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A TASTY TIME IN GIG HARBOR >>>
The idea at its most basic is this: Get a group of people with an interest in food and wine together, and let's see if we can have some fun and learn a little while discovering the affinities between particular foods and various wines. Wine dinners are a chance to sample a range of a restaurant's menu offerings along with a variety of different wines, at a price that would be ordinarily impossible to pull off.
This is exactly what I got to do last night at Brix 25's Efeste wine dinner.
The Hype: For the last year it seems as though every wine magazine has covered winemaker Brennon Leighton and Efeste wines. Efeste was the 2009 Winery of the Year and Leighton was named winemaker to watch. Last month, Wine Spectator had a quick blurb about Leighton's skills and the wine that put the winery on the map - Ceidleigh Syrah.
The Show: Last night's wine dinner started with a brief social with Leighton and several glasses of the delicious and dry Segura Viudas Brut Reserva on Brix's back patio. My wife, Kate, and I - and 10 other people - learned about Leighton's rise in the wine world, from punk rocker in the late '80s and early '90s (Sunny Day Real Estate opened for his band, Ruined Nation), to restaurant busboy, to junior college, to a wine degree from UC Davis - and then on to learning the ropes in Napa Valley. Later, a headhunter transported Leighton to Chateau Ste. Michelle, where from 2001-2007 he cut his teeth making whites, before becoming the winemaker for the three owners of Efeste out of Woodinville and producing the magnificent 2008 Feral sauvignon blanc. This year marks the first time Efeste will incorporate its own grapes, which grow in the Bacchus, Evergreen and Sagemoor vineyards east of the Cascades.
Leighton, covered in tattoos, was a very likeable, "let's shoot the shit" kind of guy with a vast wine knowledge, passion for the grape and strong opinions about the industry. He admitted he focused on the market during his time at Chateau Ste. Michelle. At Efeste, he's all about passion for the wine. He knows the breakdown of the soil in the Columbia Valley and Red Mountain region. In fact, he gave us a 15-minute history lesson of the great Missoula Floods that swept through that area during the last ice age. Also, his descriptions of Executive Chef Thad Lyman's food pairings were priceless. My favorite: "These baby back ribs are stupid good. And for those easily offended, these ribs are retarded good."
In a nutshell, Leighton strongly believes people should not pay attention to wine marketing, should screw cellar theories and should drink what they like. "Wine is taken too goddamn serious," He remarked, "It's only freakin' grapes people. Stop thinking, and go for the experience."
The Pairings: Chef Lyman's four-course dinner impressed the entire group. First out of the kitchen door was grilled green peach and sashimi geoduck salad with fennel-hibiscus dressing. Lyman went with the green peach to play off the 2008 Evergreen Riesling, which was incredibly smooth with apple and tons of citrus flavors.
Next, "stupid good" St. Louis style baby back ribs that received four days of "love" and were then popped in the oven to "put a little bark on them." Lyman said the knife was for show. Sure enough, the meat fell off the bone, which we all held in our hands. Two, small "sexy" corn bread muffins became sexier with the amazing sage-honey butter and blackberry jam. The 2007 Final Final blend (Cabernet Sauvignon is the foundation with Syrah) accompanied the ribs. Priced at $25 a bottle, it's a steal. In fact, Leighton said it's under-priced to educate more people on the winery's talent. Named after the saying "this is my final, final drink of the night," the blend was big, juicy with a little spice. Very drinkable, as they say.
The third course, a pepper-crusted Ahi Shank Au Poivre with crispy (olive oil!) fingerling potatoes, stewed white, buttery beans and two big cippolini onions played well with the 2007 Big Papa Cabernet. Lyman knew pepper was in order to pair with the complex, old vine Big Papa. I still have those potatoes on my mind.
Last came a chocolate cake with a molten truffle center created with free trade chocolate, peppered cherries, spicy caramel with a hazelnut semi freddo (a nut on a stick). Lyman knew Syrah doesn't like cream, and the 2007 Ceidleigh Syrah - the pride of Efeste, and named after a waitress (couldn't get the story out of Leighton) - paired well with the rich dessert.
Ultimately, and sometimes unfortunately, a wine dinner is only as good as the wine expert in attendance - since he or she is essentially your host for the evening. These people have an interest, since most of them are wine sellers, in getting you to buy their wines - so they tend to talk a lot more about the wine than the food. Many wine pros are cynical, jaded and just so damned full of themselves that it's maddening to hear them blither on.
Not so last night. Leighton was informative, entertaining, engaging, interesting and shared his thoughts on the food pairings, which Lyman and crew nailed. It was a fun night.
Oh, the quote of the night: "My wife - God bless her - drinks the shit out of this wine," Leighton joked when describing the Final Final blend.
Funny, so did I.
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