Food, Wine & Friends Page 191
Kareasa is jetting to Colombia in a few days to participate in
some sort of English-as-a-Second-Language teaching certification.
We gathered on a Wednesday night to send her off with good memories of
gastronomical delights of California, Oregon and beyond.
We began with a lovely Oregon sparkling wine from Argyle.
2006...nice and dry with nice acidity, but not too austere.
Kareasa and Constance.
Mark and Ralph.
After the bubbly, we sat down at the table and Bob plated some of his garden
tomatoes on crostini...
The berryish flavors of the Tavel Rose were especially good with this garlicky
mass of summer's bounty.
Following Bob's Tomatoes, we had some Saffron Fettucine with Seafood.
La Frenz is a small estate in Canada's Okanagan Valley and they made a nicely
citrusy Sauvignon Blanc. The Le Vieux Pin Sauvignon was a bit fuller and
riper...both nice wines with the saffron and seafood.
An ice made of an aromatic red wine from the Marche...A Lacrima di Moro d'Alba.
Bob then took care of carving up the prime rib roast...
...and, Voila!
Braised Celery with Pancetta and Mushrooms...
We opened a couple of nice, big Cabernets to pair with the
prime rib...
2000 and 1999 Shafer Hillside Select Cabernets.
Both were stellar, with the 2000 being slightly more elegant and refined.
You'd be hard-pressed to identify the 2000 vintage as a difficult and
challenging growing season with a wine of this caliber.
Slab o'Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Braised Celery and Roasted Potatoes.
Connie, meanwhile, was posting photos on her MyFace or Spacebook page on the
internet.
After the main course, we tried a couple of really good Pinot
Noirs from Oregon's Broadley Vineyards.
And, of course, some aromatic, well-aged cheeses were offered...
The 2006 Marcile Lorraine seemed to have a tad more fruit and was a shade
brighter, while the Claudia's Choice showed some forest-floor notes and a
slightly more earthy character.
Both, though, were delicious and very flavorful, though one or two people felt
the wines were a tad 'hot' in terms of alcohol...
And for dessert we had an apple tart and a nicely aged German
Riesling.
The Riesling was nicely aromatic...it showed floral notes with
a touch of petrol.
Sweet and crisp on the palate...delicious, in fact.
And so we bid Kareasa a fond farewell and we look forward to her return after
her South American adventures.
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CONNIE'S BIRTHDAY FEST
