Fork 9/07

[TarteTatin]

Philadining, Diana, Dave F, please comment.

We enjoyed ourselves.

$50 plus $29 wine, the winemakers from South Africa were there.

The food was plentiful and good.

The wine was tasty.

More comments?

[philadining]

My schedule is pretty jammed, but will post pix ASAP. I'll concur that the food was very good, as was the wine, and I enjoyed hearing from the winemakers and directly comparing their words to the juice in the glass. It was also big fun seeing old friends and making new ones, while enjoying good food and drink.

More details to follow...

[Diann]

Phil has the pictures, of course, but here are the wines:

Avondale sauvignon blanc

Avondale chenin blanc

Avondale rose (made from cabernet sauvignon)

Avondale cabernet franc

Springfontein pinotage

Springfontein shiraz/syrah

Avondale reserve syrah

Avondale muscat

The first wine was of the more complex sauvignon blancs I've had recently, with a somewhat indistinct nose but GREAT flavor (first grassy, then lots of tropical fruit, then a really interesting finish I couldn't identify. Supposedly, it's figs.)

My three favorites of the night, though, were the rose, the pinotage and the cabernet franc -- why don't you see more rose made from cabernet sauvignon?

And the best news of all, all of the wines RETAIL for under $20! The S.B., chenin blanc, rose, cab franc and muscat are all more like $12. SLO only in Pennsylvania (grumblegrumblegrumble) but worth it, I think...

PS. It was lovely to meet you, Mme. TarteTatin, and I wasn't kidding about finagling a seat at your next dinner. It's going to be cassoulet weather soon!

Edited September 14, 2007 by Diann (log)

[Alcibiades]

Were the winemakers part of the Boutique Wine portfolio? Just curious because they do quite a bit of interesting SA stuff and all of their wines are SLO, I believe.

[KatieLoeb]

why don't you see more rose made from cabernet sauvignon?

Mulderbosch from South Africa also makes a delicious cabernet rose that I've tried in the past. It was the first of it's sort I'd ever seen and I really loved it.

[philadining]

Grilled Shrimp with Herbs in Fresh Rice Noodle aside Ginger-Thai Chili Sauce

Avondale Sauvignon Blanc 2006

Seafood Albondigas with Tomatillo-cilantro Salsa

Avondale Chenin Blanc 2006

Stuffed Calamari with Wild Mushroom and Duck Rillettes

Avondale Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Braised Duck Leg with Green Tomato Confit and Roasted Butternut Squash

Avondale Cabernet Franc 2004

Grilled Pork Loin with Maple Syrup Sauce with Crispy Onion Rings

Springfontein Pinotage 2006 and Springfontein Shiraz 2005

Avondale reserve Syrah

Poached Pear in Lemongrass and Sake with Red Beet Sorbet

Avondale Muscat Blanc 2006

[cwdonald]

I am curious how the Pinotage would pair with the pork, with the sweet maple syrup overtones. I haven't figured out what I like to pair a Pinotage with. I tried it last at a Brasilian Churrascuria, which I thought actually paired well against the smokiness and saltiness of the beef.

Cheers,

Chris

[TarteTatin]

Philadining: I just checked the menu given to us at the restaurant that night (not the one originally sent out by Slow Food). The dessert was not with the Beet Sorbet, it was a Raspberry Sorbet. I was actually disappointed that Chef changed that, I was looking forward to the Beet flavor.

To CWdonald: The Maple syrup wasn't evident at all. I wish it was. It was a beautiful piece of pork, with a beautiful onion ring on it, but I would have liked some of the maple sauce taste. Maybe it was simply marinated in it? So, anyway, the Pinotage was my favorite of the three reds we had with that course. It was multi layered, and had a lot of subtle flavors.

In general, I'm a separate wine/food type of person. I like to taste my wines. I like to taste my food. I prefer them separately, mainly...

[phungi]

Nice pics... I almost thought I was in an archived FoodKitchen thread!