Sanibel Travels to the Fort, Summer Wine Dinner

Now that season is over, and things on Sanibel Island are slowing down a bit, chef and restauranteur Melissa Talmage of Sweet Melissa's fame, is able to cross the causeway and hang out in Fort Myers for a night.

But she won't exactly be taking time off. Talmage is hosting a pop up dinner at Harold's. The talented chef is not only pairing her creative dishes with wine but specialty cocktails for an evening of food, fun and friends ($88). The four course meal without beverage pairings is $56.

Each course has several choices rather than just one. The second course consists of NOLA style shrimp and grits, steamed mussels or beef tartare. Course number three; fish stew in tomato saffron broth, roasted lamb chop, grilled smoked beef tenderloin or pan seared cobia with banana lentils. The only bad thing about this dinner is having to choose just one item in each course.

Seatings are at 5:30 and 8:00. Harold's is a small place and there are only a a few seats left, so make a reservation ASAP for the June 25 soiree. 239-472-1956



In other summer wine dinner news, the TasteMaker Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouses nationwide last week featured some beautiful wines from the award winning Chateau Montelena. I attended one in Bonita Springs.

At this dinner, some of the wines poured were those that most of us would never have had access to unless physically visited the winery. A Potter Valley Riesling (slightly viscous but crisp with the food) for the first course was paired with a sesame grilled chicken and udon noodle salad. Thumbs up around the table.

Above is the second course; seared scallops in citrus bacon buerre blanc--I wanted to lick the plate. It was artfully and perfectly served with a 2014 Napa Valley Chardonnay; a Burgundian style wine, kissed with oak not drowning in it.

The zinfandel below was served with a hearty, Portuguese white bean and chorizo stew. The wine comes from 120 year old vines and pays homage to the chateau's labels from the 1920's. The combination of old vine zin and newly planted primitivo creates a velvety wine with dark fruit, tobacco and chocolate.

No dinner at Ruth's Chris would be complete without a succulent piece of meat. Ours was a petite filet mignon with cipollini ragout and a cauliflower mash. Pulled out of the vault and shipped special for this event, the 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon had wild berries, soft tannins and opened nicely the more it sat in the glass...I wish I had more.

Dessert was indeed a treat. A teeth staining, winery release only, the Napa Valley Petite Sirah was lovely with the chocolate dacquoise torte, with praline crunch.

Manager Peter Hyzak, Gina Birch and General Manger Aleks Kunov

The staff at Ruth's Chris is known for professionalism and this dinner was a great example. Peter and Aleks (above) are not only professional, but also fun. The next nationwide TasteMaker Dinners are in August (Champagne) and October (Marchesi Antinori). Cheers.


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Reserve a Seat for the TasteMaker Dinner with Chateau Montelena

Pan seared scallops, bacon citrus beurre blanc and chardonnay

Summer in Southwest Florida is a gold mine for wine dinners and special events. That may seem counterintuitive since our population drops drastically with the flight of our winter residents and visitors.

However, this is when local restaurants put out the welcome mat for local diners, with incentives on both food and wine. It's also when chefs have a little more time in the kitchen to prepare special meals to pair with the many special wines that are distributed on our area.

There's one this week at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse featuring a name most food and wine aficionados know quite well, Chateau Montelena. If you'll remember the 1973 chardonnay from this winery is widely credited with putting California on the world wine map in the so-called Judgement of Paris.

This special TasteMaker Dinner is taking place at restaurants across the country this Thursday (06/15/17) so if you're not in Southwest Florida, you can still enjoy the spoils of this event. As you might expect the chardonnay will be poured along with the well-known cabernet sauvignon (2006).

Petite filet mignon, cipolinni ragout, roasted wild mushroom,
cauliflower mash and estate cabernet

Even those familiar with the Chateau Montelena brand may not have tried the others being served: Potter Valley Riesling, Calistoga Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The menu is impressive.

Sesame grilled chicken and udon noodle salad in Thai peanut dressing with riesling

This is the fourth in a series of TasteMaker dinners by Ruth's Chris. Future events feature Moet Hennessy and Marchesi Antinorri.

Throughout the summer I'll be featuring these special food and wine events hoping to see you at some.

Wine Wednesday, Chateau Montelena

It's Wine Wednesday! So excited to have Steve Hollister from Twisted Vine Bistro in downtown Fort Myers stop in for a visit. Especially when I saw what he was packin'?

Today we tasted a delicious, 2010 Chateau Montelena Chardonay (one of my favorite wineries). I thought it was especially appropriate considering the death, less than a week ago, of Jim Barrett. Barrett was the winemaker whose 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay is credited with putting Napa Valley and California wines in general, on the international map. His story was the subject of the movie "Bottle Shock".

This wine had a floral nose, a little citrus on the tongue and some steel rather than that buttery, oaky bomb that is signature of many CA Chards. It's still creamy and very food friendly. Twisted Vine has it both by the glass ($22) and by the bottle ($85). Stop by for some of the best food and wine you will find downtown Fort Myers. Plus Steve and his wife Denise are extremely fun hosts with great wine events!

Good Bottle Gone Bad

A dear friend of mine recently had a birthday and not only did he get gifts, he gave gifts. Delicious gifts from his wine cellar; Opus One and Stag's Leap S.L.V. He arrived at Fleming's Steakhouse with a bottle under each arm and asked our server for permission to uncork. Most good restaurants are open to BYOB of wines they do not have on their list. Opus One and Stag's Leap are often found on reserve wine lists but not vintages like these; 2002 and 1998 respectively. My mouth was watering as the wines were decanted. Thankfully they lived up to my expectations.

It's always good etiquette to buy a bottle when you bring one and Fleming's list has a multitude of great choices. We all agreed to a bottle of one of my favorite Cabernets; Chateau Montelena (2007).

Our server poured a small taste and handed it to the wine connoisseur sitting next to me for approval. When he put his nose into the glass, it was obvious he was contemplating; but we didn't know exactly what. When he swirled the wine again, even I could smell the mildew. Being a fan of the wine, we knew the bottle was "corked" or bad. It happens; even in the best restaurants. Our server poured another small taste, disappeared with it and returned shortly with a new bottle that was outstanding.

I'm writing about this so if it happens to you, you wont settle for drinking an off-bottle because you are embarrassed to speak up or afraid you might be wrong. Yes, some wines smell like a barnyard. If you're not sure: swirl it in your glass, let it open some more, sniff again, then taste.  If you are still not sure, ask your server to inspect. Restaurant managers can get credits or replacement for bad bottles from their distributors so it's not like you are sticking them. Even more important, they want you to leave their establishment with a good taste in your mouth, literally.

Chateau Montelena Wine Dinner

How does a fine dining establishment pull off a high-end wine dinner for 100 people after a natural gas explosion miles away shuts down their kitchen? I don't how Bistro 41 made it happen but they did and without a hitch, at least from the patrons point of view!

George Blanckensee, Marketing Director from Chateau Montelena in California, has lots of ties to Southwest Florida and was the man of the hour when he arrived with the a wine that rarely leaves California, the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. Only 500 cases were made and we drank one prior to sitting down to the five course dinner.

First course: Braised pork belly over caramelized apple sauerkraut served with a 2009 Potter's Valley Riesling. The wine had lots of acid but was still flowery with peach and melon on the finish. Only 1500 cases were made. Combined with the fatty pork and bold apple sauerkraut it was rich and delicious.

Second course: Arugula with Dijon vinaigrette, topped with St Andre cheese, candied tomatoes and hearts of palm served with an '08 Chardonnay. It was not a typical California Chardonnay full of oak. It was brighter but still rich and for me was better with the delicious salad than on it's own. I was told the chef cooked those candied tomatoes for 5 hours at low heat, wow!

Third course: Au Poivre Diver Scallops over wild mushroom thyme grits and a beurre rouge served with the 2007 Zinfandel. The scallops were cooked perfectly! The Zin was soft and elegant, not an alcohol bomb like many can be. It was smokey and jammy and had yummy cocoa. I was surprised at how well it went with the dish and was curious to see how it would pair with the next course. So I saved a little, hard as it was.

Fourth course: Oak grilled Colorado Lamp Chop with a melange of roasted butternut squash and rutabagas topped with foie gras butter and served with the 2006 Estate Cabernet. This is Chateau Montelena's flagship Cabernet and it never disappoints. It's Bordeaux-style with more fruit than oak, earthy and goes down with ease! Great with the lamb! By the way, the Zin was good with it too!

Fifth course: Tart trio of strawberry, Maytag bleu cheese and dark chocolate served with a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. This was like "playtime"! I took a sip of wine after a bite of each tart, then I combined all three tarts in one perfect bite, then just the cheese and chocolate, then the chocolate and fruit and by now you get the picture. Each combination was fantastic with the wine. What a great way to experiment with flavors. Quote of the night: "This is the Cab that I wish for and think of" (when wanting a good Cabernet)!

The pairings brought out so many wonderful flavors, the enthusiasm was bursting, the company was incredible, the service was impeccable, the chef's outstanding and to pull off a meal like this in the midst of a crisis that later shut down the restaurant (and hundreds of others) was more than impressive! Bravo!!!