The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards celebrated a special four
course meal on September 11 featuring menu items from The Restaurant’s former
Executive Chef Kimball Jones and the current Executive Chef Matt Greco. Chef Jones is now the culinary director at Groth
Vineyards and Winery in Oakville and guests had the opportunity to pair both
Wente and Groth wines with the various dishes prepared by both chefs. Chef Jones’ wife Suzanne Groth, Owner and
Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the family run Groth Vineyards
& Winery visited with the patrons to share information about both the
culinary treats and the Groth wines. In
addition, Chef Greco and Christine Wente, fifth generation winegrower and
President of the Wente Foundation Board were there to visit with the guests.
Wente Vineyards was founded in 1883 by C.H. Wente, an
immigrant from Germany who purchased 47 acres in Livermore Valley. Now, 130 years later this is the oldest,
continuously owned, family operated winery in the U.S. with the fourth and fifth
generation Wente running the operation.
Groth Vineyards & Winery started in 1982 when South Bay natives
Dennis and Judy Groth purchase a 121 acre parcel in Oakville in Napa
County. Dennis had served as CFO and
Executive Vice President of consumer products for Atari and eventually
President of the International Division at Atari. Groth continued to grow to
its current 165 acre sustainably farmed vineyards in Oakville and Yountville, a
beautiful California Mission style facility and a solid reputation as a
producer of
Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. This family operated winery now has the
second generation team, Suzanne Groth as V.P. of Sales & Marketing and
Andrew Groth as V.P. of Operation, fully involved in the winery operation.
The “Sharing the Vineyard Table” dinner brought together
these two California winemaker families to deliver a taste treat to the
patrons. Chef Jones was happy to have
the opportunity to return to The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards and to share in
the development of this dinner with Chef Greco.
The dinner started with a taste of the bubbly, a Brut
Sparkling wine from Wente, paired with a delicious cornbread appetizer. Then the serving team brought out the Jones
Farm Fall Fruit Salad created by Chef Jones with Frisee, endive, chicory, Mt.
Tam toast and walnut dressing. This was
paired with a 2013 Groth Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley. The fruit salad was a pleasant blend of fresh
flavors and the wine had a wonderful crisp acidity
backbone and citrus/melon
blend of flavors with a touch of the veggie qualities found in most Sauvignon
Blanc wines. This was an excellent
pairing with the salad providing a focus on the flavors of the wine and also a
toning down of the acidity and a delicious finish.
Next up on the menu was a fantastic Shrimp Scampi Ravioli
from Chef Greco with saffron, garden tomato, garlic breadcrumb and
parsley. We were lucky enough to be able
to pair this delicious dish with three different Chardonnay’s from Wente,
California’s First Family of Chardonnay.
the 2012 Wente Nth Degree Chardonnay from Livermore Valley, the 2013
Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay from Livermore Valley and the 2013
Wente Riva
Ranch Chardonnay from Arroyo Seco in Monterey County. The 2012 Nth Degree Chardonnay is a wonderfully
balanced, full-bodied Chardonnay with great flavors of tropical fruit and a
touch of spice leading to a long smooth finish.
The Morning Fog Chardonnay is part of the estate grown group of wines. It has flavors and aromas of green apple,
citrus and tropical fruit plus vanilla and cinnamon with a good balance of
acidity and mouthfeel. The Riva Ranch
Chardonnay is part of the single vineyard line of wines and has a rich gold
color and flavors of honey, apple, citrus, tropical fruit, honey, butter and
vanilla. With this pairing you can see
how different wines, produced by the same winemaker but different terroir
(vineyard locations) can react differently to the same dish. With the Nth Degree Chardonnay the ravioli
did not have a big effect on the wine, primarily because this was a terrific
balanced wine that handled the pairing and came together with the ravioli
naturally. The Riva Ranch Chardonnay had
a variety of fruit flavors and the ravioli brought out these fruits
significantly. The Morning Fog
Chardonnay saw a nice softening of the acidity, citrus and tropical fruit
flavors of the wine when paired with the ravioli.
The next dish was a grilled Porcini Crusted Steak from Chef
Jones with greens, parmesan, lemon and Tuscan white beans. This was paired with a 2010 Groth Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville. This
is a big lush Napa Valley Cab with dark berry flavors, a bit of earthiness and
forest floor quality, clove, cassis, black raspberry, cinnamon and a long
balanced finish. When paired with the
steak, the combination brought out the fruitiness of the wine and enhanced the
finish.
The final culinary treat was “Grandma’s Chocolate Mayonnaise
Cake” with late summer berries, and a Macadamia ice cream. This treat was a collaboration of Chef Jones,
Chef Greco and Pastry Chef Melissa Duesler of Wente. It was paired with a 2010 Murrieta’s Well
Touriga Port. What a delicious way to
end the meal with chocolate and port.
The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards has several upcoming
events including Chef Demos, Garden Luncheons and Garden Tours. Check out the Wente events
calendar.
For more information:
The passengers learned much about the history of the Niles
Canyon Railway and the history of wine in Livermore Valley. The
Livermore Valley Wine Tasting Specials were a trip through History. Each of the cars on the train was historic,
refurbished by a loving group of volunteers who spend countless hours restoring
them. The route was part of the original
Transcontinental Railroad. Niles Canyon
was the link from the main railroad to the San Francisco Bay since 1869.
