Brasa Winemaker Dinner

[Jim Dixon]

I met Oregon winemaker Andrew Rich at the first olive oil tasting I ever did...it was at Great Wine Buys on Broadway and he was pouring his wines at the same time. Portland's a small place, and people who like good food tend to show up at the same events, so we kept running into each other. We've done our Andrew-and-Jim show at GWB a couple of times since.

Andrew makes really great wines, and he's easy to talk to about them. So you Seattle-ites may want to check out his winemaker's dinner at Brasa Wednesday, August 26th. Say hello from me.

Jim

[tsquare]

August 27.

[Jim Dixon]

d'oh!

[FWED]

Hi Jim. A friend of mine and I attended the Andrew Rich wine dinner at Brasa and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The delightful wines and beautiful tasty food were well paired. Thanks for posting it on the site.

[mamster]

FWED, can you tell us a little more about the food and wine served? Thanks!

[FWED]

Well here it is better late than never and it comes from some notes scribbled on a place card and the recollection of my dining companion and myself.

Brasa is a wonderful setting for this event and we were seated at a comfortable and elegantly set table for ten. Each participant was given a handsome place card listing the courses and the accompanying wines. Andrew Rich our engaging and charming dinner host is a very knowledge winemaker and shared with us many stories and wine evaluations.

The first course was Bouillabaisse containing mussels, white fish (cod I think), and shrimp served in a well blended rich buttery sauce. This was paired with a 2000 Chenin Blanc Vin de Tabula Rasa. The wine was a true Chenin Blanc, fruity, rich, and with just a hint of sweetness.

The second course was a refreshing and tasty Salade Nicoise containing a tuna stuffed mild red pepper and hard-boiled quail eggs. This was paired with the 2002 Sauvignon Blanc Les Vigneaux. For me this wine was a favorite. A big nose of candied grapefruit followed by a big taste of lush tropical fruit balanced by a bracing acidity with spicy grapefruit overtones.

The third course was a Rabbit Agrodolce. The sweet and sour sauce tastily set off the tender rabbit and soft potato gnocchi. I have not had this before and it was delightful. It was accompanied by the 2001 Pinot Noir Les Vigneaux. The Pinot is a typical pinot and very drinkable now but assertive enough to stand up to the rabbit dish.

The fourth course was Squab, Blackberries, and Foie Gras. The squab was served seared on the outside and rare on the inside. At this point two wines were poured. The 1999 Mesalliance Les Vigneaux and the 2001 Syrah Les Vigneaux. The reason given for serving both wines, at this time, was that neither Brian of Brasa or Andrew Rich could decide which wine was best paired with the squab. I personally liked the Mesalliance with the squab over the syrah but I was in the minority. The Mesalliance is basically a cab but does not have a high enough percentage of the cab grape in it to be classified as such according to Andrew. Its taste is typical of a cab and drinkable now, however, it is not as masculine in style or as complex as the 2001 Cabernet.

The Syrah on the other hand is big, ripe, and soft yet well balanced with wonderful acidity.

The fifth course was the Cheese course. Three tasty selections were chosen from the wide range of cheeses available at Brasa. There were two soft-ripe French cheeses, one sheep and one cow, and a third, a French hard blue cow cheese. Unfortunately the names of these I have long since forgotten. These were eaten to the accompaniment of the Cab and the Syrah. By now we were all getting somewhat full but there was still the dessert course to come.

The sixth course was Woodoven Roasted Peaches topped with a peach and raspberry sorbed. The dessert was wonderful but not quite up to the quality of the 2001 Gewürztraminer Les vigneaux. This is a big wonderful classic gewurztraminer ice wine, well balanced and elegant with a long finish. A truly high note to end the evening.

The Andrew Rich Wine web site (Andrewrichwine.com) is well done and has more information on, Andrew Rich, his wines, and where to purchase them.

I hope you have enjoyed this summary and I do admit that had I known there was going to be a quiz or a paper due I would have taken better notes and not fallen asleep in class.

[tsquare]

Admiral reporting. Thanks!

[mamster]

Excellent, FWED. Thanks and welcome.