by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com
Two pedagogues: Dr. Clinton E. Carpenter, professor of teacher
education… and gibberish; David Stare, president/winemaster/vintner of Dry
Creek Winery, professor of wine education…and coherence.
My first day in class, September 1939: I’m studying for my master’s
degree in educational psychology. I’m sitting in the middle of the front row,
under the professor’s nose, my habitual place of hazard.
Professor Clinton E. Carpenter points to me: “The what of the what?”
I look at him dumbfounded. “Whaa?”
He answers his question: “The methods of education.”
He follows with another question directed at me: “The who of the
why?”
“Is this some kind of nightmare? I must be dreaming,” I’m thinking.
Tightlipped silence from me. He answers his question: “Teachers to
educate students better.”
He continues rapid fire, asking me and answering me: “The where of the
when?” “At public schools doing practice teaching.”
“The how of the why?” “By preparing lesson plans to maintain
teaching focus.”
He points to me again: “You, sir, alternatively look surprised and
confused. Your forehead is furrowed, you are fulminating displeasure.”
I spoke up protesting, “This is our first day in class. We had no
reading assignment. I don’t understand these questions.”
He replied to the class, “Of course not! This is how I get I get your
attention…dramatically! Then good things follow.”
Next class session I moved to the rear row, an unusual place for me.
David Stare, vintner, attracted and held the attention of 80 palateers at
the Sonoma Restaurant, route 31, Princeton, with a comprehensible approach to
our understanding his philosophy of wine production. His comments, prelude to
our tasting his wines with Bill Brady’s always imaginatively prepared food,
enhanced our pleasure with the wines and reinforced our decision to add Dry
Creek to our cellars. (Ten percent discount on all Dry Creek wines at Sue
Hanson’s Holden Wine and Spirits, through Saturday, April 12. More on this
later.)
Without unduly hyping his wines with perplexing puffery and purple prose,
David told us about his dedication to “extraordinary vineyard location and
soil,” “impeccable winemaking,” “quality without compromise,” and
“passionate pursuit of excellence.”
We were beneficiaries of his modest, almost self-effacing “boast”
about the quality of his wines, six of which were paired with six food courses.
“Then
good things followed” at the reception hour when we sipped his Dry Creek Fume
Blanc 2001, $12.50, and hors d’oeuvres of specially imported aki tuna tatare
combined with a variety of taste-enhancing seasonings; foie gras dim sum
in steamed dumpling of chicken with complementing dipping plum sauce; sweet Gulf
shrimp on English cucumber round with herbed goat cheese; artichoke hearts
stuffed with Parmesan cheese; and zesty-seasoned chick pea cakes on pita round
with cucumber yogurt sauce.
My son
Gordon and daughter-in-law Ev were with me, their awe-inspired first time at
Bill Brady’s countrified Sonoma Restaurant, their palate-piqued first time
with Bill Brady’s culinary artistry; their palate-mesmerized first time with
David Stare’s Dry Creek Fumé Blanc, a lively white wine that reached out with
a floral perfume nose and offered layered flavors of melon fruit, varied herbs
and fresh grass… and perfectly partnered the hors d’oeuvres. Properly
balanced with fruit and fruit acids, the Fumé finished cleanly, crisply and
smoothly. Other palateers’ descriptors: “brisk balanced flavors,”
“lemongrass, lime, tropical fruits,” “titillating bright acidity,”
“full, pleasing mouthfeel,” “long memorable finish,” “fruit, fruit and
more fruit.”
I was
pleased that my elated “children” eagerly proffered their wine glasses for
refills, following uninhibited Dad’s example.
I
asked Gordon for his assessment of the five hors d’oeuvres – for his order
of preference -- as I observed him avidly and rapidly consuming them non-stop.
“As a lawyer,” he said, “I have been trained to express myself clearly and
with insight, and yet, eating and enjoying these delectable hors d’oeuvres, at
this time, I find myself encountering great difficulty in adequately conveying
my thoughts.
“Each
succeeding one – from one to five – tastes better than the preceding; when I
taste them in reverse – from five to one – each descending one tastes better
than the preceding; when I start in the middle – with the third, and taste
hors d’oeuvres four and five, then one and two – each succeeding one tastes
better than the others. I hope Dad I have answered your question.”
“I’m
totally confused. I shouldn’t have asked you,” I said, grimacing.
“Simple
Dad: I liked them all…equally!”
“Just
like a lawyer! Why didn’t you say so at first, without wasting time?”
Gordon,
laughing: “Lawyers get paid by the hour.”
After
a solid hour of socializing – the 80 of us with one another, while the eight
waitstaff continuously paraded among us with the hors d’oeuvres -- we were
invited to take our places at the dinner tables.
Artfully
paired were Chardonnay Reserve 1999, $23, and fillet of moist, tender, tasty
black sea bass, covered with crisp, delicious thin skin. The fish, embellished
with imported black olives, artichokes, roasted green peppers, over risotto and
lemon vinaigrette, gave evidence of great imagination by the kitchen: Never
before in my octogenarian years – that I can still remember -- did I taste a
fish dish that so thrilled my palate…oh, that novel crisp, blackened, thin
skin – d—licious!
The chard was up to the challenge, was not diminished by the bravado sea
bass. My notes: “subtle earthy mineral, apple nose transfers to palate,
augments sweet oak, apple, vanilla, hint of white pepper flavors; smooth
swallow, long aftertaste; surprising complexity in so young a wine.” Other
tasters discerned: “luscious wine of golden hue,” “abundant aromas of
apricot, peach, tropical fruits,” “honey with hints of mango and toasted
hazelnuts,” “rich flavors of peach cobbler, vanilla and almonds,” “ripe
apples, butter, toasty oak,” “great balance, lingering finish into lengthy
aftertaste,” “not a Burgundy, but as good as West Coast offers.”
So once again, the subjectivity of the palate dictated different aroma
and flavor perceptions among tasters. With the Dry Creek Chardonnay Reserve,
differences notwithstanding, all totaled to pleasure on the palate.
Followed an abrupt switch, for some diners almost palate shock: Ricotta and Mascarpone Cheese Gnocchi Pasta with jasmine tea, walnut oil emulsion and grated blue cheese. No palate shock for me! “Bring them on -- more gnocchis,” I pleaded! How my persnickety palate enjoyed this novel dining experience! Heritage Clone Zinfandel 2000, $17, pleasingly augmented the dish.
No novelty to Gordon and Ev who are familiar with Italian cuisine. Said
EV, rhetorically, “Who needs East
Boston or Shrewsbury St. cooking if this gnocchi dish is an example of Italian
cuisine that can be cooked up in fragrant-foliage-clustered bucolic
Princeton?”
I loudly lauded the dish to my 11 tablemates who, occupied with lifting
zin and pasta to mouth, ignored me. So I congratulated owner/master chef Bill
Brady, who constantly moved among the tables, where he heard the same about the
dish.
My palate discovered heaven with the zin/pasta combination. Slowly I
sipped and slowly I savored as I sought to retain the rapture. With Dr. Bob
Ouellette’s monitoring eyes ever on me, I was prevented from whispering…
“Please, sir, I want more.” Ever caring for my digestion, he had already
told the waitress to whisk away what remained of my generous portion of the sea
bass before I could finish it. Grrr!
The zinfandel for me was the outstanding wine of the dinner: was redolent
with assertive raspberry/blackberry aromas that moved to the palate, found spicy
fruit, balancing black pepper and firm tannin, fruit acids and woodsy nuances,
and persisted forever. Some palateers, who decried the zin’s not being
“chewy,” were answered by others who praised its “finesse.”
The main event: roasted baron of prime dry-aged, thinly-sliced beef set
atop a parsnip cauliflower and potato puree with glazed baby leeks, pea tendrils
and truffle demi-glaze. Preparation perfection personified: tender, delicious,
rare-to-medium rare in the inside and medium rare-to-medium at the outer edges.
Adding to the generosity of the served portion, waiters later roamed the
tables offering slices of seconds. There were plenty of takers, including
Gordon, Ev and me. (It was great next evening!)
Two wines were consort to the beef: Reserve Merlot 1994, unfortunately
not available; gangbusters with slight aeration and the tasty beef; Epoch
Millennium Cuvee 1997, $60, is available, as are all the wines in this dinner,
and other Dry Creek wines, at charming, lovely Sue Hanson’s Holden Wine and
Spirits, route 31, adjacent to the car wash, adjacent to the Big Y shopping
center. Reminder: Through Saturday, April 12, a 10 percent discount is available
on all Dry Creek wines; phone number: 508 – 829 -- 6632.
The Cuvee,
90 percent cabernet sauvignon and 10 merlot, needs more bottle maturity to
soften its big cab flavors of currants, cherries, cedar, tobacco and underlay of
leather; I overheard “chocolate” and “mint” from a nearby table. No
question but that time will create a cellar treasure with the Cuvee.
Refills ensured that we would enjoy the wines with the forthcoming
cheeses of Vermont Timpson, smoked Cheddar and double cream Brie, augmented with
thin, crisp, slightly seasoned dried crackers. We did, indeed, enjoy both.
Already
surfeited with too much of what was much too good, nonetheless we eagerly
awaited Bill Brady’s always-remarkable dessert surprise; nor were we
disappointed: Thankfully it was a feather light raspberry/chocolate mousse bomb,
not a heavy pastry, which would have demolished the digestion. The match-up with
Soleil, a Sauternes-like botrytis-ed late harvest sauvignon blanc 2000, $25, 375
ml. bottle, proved to be compatible with the delicate and delicious dessert.
Soleil
aromas: floral fragrance, peach, kiwi, honeysuckle, tropical fruit; flavors:
honeyed peach, apricot and orange zest interwoven with hints of apple pie spice
and lemon; rich, clean, properly balanced, not cloying. An unusual treat and a
lot less expensive than French Sauternes. Try it, buy it!
From what
you have read, you know that we were royally treated to yet another Bill Brady
royal dinner. Much of the success was due to the kitchen and waitstaff, and to
the omnipresent, ubiquitous Sue Hanson who visited the tables and graciously
answered our questions.
Deserving
of the enthusiastic accolades we heaped upon them were: hostess, Diane DeCiccio
(my eyes, ears and… ever-smiling sweetness); waitstaff: Scott Wedge, Debbie
Trapasso (my other ever-smiling sweetness), Eric Langley, Kyrill Schallbert, Bob
Reinhart, Chris Nason, Terry Lewandowski and Laurie Petricca.
Kitchenstaff:
Mike Donnelly, executive chef; Mike Quastello, sous chef; Dennis Brown and Ben
Himlan, apprentices; not to be overlooked were dishwashers Ben Feinsilver and
Marshall Deforest who were lightning fast in getting needed dishes and wine
glasses washed.
Bill
Brady is thinking about perhaps a wine dinner in May. If it materializes, I’ll
report it.
Wine Pick: Stephen Ross Winery Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel 2000,
$32.99. Exceptional intensely flavored zin from 120-year-old vineyard. Oak aged
15 months and unfined and unfiltered, this classic zin delivers flavors
reminiscent of raspberry, briarwood and balancing black pepper; smooth swallow
and extended aftertaste.
Wine Pick: Liparita Cellars Reserve Carneros Chardonnay 2000, $36. Enjoy
a novel tasting experience with flavors reminiscent of rich toasty oak, butter,
and nutmeg; other tasters discerned spice, honey, hazelnut, apricot and peach
cobbler. Lively with balancing fruit acidity, rich moutfeel, velvety finish and
long aftertaste, Liparita is all class and substance.
Wine Pick: From Jewell Collection of Fine Wines, Merlot 2001, $9.99,
blended with 7 percent of Petite Sirah for added complexity. Toasty oak and
cherry aromas transfer to the palate where flavors of plums, soft vanilla and
delicate tannins are added. Well balanced, rich smooth swallow and lingering
aftertaste result in a stylish wine at a big bargain price.