tasting menu with wine paring

[djsexyb]

hey eveyone, as you may or not know, i have recently opened a private dinnig/personal chef company. we provided a three star meal entertaining all levels of food, wine, service, etc. in short we bring fine dining to your own home. anyway this isnt about my company,...

i am doing a diner party in a few days and have the menu done, and would like some coments anout the food and wine pairing, the wines, anything that may be of value. i will later be postin WTNs after the party on all these wines and their respective parings. i realize that they are straight forward wines, but this is what the customer has requested. ANYB] comments are GREATLY APPRECIATED as the compnay is in its infancy.....heres a pic of the menu, as well as the menu items if you cant read see the pic...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4100004.jpg

o Roederer Estate Brut Rosé NV

Sesame and Roasted Red Pepper Crusted Ahi Tuna, Seared Rare, Soba Noodles, Oriental Vinaigrette

o 2004 Burgans Albarino

Shrimp Duo: Rock Shrimp Ceviché, Fire Roasted Red Onion, Cucumber, Chile, Tortilla and Poached Shrimp Demi-Salat, Tropical Fruits, Dehydrated Pineapple

o 2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Vineyard Chardonnay

Apple and Cranberry Stuffed Pork Rib Chops, White Bean, Walnut, and Caramelized Onion Ragout

o 2003 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Coffee Crusted Beef Tenderloin Filet, Roasted Fingerling Potato Gratin, Truffled Shitake Mushrooms, Ancient Hawaiian Sea Salt, Zesty Onions

o Melon and Champagne Palate Cleanser

o Bonny Doon Framboise NV

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake, Vanilla Tuiles, Raspberry Coulis, Cabernet Reduction.

[djsexyb]

36 views and nothing?

is there anything i can do better? what would any of oyu pair with these courses?

[Brad Ballinger]

I think your pairing will work fine, depending on your "audience."

If it were my business and my dinner, I'd swap out the Chardonnay for a Riesling. If you want to stick with Chateau Ste. Michelle, you can get their Eroica Riesling. If you want something more dry, yet domestic, I'd go with a Riesling from Smith Madrone (Spring Mountain District, Napa). If you want to stick with Chardonnay, I'd go with something that has more acidity like a Brun Beaujolais Blanc or a Paul Achs Chardonnay from Burgenland (Austria).

Also, if it were my business and my dinner, I'd offer a more aromatic red than the Mondavi Cabernet. Something from Bordeaux if you still want to be cabernet-like. But my first choice might be Ribera del Duero or even Priorat.

Regarding dessert, I'm not a big fan of the Framboise and similar products from Bonny Doon. But many people are. There is a wonderful Monastrell Dulce from Olivares (Spain) that would go well with this.

[djsexyb]

thank you for your imput. yes my "audience" is quite simplistic and only lsightly wine savy. so, frankly throwing in a nice, simple mondavi, as well as the roederer will keep their attention, because they know the names. bonny doon is a personal fav, but like you said people either love or hate randal graham.

the riesling suggestion perked my interest, i thought there might not be enough body to handle the pork and white bean ragout, though the acidity might make up for it. i love eroica qand reisling in general, ill deffinately try the Smith Madrone.

[SBonner]

Nice wine choices for the starters. For the tenderloin I would have opted for a red from Priorat, Ribera, or even Rioja.

Brad's idea of a Riesling for the pork dish is bang on.

For the dessert I'd opt for a Banyuls.

Good luck with your business and keep us posted.

Cheers,

Stephen Bonner

Vancouver

[Brad Ballinger]

I should also add that there are better Albarino wines out there than Burgans. If you can find it, get the Do Ferreriro.

[djsexyb]

yeah, i havent had many albarinos so my knowlegde is pretty limited on those wines, but i knew that they'd accompany the ceviche nicely. i was really relagated to whatever i could find at binny's beverage depot and out of the ones they had, this was certainly the best. anyway, all wines have already been purchased, so ive made my bed, about to lay in it. the party's on the 21st. ill post up pics of the finished dishes before service and also WTNs when i can. thanks for all the help guys.

[Brad Ballinger]

i was really relagated to whatever i could find at binny's beverage depot

←

Ahhh, how I long for a Binny's here.

[djsexyb]

yeah it really does help having two within driving distance of my house. they do have a rather large and quality selection, though certianly not everything you would like. for example, for this dinner party i had to get the roederer and ste michelle chard from wine.com. they did have eroica and will be picking that up soon. their vintage selection isnt half bad either, (good vintages from burgundy and bordeaux, as well as major us brands 9ive been eyeing that 1995 Ridge MOntebello for a few weeks, might be time to pick that up)

Edited April 13, 2006 by djsexyb (log)

[djsexyb]

dinner party is tonight...expect pictures and WTNs early next week...

MIke

[djsexyb]

hey guys....party went great. everyone really loved the food and wine. (if you havent seen this post before, you can scroll up for the menu.) i thought the pairings were very nice. the tuna with roederer was sublime, the albarino worked very nicely with the ceviche. the pork with chard was nice if you like alot of richness, have to do some more kitchen tests with rieslings to find the sublime pairing(s).

the mondavi by itself was terrific, i love this wine and would drink it everyday. i t worked well for the guests that my client had, because they are not super wine savoy, but do know enough so that they could enjoy this wine with the beef. this is another dish we'll need to test with more wines to find the best pairing. but the wine by itself was terrific.

i know some of you do not like framboise, i do, and the pairing was very sublime.

pictures of some dishes are linked below, we missed a few dishes as it got busy during the middle courses and we didnt have time....

tuna..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4210008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4210007.jpg

Shrimp duo

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4210010.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4210009.jpg

Cake

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4210012.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/djsexyb/P4210011.jpg

FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED!!!

as a side note im choosing not to do WTNs for these wines, many of you are far more knowledgeable than i. to be honest, its been a mission of mine to make wine distinctly non-intimidating for myself and for my clients, though when i post here im still quite intimidated by many. it doesnt faze me, but i just thought id throw that in.....again, feedback is appreciated!