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 flicker of glimmering hope shone through the dark, gloomy economic cloud looming over the world of wine today. While reading Josh Raynold’s annual report on the Cotes du Rhone region in the latest issue of Stephen Tanzer’s IWC, he affirmed that the 2007 vintage looks to be one of the better vintages from the region within the past 10 years.

This news could not have come at a better time for us as a company as the Cotes du Rhone wine we import, the 2005 Cuve Sabine, was finally delivered to the state of Utah for sale in the specialty wine stores. We’re very excited to now have this new wine available in Utah and hope you will enjoy it!

Along with the success of the 2007 vintage, the region has produced several other fantastic vintages in recent years, most notably the 2001 and 2005 vintages. The wines from Cotes du Rhone are very interesting, full of fresh fruit flavors, and are surprisingly affordable. The region is quite diverse and almost two different regions altogether, but whether you choose a wine from the Northern or Southern Rhone region, they very rarely disappoint.

Santé!

-Michael