by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com
Way back when...when I was a youngster growing up and baseball was all that mattered, I remember that revered Chicago Cubs infield combination: Tinker to Evers to Chance. Their double play skill was infallible, fast and errorless.
At the recent gourmet wine dinner it was Castle Restaurant cuisine to Stephen Ross wines to Friendly Discount Liquors - an errorless dining combination that afforded some 85 palateers gustatory bliss.
Dining with six food courses and seven Stephen Ross wines, interspersed with entertaining and educational comments about the wines by owner/winemaker Stephen Ross Dooley, the three-and-a-half hour wine dinner went by lightning fast.
Local "managers" of the wine, Chris Pedersen of Oxford Wine Room website and Stephen Ross wines sales rep, and Andrea Gilbert, the wines distributor, respectively, reveled in the enthusiasm for the wines and the purchases of them that were reflected by orders placed with Bill and Patty Giannopoulos of Friendly Discount Liquors, and deservedly so.
Stephen Ross wines are not "cheapies," are not plebian wines catering to the non discriminating, the "unwashed" wine connoisseur, the price "uber alles" oenophile: These are hands-on-crafted boutique wines and are best appreciated by the savvy palateer who seeks fruit, fruit and more fruit in his wine glass; fruit that is exquisitely balanced with fruit acids and texture, and firm but soft tannins in his red wines.
These wines had them all: prominent fruit, fruit acids, smooth texture, exquisite balance, velvety swallow and extended aftertaste. For me, one wine in particular overcame my determination of steel henceforth to drink wines only from my wine cellar in view of my dwindling years. But when I sighted the deep red/purple color of the visually impenetrable Zinfandel; sniffed its still sub-surface awkward infant aromas; sipped, savored and swallowed its mighty mouth filling flavors, I enthusiastically, albeit imprudently, ordered three bottles at the $32.99 before-discount price. I had a wine friend add my three bottles to his 12-bottle assortment for the 20-percent discount price and happily paid $26.39. Yes, price notwithstanding I bought a bargain.
The wine? Stephen Ross "Monte Rosso" Zinfandel 2000, was aged on its lees (precipitated fermented grape skins and pits residue to add complexity) for a year in new and old French barrels. Supply is very limited we were told; Friendly Discount Liquors is one of the fortunate few wine shops so favored to receive a small quantity.
But first things first: The dinner courses taken without wine and with wine required chef and sommelier derring-do underscored with vivid imagination and gourmet gallantry. Food and wine marriages conceived in the kitchen and hailed as blessed events at the dining tables are not easily come by. Many of us who are habitués at the Castle's wine tastings and wine dinners are not surprised by innovative-unorthodox food and wine pairings, which others may find disconcerting to their pedestrian palates. We had it, innovative-unorthodox pairings...throughout the entire dinner. And it was interesting to listen to plaudits and brickbats about some of the course matchups.
On rare occasion when I would protest wine/food anomalies as laying siege to my ultra conservative palate, sommelier Jim Nicas would sniff condescendingly, arch his bushy eyebrows, wriggle his drooping Zorba the Greek mustache and try to put me down: "De gustibus non disputandum est: Translated from the Latin: There is no accounting for taste." Jim has an elephant's memory, reminding me that invariably I use this quote in my wine columns, saying that the palate is very personal, very subjective, that there are no rights, no wrongs, that the taster can be only right - assuming he is questioning the pairing with an honest mind delivered o'er to an unforked tongue.
When I ask him what father Master Chef Stanley says about questionable pairings, Jim still sniffing condescendingly, arching his bushy eyebrows, wriggling his drooping Zorba the Greek mustache, answers: "He says the same thing in Greek with added pronouns, which don't dare bear repeating.
Yes, whether we agree or disagree on a particular Jim/Stanley matchup, the proof is: The Castle draws capacity fine wine and fine food lovers at wine dinners, and Stanley and Jim invariably are forced to stand and acknowledge plaudits attesting to the success of the event.
This evening the standing vociferous applause was so sustained by the 85 guests that Dr. Bob Ouellette, his wife Lu and I, catering to our advanced age, waved and kissed our early way out of the dining room and agreed that we got more than a bargain for our $70 inclusive price: six courses and seven wines. A bargain indeed. So spare me from frequent Boston wine dinners at more than twice the price, with gasoline, toll and parking as unwelcome cost additions.
To the dinner: Flying Cloud Pinot Gris 2002 reception wine, $11.19, was paired with mussels casino in shell and goose liver mousse on toasted bread rounds. (All prices shown are after 12 bottle-assorted 20-percent discount.) As usual, the hors d'oeuvres were delicious: The delectably seasoned stuffed mussels were properly temperature hot, plump and tender; the creamy, smooth, piquantly seasoned goose liver mousse was irresistible. Waitstaff proffered them repeatedly to eager receptive recipients.
The Pinot Gris, a straightforward, uncomplicated, melon-fruited white wine, was easy to drink - fresh, clean and refreshing with zesty fruit acids. It would not upstage the more complex Chardonnays to follow. A proper initial wine, really not of pedigree stature.
First course: Pan-seared fresh Nantucket scallops wrapped with turkey bacon and seasoned with lemon butter. Tender, tasty, triumphant. Paired wine, Chardonnay from "Bien Nacido" vineyard 2001, $23.99, married beautifully with the shellfish. My notes on the wine: "soft nose; imposing big fruit of fermented apples, berries; subtle peaches, nectarines; varied spices; somewhat reminiscent of Burgundy Meursault.
Second course: Oven-roasted swordfish medallions with fresh vegetables and orange segments were matched to Chardonnay 2002, $19.99, from "Edna Valley" vineyard. The tender complex-seasoned swordfish was on target with the butterscotch, melon, vanilla and soft spice accented Chardonnay. Velvety texture in the smooth swallow and its long aftertaste of tropical fruits and oak merited my preference for the Edna over the Nacido. Just a superb example of a rich, fruit forward, elegant Chardonnay at a very respectable price.
Third course was the "discussion" course: Either it was gangbusters innovative palate pleasure for many guests, eliciting congratulatory raves from owner/winemaker Stephen Ross Dooley, or it was interesting, unusual and unseemly to others. I was among those who were indifferent.
The "course": fresh strawberries stuffed with herb-accented goat cheese in Parmesan cheese accented puff pastry on a field of greens with cherry infused vinaigrette. Delicious! Oh, so delicious in single splendor sing. But paired with two high-powered Pinot Noirs, Bien Nacido and Edna Valley, alas, another thing.
One table member, a no nonsense trencherman, grumbled that it should have followed the main course, and the Pinot Noirs paired perhaps with a poultry plate. Yes! I agreed, my being familiar with how Master Chef Stanley prepares poultry to perfection. Oh well, perhaps this is all a tempest in a teapot - a disagreement in a wine glass. We both decided to save the Pinots for the veal course to follow.
The Pinot Noirs. Edna Valley 2001, $25.59: soft nose (or was my olfactory sense becoming jaded?) with reached-deeply-for aromas and forward fruit flavors of red cherries and plums with subtle layers of cinnamon and tea, underlaid with firm tannins; esthetically shimmering dark red purple color. My thought: It needs a heartier food accompaniment than strawberries and goat cheese.
Bien Nacido 2001, $31.99: aromatic aromas and flavors of raspberries, spice, white pepper; round and voluptuous with flavor accents of dried leaves, game, nuts; beautifully balanced, immediately reminiscent of a Burgundy; surprisingly complex for so young a wine.
Main course: generous platter of small veal chops roasted and served with leeks, mushrooms and risotto, garnished with tender asparagus spears and spinach-filled tomato, was proudly consorted with "Thomann Station" Petite Sirah 2001, $28.79. Murmurs of delight and comments of pleasure wafted throughout the dining room.
From the table behind me, an arm reached over my shoulder: "Mr. Schultz, remember me -- Bill Davids? I took your Night Life Wine Appreciation Course at Doherty High School about 20 years ago."
I nodded that I did, and after we shook hands, he said, "I see we have a Petite Sirah with the veal. I remember your lecture and the funny ending about Petite Sirah. Do you still remember it? And if you do I'd like to hear it again."
I said I would repeat it after the dinner; we could meet at the bar and I would treat him to a glass of Offley Vintage Port 1982 that the Castle was pouring that week.
This is an excerpt of the lecture with the "funny" ending:
"With the certain exception of love, and the possible exception of war, there is no subject in which the literature of all ages is richer than in praise of wine. The song of wine has been sung since the dawn of civilization - by Greeks and by Romans, by poets and by minstrels, and throughout both Testaments.
"Who were the first to make wine? Archeologists with more science than romance in their souls are convinced that wine started in the Middle East - perhaps as early 4000 B.C. The Egyptians passed the art of making wine on to the Greeks, who then educated the Romans, who quickly found the soil and climate of the Italian countryside to be extremely well adapted for growing grapes.
"The Romans were excellent winemakers and they understood the value of aging wines. A colony of Greeks established the French wine industry near Marseilles about 600 years B.C., and winemaking spread up to the Rhone Valley.
"Caesar loved wine, and wherever his legions went after they conquered Gaul they taught the people to make wine. The happy result is that vineyards were established in Burgundy, Bordeaux, The Rhone and the Rhine. Many of the vineyards thus established in the third century continue to this day.
"And speaking of The Rhone Valley: Some wine enthusiasts think that the Petite Sirah grape is a modern day equivalent of the Shiraz grape which grew in ancient Persia, where they understood the fine art of drinking wine.
"Here's what a Persian king told his son in the day of Shiraz: 'Wine drinking in our faith is a transgression. If you wish to commit a transgression, it should at least not be a flavorless one. If you drink wine, let it be only the finest. If you listen to music, let it be the sweetest. And if you commit a forbidden act, it be with a beautiful partner...so that even though you may be convicted of sin in the next world, you will at any rate not be branded a fool in this one.' "
The son dutifully nodded his agreement and became envied as "The Playboy of the Ancient World."
The superb veal course and the three red wines: The lollypop size tender, pleasingly seasoned veal chops were deliciously compatible with both Pinot Noirs and the Petite Sirah. Each wine contributed an accent of its own special flavors to the meat without disturbing the integrity of meat's flavor -- each wine emphasized its particular nuances of flavor adding complexity to the veal's taste. In turn, each of the three wines was influenced by the meat's flavors and manifested different flavor accents - surprising how the taste of meat added a small but noticeable different taste dimension to each of the wines.
We were buzzing about the learning experience that the two Pinot Noirs added to the veal, raising it to a multi-pleasure dimension. The Petite Sirah also enhanced the veal's taste, elevating the basic, tender, intrinsic flavors to a new height.
The Petite Sirah needs time to mature to achieve greatness. Its opulent flavors are reminiscent of tar, spice, jam, tobacco, white pepper; other tasters detected - imagined? -- raisins, smoke, currants, mint.
The mouthwatering description of the dessert on the menu had me drooling with anticipation: chocolate pot au crème with white crème de cacao crème anglaise. It tasted even better than it looked - the two one-half spoonfuls that I tried. The best wine of the evening, for me, had been poured: Zinfandel "Monte Rosso" vineyard 2000, $26.39.
As many faithful readers are aware, I am among wine connoisseurs who do not enjoy fine red wines with sweet desserts, finding that sweet desserts increase wine's acid and tannin and diminishes its flavor integrity. Conversely, however, other tasters become delighted table thumpers when they sip the dry wine and swallow the sweet dessert.
As I wrote earlier, although I am far from bereft of wine and do own many fine Zinfandels...I could not resist ordering three bottles of the Stephen Ross. For my palate, it was perfection! And I wasn't alone in my enthusiasm for the zin: Dr. Bob Ouellette of renowned black belt palate reputation also ordered three bottles from Bill Giannopolous of Friendly Discount Liquors. I ordered mine from his wife Patty: She is much prettier.
My notes on the zin: "Wow! Big fruit, great balance; berries, plums, spices, pepper, blackberries, toasty briarwood; muscular body, assertive, imposing. A super star for $26.39, giving effect to the 20-percent mix or match 12-bottle purchase.
Wine Pick: For spring and summer sipping and lighter fare accompaniment: Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc 2003, under $10, is a classy, crisp, citrusy delight with pulsating aromas and flavors of oranges, lemon zest, ripe pear and pineapple; acidity is nicely balanced with the lush fruit.
Bill Davids asked if I agreed with his assessment of the wine: green apple, candied citrus, lemon, lime and grapefruit. He suggested it be served with oysters, summer salad or Asian inspired cuisine. What did I think?
I congratulated him that he learned his lessons well and that I certainly agreed with him.
For interesting and entertaining information about Petite Sirah, Syrah, Shiraz, Sirah, Duriff, please log onto www.oxfordwineroom.com and click onto my wine columns.
The vertical column at the left of the page will list among other columns: "TT Thingle-Dingle Explains Petite Sirah, Sirah, Shiraz"; also, about how the sweet young thing, short of skirt, shapely of limb, earns a ride in his Rolls Royce.
Email Comments to Julian at:
julian@oxfordwineroom.com