.

And here's what I found out about Oliver Haag - he is a terrific person, super smart and knowledgeable, generous and great to work with. In San Francisco, we dashed from one restaurant to another - Slanted Door, RN74, Vanessa's Bistro & from one wine store to another - Wine House, Wine Club, and many others...

In Los Angeles, similarly we hopped from account to account - starting with a breakfast meeting at 9:30 am at Starling Diner in Long Beach (pictured above with owners Ed and Joan), then to The Wine Country to see Randy (top), then up to picturesque Santa Monica, and ending the evening with a wine dinner at 3 Square Restaurant in Venice, where chef/owner Wolfgang Gussmack orchestrated a 4-course meal replete with savory dishes that went beautifully with the Fritz Haag wines.

Working those long days in SF and LA with Oliver were hard and tiring - I won't lie to you! - but he made it worthwhile by being a wonderful person to work with, confirming to everyone, me included, that behind the delicious Mosel Rieslings of Fritz Haag Estate is now yet another terrific and genuine Haag leader and winemaker.

It was like being in the Mediterranean...

Though I have never been in that area known as the Mediterranean, I do have thoughts about it, what it would be like.... what it would feel like to be in Provence, or southern Italy, or Greece, or Lebanon, or Spain, or any of these warm to hot weather places where produce flourishes, where the fat of choice is always olive oil and the red meat of choice is always lamb, where the breeze smells of lavendar and the salty sea, and the sun brings out the bounty of ripe melons, tomatoes, fresh herbs, and wine grapes.

The people spend their time outside; they walk, they farm, they tend to their animals and their homes; they know each other and they live in a town that doesn't think about the stock market or the big corporations, but instead are interested in the goings on in the local area.

On Friday, when I took out my leg of lamb that I scored earlier in the week, and marinated it a paste of minced garlic, olive oil, fresh oregano and basil and rosemary, sea salt, black pepper, and Dijon mustard, I felt like I was doing what was done in the mediterranean - preparing a leg of beast so that it would not dry up and become tasteless on a hot outdoor grill.

Saturday came, and the weather turned up even hotter than Friday, and the idea to cook this piece of meat outdoors made even more logical sense. Who would heat up an already hot house by turning on the oven? We fired up the barbecue, then turned off the left burners and put the marinated leg on the "cool" side of the barbecue.

The barbecue lit up in flames (don't think it was supposed to do that). Perhaps I had been a bit liberal on the olive oil in my marinade - fat dripping onto even a turned off grill can fire up. We took the meat off, let the grill cool down a tad.

Finally, it was figured out, and the meat thermometer went into the meat, with the goal of taking it out when the temp hit 140 degrees for rare. Three hours later, the 8 pound leg looked completely awesome, but since I was hosting the dinner party and had other things to tend to (opening rose wines 2009 Chateau La Canorge from Luberon and 2009 Domaine Dragon from Provence, and the less glamorous but necessary task of getting people parking spaces), I neglected to take a picture of the whole leg when it was done.

Here was my dinner plate though:

On the upper left corner we have the bright yellow aioli, made and brought by our friends; going clockwise, the delicious beans, also brought by friends, then we have the luscious lamb; followed by purple potato & some tiny golden potatoes (done in foil also on the barbecue); grilled qucchini and yellow squash, brought by same friends who brought aioli, and some fresh salsa. Yum, and a great community meal, if I ever saw one!

Wines were also brought by above friends:

The always rare and super-special 2009 Domaine Tempier Rose, the amazing older wines of the southern and northern Rhone, cellared for just about 25 years: 1985 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf du Pape and 1985 Chave Hermitage. All terrific wines, especially the Chave Hermitage.... yum yum..... what other tasting notes do you really need? Prestige wines, all meeting & exceeding expectations.

A great evening of socializing was had by all. And that was the best part, getting people together, enjoying good food and wine. This is why I think the Mediterranean so-call "diet" works. Not omega-3 fatty acids or lycopenes in a pill, but the human's natural desire for socializing and destressing among fellow humans fulfilling the soul and the heart. And we achieved that one blistering Saturday evening in Southern California.

Heat Wave

Not much time to post today, but I wanted to make a quick comment about the recent arrival of summer to Southern California. This year has been one of the mildest ever, and the weather has been absolutely wonderful and kind in an unusual way in that June gloom lasted well into July. Cool, overcast weather is perfect for a gal like me who burns easily (even though I'm not a red-head or anything), who runs (running in heat is no fun), and drives wine around in a car (hot car = not nice for wine).

It has been such a cool summer that last week I even complained about being too cold when walking on the west side of LA, of needing a sweater in the middle of the day, and when I did a wine tasting outside on the evening of July 7, which, as I look on the calendar right now, I can see was only last Wednesday, I was absolutely freezing (between 7pm and 9pm).

But in the middle of the week this week, the marine layer lifted, and disappeared. Hot, hot weather made itself known, along with it the bright sunshine for which southern California is known. Many cheered the arrival of summer.

Though I'm not a fan of 90 degree temps, I have nothing to complain about. I have gotten off easy this year, so my running has benefitted. And, the hot weather arriving just this week is just in time for my fun dinner party tomorrow night, whose theme is southern Provencal type grilled whole leg of lamb with aioli, grilled vegetables, beans, Rose wine, and some red Rhone wines.

I'll be attempting my first leg of lamb, and it will be on a grill outside, and after posting this, I'll be going off to marinate it, smothering it with garlic, herbs, pepper, salt, olive oil, and maybe a touch of Dijon mustard.

Can't say I'm not excited........

One more month till vacation...

...and I cannot tell a lie - I'm looking forward to it! :)

Summer - it just makes you think vacation, doesn't it? Skool taught us that.

Dinner at Petrossian

In celebration for a great work month in June 2010, where Rudipalooza was a roaring success, and I sold more German wine than I've ever sold in my life (which is a very nice feeling, I have to share!), we decided to go to Petrossian in Beverly Hills (or is it West Hollywood), a caviar purveyor that has in the past few years opened a restaurant. I read about this restaurant with interest in the blog Gastronomnom, where the pictures of the food are spectacular, and the cuisine seemed very interesting, so armed with a bottle of champagne that I bought from Manhattan Fine Wines, the 1999 Gosset, we went. (Normally I get my Champagne from The Wine Country, but I was at Manhattan Fine Wines last week and spotted this, so gave in to the temptation).

The surprising thing about the restaurant was that it was close to empty - on a Saturday night. 7:30 reservation - no problem. 3 tables total, including ours. The room was downright stark. Okay, it was the night before the 4th of July, which would make sense as a slow night, but still, it was a little surprising.

The room is beautiful, with clean lines, done in black and white, with splashes of color from the art on the walls. Very modern looking with fine details, like the tabletop done in a black with a texture of beads like caviar, which matches the menu covers.

We started off with the blinis topped with three types of fish eggs. Very tasty amuse-bouche type pre-appetizer, perfect for the Champagne:

I followed with foie gras salad, with was a very creamy, rich, and flavorful piece of cold foie gras sitting on a bed of diced crunchy haricots verts in a light creamy dressing with tons of truffles, so much that their flavor was too strong in the absence of the foie gras, overpowering the green beans.... but if you put on your fork some beans, truffles and foie, it was a terrific balance.

Johan had the steak tartare with a layer of caviar through the middle and on top, which was a delicious generous portion with tons of caviar. The meat was also very fresh and had great texture and flavor that balanced the salty richness of the fish eggs. I had this same dish as my main course after the foie gras salad.

Johan's main course was a specially ordered sweetbreads dish, which was rich and nicely done, served on a wild mushroom pasta. The portions at Petrossian were so generous that he couldn't even finish this pasta!

Overall we had a delicious meal, attentive service, and enjoyed relaxing ambiance. I liked the restaurant very much, and I liked bringing my own Champagne to the meal. All the food was well made and generous. We both agreed that we would come back.

We noticed the folks at the other two tables didn't order as many menu items as we did - they mostly ordered mounds of caviar to share! I liked what we got and thought the steak tartare with caviar was most unique, but Johan thought we might come back to indulge in caviar only some day. And if the mood struck, I'm sure this is the right place to come for that.

In all, it was a terrific way to celebrate the end of a great month and the beginning of a new one. Highly recommend!