(my thoughts following last week's dinner) 

Every month I do a private dinner for members of the winery whom I feature on the monthly virtual tour. Chef Elizabeth Binder does the cooking and the wine pairing.  It seems like each time we do this I leave thinking, “that was the best dinner so far.” But tonight I really mean it.  The meal was a WOW meal.   The first course barrata (some fancy Italian word for creamy fresh mozerella), grilled fresh summer peaches, procuito..all drizzled with honey.   If you can manage a bite of it all together, along with a sip of Graeser Winery 2005 Semillon,  it was a WOW moment.  But wait, it only got better. The second course was a pepper rubbed grilled flank steak severed with salsa verde (Italian style), piedmont stuffed peppers (red pepper stuffed with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and anchovie) and a summer salad made of pan fried fingerling new potatoes and fresh summer green beans with a bit of basil.   Paired with 2006 Verismo Malbec..WOW.  We then had Buoncristiani 2007 Dolcetto…what a gorgeous wine.  Chef Binder found the perfect Italian goat cheese to complement this fun wine.  Last but not least was the chocolate tart served with pomegranate gelato to go with Charbay Pomegranate Dessert Wine.  WOW!

On the drive home I contemplated what makes a WOW meal.  And you know, it’s the same thing that makes a wow wine.  The menu tonight was simple, fresh and rustic..but the artistry of Chef Binder coaxed maximum flavor out of each ingredient and blended it into a cohesive food and wine pairing meal.  There was no fancy foot work, no over complicated recipe with 47 different steps, just good ingredients prepared in a way to bring out maximum flavor..i.e. pleasure.   Just as good wine starts in the vineyard, good food starts at the farm.

A WOW wine is similar. IT’s not an over manipulated wine.  It’s a wine where the winemaker takes the best ingredients (i.e. best lots) and blends them with exact precision to extract maximum flavor.  If you look through my wine journal there are many types of notes such as “nice,” “good,” along with how they are made, some flavor I may have picked out, and the mouth feel. But there are a few that have single word notes…WOW wines.  Here’s a few of my WOW wines:  2005 HdV Syrah,  2006 Boeschen Vineyards Cabernet, 2003 Vice Versa, Schweiger 2005 Dedication, and John Tyler’s 2004 Pinot Noir.