Wine 'N Dine: 2015

Thursday, May 14, 2015

IW&FS Dinner at Water and Wall Restaurant in Arlington, Virginia 4/14/2015

April brought us to the Water and Wall Restaurant in Arlington, Virginia. Chef Tim Ma is one to watch with menu design of high quality and inventiveness. Chef Ma brings this same level of care to Water & Wall, his second restaurant, while upping the ante by drawing upon his cultural heritage and formal training at the French Culinary Institute. In an earlier life Chef Ma was a practicing engineer and that attention to structure and balance is evident in his dishes. And while diners will no doubt enjoy the clever adaptations to dishes, a reverence to classic French technique ensures Chef Ma’s longevity. More info on their website www.WaterandWall.com.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

IW&FS Wine Education Dinner at Brian Voltaggio's Aggio 3/10/2015

IWFS Wine Education Dinner

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 • 6:30 PM

Hosted by IW&FS Tom Clinch

Aggio, 5335 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20015

The Wine Education Event of the International Wine and Food Society for March 2015 was held at Brian Voltaggio's restaurant within the Range Restaurant called Aggio in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The restaurant menu is mostly Italian inspired and the decor is contemporary with dark ash wood theme.

Originally from New Jersey, Mattie McGhee, Chef de Cuisine of Range and Aggio, prepared an outstanding dinner for us.

Valdrinal de Santamaria Rueda Verdejo 2013 **

The evening started with passed hor d'oeuvres that included Crisp Pork Rind, Wild Mushroom Arancini, Beef Tartare and Smoked Salmon. The committee opted for serving a still white wine, instead of the traditional Champagne; Valdrinal de Santamaria Rueda Verdejo 2013.

After the reception, the members and guests sat down in the dining area.

First Course-

WILD MUSHROOM ***

BURRATA quince, marcona almond, porto, surry ham served with Jean Thevenet Domaine de la Bongran Vire-Clesse Cuvee Tradition E.J. Thevenet, Maconnais, France. This dish was very light and elegantly displayed. The choice of wine was very good and picked up the earthy notes of the almonds and worked with the sweetness of the sauce.

Second Course-

CUTTLEFISH BOLOGNESE squid ink spaghetti, pepperone, parmesan. This coursee was served with two Mystery Wines that the members were expected to guess the type and the country of Oorigin. The first wine was 2015 Santorinin from Greece and the second wine was a 2009 Hospices de Beaune from Burgundy.

Third Course-

LASAGNA lamb ragu, ricotta cheese, pomodoro

Four Vines Petite Sira The Heritage 2006.

Fabulous sauce and great texture of the pasta. The wine was a bit too fruity for this course.

Smoked Salmon on Crispie Rice ***

Fourth Course-

PORK TENDERLOIN saltimbocca, taggiasca olive, lacinato kale

Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 1999 en Magnum.

Beautiful presentation, however, the pork was too dry. Fabulous example of Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon. Kept asking for re pours!

Dessert Course-

CHOCOLATE salted caramella, chocolate crema, caramel popcorn, peanut, vanilla sorbetto.

CRISP PORK RIND ***

The only interesting component in this dish was the Carmel popcorn. The sorbet did not have any taste to it; hence, it did not contribute to any of the flavors.

ARANCINI BEEF TARTARE **

After the dinner a few of the members and guest walked over to the Civil Cigar bar next door.

Dinner Committee-

Chair: Tom Clinch. Committee: Mentor: Tom Lenz, David Bray. Wine: Ed Sands

Le Menu

Jean Thevenet Domaine de la Bongran
Vire-Clesse Cuvee Tradition E.J. Thevenet,
Maconnais, France

BURRATA quince, marcona almond, porto, surry ham ****

1st Mystery Wine from Greece
2013 Santorini

CUTTLEFISH BOLOGNESE squid ink spaghetti,
pepperone, parmesan ****

2nd Mystery Wine- 2009 Hospices de Beaune

PORK TENDERLOIN saltimbocca,
taggiasca olive, lacinato kale ***

LASAGNA lamb ragu, ricotta cheese, pomodoro ****

CHOCOLATE salted caramella, chocolate crema,
caramel popcorn, peanut, vanilla sorbetto. ***

Espresso ****

Monday, February 23, 2015

Tresson Cognac Tasting, 2/23/2015

Domaine Wine Storage, down the street from Calvert Woodley Wine store, was having a Tesseron Cognac rep from France come to speak to a small group of customers. Alfred Tesseron is the owner of Chateau Pontet Canet in Bordeaux. His family has been in the Cognac business for many, many years. We tasted some really top notch Cognacs.

Lot 90 ($65 retail)
Lot 76 ($129 retail)
Lot 53 ($300 retail)
Lot 29 ($600 retail)
Royal Blend ($1,300 retail)
Tresor ($1,100 retail)
Extreme ($5,000 retail)

This low key and informal event with some world famous Calvert Woodley cheese and crackers and charcuterie was a memorable event.

Tesseron house produces high quality spirits, the bottom of the spectrum is their 10-15 year-old cognac (Lot 90) and goes up to 165 years old! The one I loved was the 5th in the 7 line up, called Tresor (or treasure in English) at $1,100/bottle that blew the top off the Louis Martin's Louis XIII that goes for $2,500/bottle.

Their older Cognac was the Extreme at 90% grapes from 1850-1900, they only had a small sample and 0.3 oz pours for tasting. I thought it was very over powering the senses.

Thanks to Michael Sands and Calvert Woodley for the invitation.

COMPOSITION : Ugni Blanc Grapes

BLEND : Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne and Fins Bois

AGED : 10-15 years

Tasting Notes- Firm, focussed, powerful, reflecting the aromatics

presented by the nose; typical, young, quality cognac

COMPOSITION : Ugni Blanc Grapes

BLEND : Grande Champagne

AGED: More than one generation in Limousin oak casks

Tasting Notes- Generous on attack, this presents a wonderful,

spicy vitality, complementing a harmonious, rounded style.

COMPOSITION : Ugni Blanc and Colombard Grapes

BLEND : Grande Champagne

AGED: More than two generations in Limousin oak casks

Tasting Notes- An extremely appetizing cognac, opulent,

rounded and yet vivacious. Pepper & spices emerge initially

before revealing dark chocolate and fresh herbs. Complex,

it shows supreme finesse, supple opulence and very good

length.

COMPOSITION : Ugni Blanc, Folle Blanche and Colombard

Grapes

BLEND : Grande Champagne

AGED: More than three generations in Limousin oak casks

Tasting Notes- Supremely elegant, this combines macerated

dried fruit with hints of mocha and cocoa, refreshed by floral

aromatics. This is extremely well balanced and wonderfully

complex with marmalade notes emerging on a persistent,

COMPOSITION : Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Folle Blanche

BLEND : Around one hundred eaux-de-vie, selected for their finesse

AGED : for more than two generations in special barrels called ‘Tierçons’ within the reknown Tesseron family’s Paradis where the oldest cognacs are kept

Tasting Notes- Very rich, bold, great length on the palate, smooth. Great length on finish

Royal Blend

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

IW&FS Seafood Event at the Bistro Bis, 2/10/2015

The Seafood Event of the IW&FS was held at Hotel Geroge's Bistro Bis on E Street in the North Capital, DC. Our special guest for tonight's event was Andrew Jones, the President of the International Wine and Food Society of Americas.

Chaired by Joe Brodecki, the meal for this year's event at Bistro Bis was prepared by the proprietor Jeff Buben and his staff who are well familiar to the Society, and welcomed us back with open arms.

With special thanks to David Simpson for supplying the seafood products for the entire event.

Appetizers and Raw Bar
Raw Bar & Selected Hors d ‘Oeuvres Oysters (Congressional Seafood) Johnan crab claws Shrimp cocktail Smoked trout panna cotta with trout roe and dill, warm crab and lobster gallette Royal sea bass tartar blood orange and tarragon.

Ferrari Brut Sparking Wine

First Course
Norwegian Cod Conti Sautéed filet with cider marinated lentils, apple parsnip coulis and cilantro-mint pesto

Chablis 1ere Cru 2012, Chartron et Trebuchet

Second Course
Turtle Soup

Cuvee des Colossus 2009

Third Course

Sablefish Facon Languedoc with octopus, crêpes, roasted tomatoes, white bean-garlic mousseline and eggplant caponata

Pinot Noir 2009, Wes Mar

Dessert

Gateau au Sabayon sabayon Bavarian, pistachio financier, pear chibouste and pistachio sauce

Manguin Eau de Vie de Poires William

Ferrari Brut Sparking Wine **

Raw Bar ***

Smoked trout panna cotta with
trout roe & dill **

warm crab and lobster gallette ***

Le Menu

Chablis 1ere Cru 2012,
Chartron et Trebuchet ***

Royal sea bass tartar blood orange and tarragon***

Norwegian Cod Conti Sautéed filet
with cider marinated lentils,
apple parsnip coulis
and cilantro-mint pesto

Cuvee des Colossus 2009 **

Turtle Soup ****

Wes Mar Pinot Noir 2009 ***

Sablefish Facon Languedoc
with octopus, crêpes,
roasted tomatoes,
white bean-garlic mousseline
and eggplant caponata ****

Manguin Eau de Vie de Poires William **

Gateau au Sabayon sabayon
Bavarian, pistachio financier,
pear chibouste and pistachio sauce

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Birthday Dinner at Bistro Provance, 2/7/2015

Alinda invited us (myself and Arman) to Yannick Cam's Bistro Provece in Bethesda, MD

Bistro Provence

4933 Fairmont Ave
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
301-656-7373

What a treat to watch the artist and his assistant, Tommy, in the open kitchen whipping together superb, expertly crafted contemporary French creations at this Bethesda bistro. Menu.