A California Winery Blog

Amidst a backdrop of State Street’s Tuesday evening Farmers’ Market, the Bistro dished out a five course meal paired with wines to celebrate summer solstice.  Executive Chef Josh Keating and Santa Barbara Winery Assistant Winemakers Ryan Ralston and Cameron Bendetsen were on hand to discuss the culinary and pairing choices between each course.  Following closely to the Solstice theme, each table had colorful masks in the middle as a playful decoration.  Two dimensional paper maiche pig heads hung from the ceiling and appeared to have been crafted at the Solstice workshop where floats and masks are made for Saturday’s parade.  

The setting sun provided natural light for most of the evening causing the floating jacaranda flowers to sparkle.  In celebration of solstice part of the proceeds from the dinner went to fun the annual event.  This was the perfect opportunity to recognize and sample new releases that we have available at Santa Barbara Winery and Lafond Winery.  Five of our most recent releases featured were the 2007 Pinot Gris, 2007 Rose of Syrah, 2006 Martin Rey Clone Pinot, 2005 Petite Sirah, and 2007 7.3 Riesling.

The first plates came out of the kitchen at 7:30.  Actually, the tapas size portion was served in a small convex glass (which tasting room associate Alan Shapton referred to as an “upside down lampshade glass”).  A Tiger Shrimp Ceviche with mango and ripe avocado was served with the 2007 Pinot Gris and was probably my favorite pairing of the night.  Mouthwatering tropical fruit and complementary acidity cleansed the palate for what was to come.  The fattiness of the avocado cut through the Pinot Gris’ racy acidity and also brought out elements of sweet fruit when put together with the mango.  

As Josh stood in front of his guests he began lightly tapping on his crystal wine glass with a fork to get everybody’s attention, while he quietly asked Ryan, “can we tap these glasses?”  Experts in their field, the three spoke of the food and wine individually and why they chose the pairing.  I learned that although Pinot Gris is a white wine, it has red skins, but it is always made into white wine because there is not enough pigmentation in the skins to produce a red.

Next out of the kitchen was a Saffron Bouillabaise and 2007 Rose of Syrah.  This pairing is typical in Provence where Rose’s reign king.  Marseilles is the port city in France where this stew started.  Fishermen would come into the harbor on their boats and throw them into the broth.  The seafood broth here was made with saffron and the fish that was dropped in was salmon, halibut, escolar and shelled mussels.  The hot soup with a cold Rose made it lighter than it would be if paired with a red wine.  The Rose of Syrah allowed the dish to shine through and was a beautiful magenta pink in the crystal stemware against the flickering candlelight.  

Lafond Winery’s newest Pinot Noir release is a Martin Ray clone, and it came out alongside a Seared Scallop Crusted Salad.  This was actually the first time it has been served to a public audience since its release last week.  The simple salad was made from earty organic greens and tossed with a mustard rice wine vinaigrette.  Three crusted scallops were placed softly on the bed of lettuce and provided a nice crunchy texture to the salad.  Again Josh played with the element of pairing hot and cold placing warm scallops on cool lettuce, which really brought forward the salads earthy flavors.

Pommard clones produce a more feminine style Pinot than the Dijon clone (which can be done in a more Syrah-esque style) this lighter style Pinot’s bright red fruit showcases this elegance.  Aged primarily in neutral oak, this Pinot is already showing particularly well.  Martin Ray was a winemaker up in the Santa Cruz mountains who toured France’s Burgundy region and suitcased this clone back to California in the 1940s.  He named it after himself, which Ryan applauded stating, “Hey, if you do something for the first time, name it after yourself.”

Leading up to the main course these three lighter dishes paved the way for Steak Filet Mignon and Petite Sirah.  A peach-sized Filet sat on a square ceramic plate presented with butter steamed carrots and green button squash.  Point Reyes Cheese and a Syrah reduction sauce were drizzled on top.  Petite Sirah’s stick to your lips, teeth staining quality was appropriately paired with a tender steak cut.  The enormous amount of pigmentation in the skin of these small berries make it a rich, deeply colored and tannic wine bursting with dry dark fruit flavors and a hint of spicy licorice. 

After all of this food it was not a surprise that the choice of dessert was more of a delightful cleansing palate refresher than a decadent sweet.  A sorbet was paired with our 7.3% residual sugar Riesling, touching on the sweet tooth but not overwhelming.  The 7.3 Riesling is the sweeter of our two Rieslings, but it has a nice acidity to balance that out.  

I was happy to be a part of this Solstice gathering…  

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery