Special Summertime LADV Event
Siduri / Novy
Winemaker Dinner
Tuesday August 1, 2006
Those
of you who are long-time members know that we seldom have events during the
summer doldrums. Everyone’s schedules
are constantly in churn, and the steamy heat too often makes us all so
lethargic that we don’t want to venture out of the house. Well, this summer is different; not only did
it rain a good bit since summer began, we are going to have a summer wine
event!
Our
good friends Adam and Dianna Lee, owners and winemakers at Siduri
and Novy wineries, are coming to town. They are coming to show the new grandbaby (a
happy surprise!) to Adam’s mom who lives here in Austin where he grew up, and I
have imposed on them to spend some time with us to share their great wines, fun
stories, and winemaking insights.
As
usual for when we get together, the only problem has been trying to decide what
wine not to drink. When Adam and
I sketched out a first draft of the event, we had a lineup of well over twenty Siduri Pinot Noirs, not to mention a raft of other great
wine. Since I don’t know of any
restaurants that will let us spend the night, we’ve worked to pare that way
down to a manageable dozen great Pinots, some of their robust Novy Syrahs, and some very
interesting other wines (Chardonnay and Viognier)
that are normally only available at the winery.
An
event like this certainly requires great creativity and a deft hand in
preparing complementary food; this narrowed things down to less than a dozen
possibilities. However, only a few of
them also matched the fun and hedonistic nature of the event. Since I ‘owed one’ to chef Andy Sasser for forcing him to stick to a rather mundane (at
least for him) menu for the “brasserie style” event earlier this year, and
since Siduri and Novy are
two of Reed Clemon’s favorite wines (and he is certainly fun and hedonistic), I made the
obvious choice. The event will be held
at the exciting, new Capitol Brasserie.
I
could go on and tell you why this will be such a great event, but I think the best
way is to just let the food and wines speak for themselves:
Arrival '05
Novy Rosella's Vineyard
Chardonnay Gougeres, with Mornay Sauce
'05
Novy Viognier
1st Course '05
'04
Siduri Arbre Vert Vineyard Pinot Noir Warm Salad of Shitakes and Favas,
'04
Siduri Muirfild Vineyard Pinot Noir with a Truffle Vinaigrette
2nd Course '05
Siduri
'04
Siduri Sapphire Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir French Lentils, Lardon,
Braised Leek,
'04
Siduri Olivet Grange Vineyard Pinot Noir with a Pinot Noir reduction
3rd Course '05
Siduri Santa Lucia
'04
Siduri Rosella's Vineyard
Pinot Noir Onion Puree,
Braised Celery,
'04
Siduri Cargasacchi Vineyard
Pinot Noir Fried Shallots
4th Course (a much-needed wine break) Hearts
of Romaine, Fresh Herbs,
with
a lemon citronette
5th Course '04
Siduri Van der Kamp Vineyard Pinot Noir Cheese
Course (featuring: Livarot,
'97
Siduri Van der Kamp Vineyard Pinot Noir P’tit Basque, and aged Mimolette),
Quince
Mostarda, Spiced Almonds
Dessert Course '04
Novy
'04
Novy Gary's Vineyard Syrah
Pretty
amazing, huh? First, this represents a combination
of wines that no one else will see: regionalized comparisons of truly great
wines (most 90+), a preview of ’05 wines that are being flown-in so that you
will know about them before everyone else, a tasting of wines to compare aging
from a magnificent vineyard across the full time-span Siduri
has been making it, and the rare treat of winery-only offerings (saving you
that tedious trip to Sonoma). The paired
food offerings are being especially created only for this event to match these
wines; they seem perfect and are making my mouth water as I type this. Not only would this event simply not be
possible anywhere else, it certainly would not be possible at the price. I cannot say (for potential legal reasons ;-)
who might be helping out by chopping the cost; but I can say that otherwise
this event would cost over twice what we will be charging. So while not cheap, this great experience is
an amazing value at $90.
Those
that remember the last time Adam and Dianna were in town will recall that we filled
Mirabelle to capacity, and they had to use a PA to speak. Because we wanted to show even more wines and
special wines, and because so much can be lost in those mega-events, this event
will cater to an audience that is much smaller than we’ve typically done with
the Lees. But coupled with those
up-sides, the downside is that this clearly limits the number of attendees (I’m
hoping that enough people are on vacation that I won’t have to field too many
“we’re sold out” calls). Further, to
keep the torches and pitchforks to a minimum, I am not going to send out the
usual “mass mailing”; the only announcement of this event was via an e-mail
sent as a reward to those select few who have been seriously ‘training’
(alright, drinking) at recent LADV events.
(Even with that, I suggest that you make your reservation early if you
want to attend.
If you want to make reservations, you may reply
to this e-mail or (as always) call me at 925-3985.
Sante!