Anyone that happens to live in or be visiting Jackson Hole the weekend of Friday October 16th to the 18th should consider staying an extra day and attending what I’m sure will be a delicious Spanish themed dinner at The Wort Hotel on Monday October 19th. With the help of the beverage directors and chefs at The Wort, I think we’ve created a wonderful food and wine pairing featuring several wines we import and mouth watering dishes which I’m sure won’t disappoint. What I’m most excited about is for everyone attending to try the Emilio Lustau “Old East India” sherry- I hope it will open some eyes (and palates!) to a whole new flavor profile and exploration into the wonderful world of wine. Here is the menu that the chef’s have created:

Wine Dinner

Fabulous Four-Course Dinner Featuring

Cuisine and Wines of Spain

* Cuerno de Beef Carpaccio – a little Horn of Thinly Sliced Rare Beef, Stuffed with Micro Greens and Manchego,

Drizzled with a Citrus-Cilantro Vinaigrette

Chozas Carrascal – El Cava

*Toasted Goat Cheese on Arugula with Roasted Tomato and a Cracked Peppercorn Vinaigrette, Served on a Crostini

Muro Crianza

*Spanish Spice Rubbed Lamb Loin, with a Lemon-Coriander Sauce.  Wild Rice with Toasted Pecans and Scallions

Ondalan Reserva

*Flourless Chocolate Torte, Served warm with Poached Figs and a Saffron Whipped Crème Fraiche

Emilio Lustau Old East India Sherry

I will be fortunate enough to be attending and I look forward to meeting everyone and discussing the wines and answering any questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the event or the wines!

Salud,

Michael

After wrapping up all our loose ends after nearly a month on the road, I finally found some time to sit down for a new post and edit the hours of footage to make a short video for everyone to enjoy. We had an absolutely incredible trip that began in Pittsburgh before moving on to Philadelphia for wine shows during the Pennsylvania Wine Week. The shows went well considering the current economic situation, and we were excited to show some new wines at both shows such as the recently available Alana-Tokaji Late harvest Furmint. This wine received wonderful responses in both cities and we were glad that everyone enjoyed it! We were also quite lucky to have Paul Sharp from Europvin join us in Philadelphia to help educate consumers about sherry, which also went over well with the crowds. I think with Paul’s amazing wealth of information we were able to change some opinions about sherry and hopefully expand some more palates.

After the Pennsylvania shows we headed to directly to Spain where we spent some time with friends in Madrid. They took us to some “secret” tapas bars around the city and introduced us to some new foods, which I’m sure we’ll try to recreate in our kitchens. I’m always amazed at the diversity of food Spain has, it seems every time I return I try at least 10 new items I’ve never had before.

We then bid farewell to our friends in Madrid, and met two purchasing agents from the PLCB at the Madrid airport and flew directly to Vigo where we stayed the evening in an amazing hotel right on the Spain/Portugal border as we all tried to recover from our jet lag. The next morning we spent an incredible day in Portugal where we visited Quinta de Gomariz in the northern Vinho Verde region of Portugal. Here we toured the winery and met the people behind these incredible white wines before heading south to the Douro region to visit Quinta de Carregosa, a small producer making excellent red wines. The Douro was an incredible region that was quite literally mountain after mountain completely terraced and covered with vines. The Douro was one of the most breathtaking places I have seen, I hope to return one day and spend some more time enjoying the region. We had an amazing dinner later that night courtesy of the hard work from the fine people  at Vinixa who had set up all of our visits to the various wineries. The family team at Vinixa has been an immense help to us since we began working together last February and we couldn’t have accomplished our tour of Portugal without them. Before and during the dinner, we met and tasted through the line of Quevedo Ports along with Oscar Quevedo. The ports were absolutely incredible with Portuguese dishes like grilled lamb chops, roasted veal, and an amazing chocolate dessert with an orange cream sauce paired with Quevedo’s LBV and Tawny 10 year- delicious! 

With our one day, one night whirlwind tour of Portugal over, we headed north back to Spain to the Galicia region in the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. There we visited with our good friends and winemakers at Coto de Gomariz to try their new vintages of amazing red and white wines that really impressed all of us. Their red wines were quite a surprise as they are made with interesting local varieties rarely seen outside of Galicia, let alone Spain. Souson, Ferrol, and Brancellao are native red varieties that were almost lost to the region during many political upheavals that Spain has experienced throughout its history. Luckily, there are several producers such as Coto de Gomariz who have dedicated their work to restoring these native varieties and producing incredible wines with them.

After Coto de Gomariz we headed southeast to Ribera del Duero to visit the famous Vega Sicilia family of wines, which include Bodegas Alion and Bodegas Pintia (which is located in nearby DO Toro). We had an amazing tour of the facilities at both Alion and Vega Sicilia before sitting down to an incredible meal where we had the unbelievable opportunity to try wines such as the ’99 Unico, ’02 Valbuena, ’05 Alion and ’06 Pintia. This was the biggest lineup of wines I have ever had the chance to taste, surely one of those days I will never, ever forget for the rest of my life. After our tasting, we had the chance for some down time at the hotel, so we passed the time talking and enjoying a beer for a change on the patio with a cool river running right below us. The next morning it was on the road again, by this time we were getting good at the stop and go schedule we had lined up.

We then headed out to the Rioja region where most of the bodegas we represent are located. We had a few jam-packed days visiting the bodegas and sampling the new vintages and new wines that many of the winemakers have been working on. We first stopped at one of the most famous producers of classic Rioja wines, La Rioja Alta. We visited their amazing facility as well as tasted through their family of wines. I always love to try these wines as you are able to taste and feel the history of Rioja when drinking these delicate, delicious wines. We had fantastic meals at every bodega, and even had the classic Riojana dish “chuletillas a la parilla” (lamb chops grilled over last years dried vines) at both Bodegas Ondalan and Bodegas Medrano Irazu. We also had the opportunity to catch up with “Mr. Non-stop,” Miguel Angel from Bodegas Miguel Angel Muro. This man has more energy that anyone I have met and he has been busy creating a wonderful new reserva wine, which we were able to enjoy. We also caught up with the husband and wife duo of Charo and Julian from Bodegas Ruiz de Vinaspre, where we had the opportunity to try their new line of wines that didn’t disappoint. At Bodegas Santiago Ijalba we were able to try many of the new vintages, and I was most excited to try their new organic wine.  Even with all these visits in a short amount of time, we were also able to enjoy some free time in the village of La Guardia. This turned out to be absolutely chaotic as there was a huge soccer match between Barcelona and local favorites, Atletico Bilbao. People were partying in the street setting off what seemed like quarter sticks of dynamite based on the sound of the explosions- and this was even with their loss to FC Barcelona! Europeans are soccer crazy to say the least……There is always something new to experience in Rioja; I think that is what keeps us going back! 

Once our tour of Rioja had ended, we drove up north to one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, San Sebastian. This is still one of my favorite cities to visit as they have the most incredible gastronomy scenes in Europe, it’s unbelievable. From the hundreds of tapas bars and a visit to a traditional sideria, we experienced some amazing food and wine while finally being able to relax a bit as our non-stop schedule had finally come to an end. Our visit to San Sebastian was the perfect way to end our wine filled tour of Spain and Portugal and reflect on all the amazing sites and generous people we had seen and met.

We recently welcomed the Salt Lake City French Club to a night of fine French wine and remarkably authentic French food, prepared by Chef Drew Ellsworth. Drew, and American who majored in French, spent two years training in Dijon as a master of French food. He currently owns and operates a wonderful catering business and cooking school, the Ecole Dijon Cooking School. His preparation and presentation of incredible terrines drew gasps from even the most ardent Frenchman at the tasting.

The club is comprised mainly of ex-pats working in Utah, so there was not much English to be heard. The crowd was quite diverse, ranging from executives of the Rossignol Ski Corporation to research biologists working at the University of Utah.

In true European form, many brought their young children making it a festive family affair and a fun, casual atmosphere. Almost everyone came with appetites on high alert, as there were only scraps left when the dust had settled.

We served two red and two white wines for the occasion. The first red, Domaine du Gros Pata, is a wonderful Cote du Rhone that paired well with the cucumber curry chicken salad. The second red was from Bordeaux, the Château de Monbadon that was fantastic with the marinated lamb and the complex cheese plate. The two white wines served were the Alex Gambal Bourgogne Chardonnay and the Dom du Rieux cote de Gascone. The Alex Gambal paired wonderfully with the Salade Jurassienne with the hints of oak playing off the smoked sausage in the dish. As for the Domaine du Rieux, the wonderful acidity and citrus flavors were perfect with the shrimp alla Romana.

The evening was a great success and we look forward to working with chef Drew again to see what wonderful dishes he will create!!

Sante,

-Peter 

Appetizers & Hors d’Oeuvres

 Stuffed Dates

 with Walnut and Orange-zest Cheese,

Curried Chicken on rounds of English Cucumber

Grand Plateau de Fromages

Fresh Fruit

Chef Baked Breads Crackers and Toasts

Grand Plateau de Charcuterie

Jambon Persillé, Terrine Ballantine aux Pistaches,  Mousse de Foie de Volaille

Pâté d’Agneau aux Noix,  Terrine Indienne au Grand Marnier

Cornichons, Choux Rouges, Chutney Sud Africaine,  Grey Poupon

Salade Jurassienne

Romaine Lettuce topped with Smoked Sausage and Cottage Fries

Dijon Vinaigrette

Shrimp alla Romana

Peeled Tiger Shrimp on a patty of Polenta drizzled with

Escargot Butter and Parmesan Cheese

Rosemary Lamb Skewers

Marinated Bites of Lamb served on a pick

Desserts

Hand-dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Truffles

A few months ago my father and I were contacted by the beverage manager and several members of the Park Meadows Country Club in Park City to help out with a Spanish themed dinner for their members. They hold several of these events a year for their members and it’s a wonderful way for everyone to get together and learn about new and exciting wine regions that they may not be familiar with. We were of course very excited to have been contacted about the possibility to help out with the wine education part of the evening.

After the wines had been selected, it was up to the chef to come up with a menu that would compliment each wine, and we waited anxiously to see what he would come up with to go along with several wines from our portfolio. We were quite excited when we received the menu and saw that the chef had done an incredible job pairing up Spanish themed food with the wines and couldn’t wait to try everything!

The event was held this past Friday, but unfortunately my father ended up not being able to attend, so I drove up to Park City hoping one person would be sufficient to speak with everyone. Thankfully there was a PA system with a microphone, so I was able to speak about each wine while everything was being served. And, since I didn’t know anyone there, I was happy to find myself sitting at a table with a wonderful group of people from Arkansas who are members of the club and spend some time in Utah every year. I was even more amazed to find out that they had flown in that day and had actually attended a Spanish wine tasting the night before in Little Rock! I was very excited that hear that Spanish wine is still being featured at other tastings throughout the country and hope that trend continues. As the courses came out, we had wonderful discussions about the food and wine, the economy, the skiing and golfing, and all sorts of dinner table topics. I enjoyed myself immensely with these people as I am a firm believer that wine doesn’t need to be pretentious and snotty, but something to be enjoyed with family, friends and new people!

My favorite part of the evening was chatting with everyone about which pairing was their personal favorite and listening to them all explain why. We had some interesting match-ups all evening, but I think the overall winner in terms of expanding the member’s palates was the desert pairing of Pedro Ximenez sherry and some wonderful goat, sheep, and cow cheeses with wonderful fruits. Many people had never tasted Pedro Ximenez, let alone a sherry, so I think it was a pleasant surprise to taste the unctuous, syrupy like weight of the “raisins in a bottle” as agreed on calling it.

At the end of the evening, we all agreed that the chef had hit every plate spot on and really made the evening complete with his creativity. So, compliments to the chef and I hope there are some newfound Spanish wine lovers out there, from Park City to Little Rock, and everywhere outside and in between!

Spanish Wine Pairing Dinner
Friday, March 20

First Course
Roasted Dates and Serrano Ham With Radicchio, Shaved
Manchego and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Ruiz de Vinaspre, Crianza 2002

Second Course
Herb Crumbed Sea Scallops Ratatouille, Light Tomato
Coulis, Citrus Butter
Coto de Gomariz, Blanco 2006

 Third Course
Pancetta Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Piquillo Peppers
and Wild Mushroom Ragout, Quince Jam
Ondalan 100 Abades, 2005

Fourth Course
Molasses and Cherry Braised Short Ribs,
Chorizo Saffron Rice, White Asparagus Gratin
Medrano Irazu Reserva, 2001, 2003

Fifth Course
A Selection of Spanish Cheeses With Grape Foccacia
and Stone Fruits
Pedro Ximenez, Sherry

If you were to ask most wine producers about the market in Utah, I’m sure responses would range from  “Where is Utah” to “Drinking is illegal there, isn’t it?” However, more and more importers and distributors are doing a great job of bringing producers and wine makers to Utah for special events, dinners and tastings.

This past Sunday around 40 people had the wonderful opportunity to meet, eat and drink with Senor Joseph Puig from Vinedos de Ithaca in the Priorat region of Spain. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the event held at the always delicious Lugano restaurant here in Salt Lake. As an Italian restaurant, head chef Greg Neville didn’t disappoint with his Spanish themed dinner, which included such classic dishes and ingredients as paella, Jamon Iberico and one of my favorite cheeses, Cabrales.

The wines being produced by Senor Puig and his daughter Sylvia are classic Priorat wines, with all the minerals and ripe fruits you would typically find in wines from the region. Each wine has a very distinct label, and I was quite confused the first time I saw them, as they all have very Greek inspired designs. Playing heavily of the bodegas namesake, the wines we tasted at the dinner were the Akyles Red, as well as the Odysseus Red and White. I found the Odysseus red most intriguing as it had wonderful hints of cola, and absolutely incredible color extraction. Most surprisingly about the wine was its inclusion of 10% Touriga Nacional, a common Portuguese grape variety.

Senor Puig was a wonderfully open and warm person, which I have found all to often in every part of Spain. He was passionate about his work and clearly enjoyed the evening walking around the room speaking with people about his wonderful wines. He is involved in many different ventures in Spain, owning several restaurants, a high end delicatessen and is also the founder and manager of Torres in Chile and the international sales manager for Torres Spain. Being involved in so many different areas of the wine and gastronomic world, his passion clearly shines through in his wines and warm smile and gently manner.

Vinedos de Ithaca wines are available in Utah through the UDABC as well as selected markets throughout the US. If these wines are available in your market, I highly recommend seeking them out and trying them for yourself!

–Michael

After a busy few months entertaining family from out of state as well as hosting several producers from France, we have had the opportunity to dine both in and out of our house quite often. While cooking at home with friends and family sharing wonderful wines and stories about ourselves is great, it’s nice to get out and explore the many dining options that are available to us. I think many people, both local and out of state, are astonished at the amount of quality restaurants Utah has statewide. Luckily we are able to enjoy many right here in Salt Lake, as well as Park City!

Further backing the variety and quality of Utah’s dining scene is the recent release of Salt Lake Magazine’s 11^th Annual Dining Awards. Many of our favorite restaurants received awards this year including Fresco Italian Cafe, Caputo’s Deli and the Bohemian in Salt Lake, as well as 350 Main in Park City. When we are too tired too cook for ourselves after a long day of skiing, it’s comforting to know that we have plenty of fantastic places to fill our stomachs with good food and impressive wine lists.

Salt Lake has also recently received some national attention in the New York Times travel section last month. They recognized Utah’s wonderful and diverse dining scene, but chose to zero in on the surprising amount of Microbreweries we enjoy statewide in Utah. Whether you’re mountain biking in Moab, skiing in Park City, or walking around downtown, there are plenty of options to enjoy a cold one and some great pub grub.

So to all you tourists, out of towners and naysayer’s, come visit and enjoy Utah because you CAN actually drink beer and wine legally, and they pair well with any one of our great restaurants!!

Cheers!

–Michael 

Much like the recent surge in trying to find, restore, and cultivate ancient varieties if grapes in the wine world, there might be a push in the beer world to find ancient recipes and techniques. A scientist recently revived an ancient strain of yeast in a beer recipe that he is producing in California. While his original goal was to find ancient microscopic creatures for some sort of medical value, he ended up with a beer that has garnered some good reviews on the West Coast of the US. Much like Jurassic Park, the ancient organism was extracted out of a piece of amber, and while no medicinal properties were found, at least something positive came out of the hard work…………..Beer!