Fabulous Red Newt Winemakers’ Dinner

One of the things we enjoy most about our food and wine work is a meal in the company of other foodies and winefolk, and, presented with the opportunity to brown-bag it with winemakers at one of Red Newt Bistro’s winemaker’s dinners, we grab it. Winemaker Dave Whiting pairs the wines (everybody brings a bottle or two from their own cellars, recent production, or any interesting place in the world) with the courses, then bags and numbers them. As the evening unfolds, even he forgets what’s in those bags, and the guesses flow. It’s amazing what perceptive variation there is even in these well-schooled palates and sniffers. A recent dinner at the Newt began with an ooze of Brie en croute with apricots and pecans paired with a fruity Atwater Pinot Gris, the ghostliest of pinks and wonderfully refreshing, and Bellwether Cider’s bubbly, crisp King Baldwin, both new releases from those houses. Atwater’s Katy Marks beamed as the compliments flowed on the Pinot Gris, and the pairing worked well. A spicy arugula salad with lentils, breakfast radishes, and feta with a warmed orange vinaigrette (Chef Deb Whiting is a master of wine-friendly salad dressings) was perfectly paired with a brut Hosmer bubbly that elicited guesses of “France?” and a well balanced Plano (Texas!) Muscat Canelli. A 2006 Bedell Gallery – a blend – was most noteworthy for its long cork and bottle’s deep punt – but the wine didn’t live up to its sexy packaging. Unfortunately, winemaking fortunes have been built on less. A sushi-grade tuna with a hoisin-lime sauce was served suitably rare, with a side of locally grown asparagus, followed by a course of duck breast with a blueberry-red wine sauce and the creamiest of polentas, and at this point, the wine pairings begin to blur in my memory. I do remember a terrific Sauvignon Blanc from Morten and Lisa Halgren’s Ravines Wine Cellars on Keuka Lake, a slightly sweet, full-bodied, and rather rough Ca del Sola (56% Freisa, 44% Barbera, from raisined grapes) another experiment from the creative but not always on-target Randall Grahm’s Bonny Doon Vineyards, a delicious 2000 Pasa Robles Cabernet, and a disappointing Syrah Port from the Yakima Valley. A vanilla-y rhubarb dessert with vanilla ice cream was paired with the surprisingly dee-lish rhubarb equivalent of a late-harvest wine from Montezuma Winery, a small swig of brandy, and a gulp of coffee, and we called it a night – another night of good company, good conversation, good food, and good wine. We thank Dave and Deb for bringing the Finger Lakes wine community together for these dinners. From time to time they sponsor similar dinners for the public (Nine Wines Blind). To find out more about them, contact Red Newt Wine Cellars and Bistro at 607 546-4100. We salute the Newt. Cheers!