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Wine Dinners and Weekends - 2005
Napa Valley Boutique Wine Dinner
September 13, 2005
Castle Hill Inn & Resort will host an exclusive six-course Napa Valley Boutique Wine Dinner on Tuesday, September 13, 2005, featuring the wines of highly-celebrated, limited-production California vineyards, including: Far Niente, Cloud View, Andrew Geoffrey, Viader, Spottswoode Estate Vineyard, Long Meadow Ranch, Silver Oak Cellars, Lang & Reed Wine Company, and Twomey Cellars. The event is in conjunction with Stan Fishbein of Wine Marketing and is hosted by vineyard owners and principals. A reception in the Chalet will begin at 6:30 pm; dinner will be served at 7:30 pm. The cost is $250.00 per person and includes tax and gratuity. Please call 401-849-3800 by September 6th to RSVP.
"We are thrilled to host this truly special wine and culinary event," said Natalie Ward, General Manager. "Our beverage director, Len Panaggio, has worked with Stan Fishbein of Wine Marketing to carefully select each renowned vineyard. Chef Riley and his team will create a menu designed to specifically complement each of the wines being served. This is a must-attend event for wine lovers."
The evening will begin with a selection of hors d'oeuvres, including: Sakonnet River Oysters with native apple cider; Cumin-red Chile Scallop with blackened Country ham and Shelburne cheddar on melon; and a Summer Chanterelle Turnover served with the light and refreshing Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2004, featuring tropical fruits of pineapple, mango and papaya with grapefruit and honey.
Dinner will begin with a first course of Native Lobster in a savory orange-fig cream and hazelnut crust, paired with the fruity and crisp Far Niente Estate Bottled Chardonnay 2003, rated a '92' by Wine Spectator.
The next course will feature Smoked King Salmon with blackberry glaze served on a sage-polenta chip served with two wine pairings: Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc Premier Etage 2001, an aromatic wine of dried flowers with notes of berry, vanilla and dark chocolate, and Twomey Merlot 2002, rated '90' by Wine Spectator, offering notes of grilled herbs, chocolate, freshly brewed espresso, and cherry liqueur.
The third course is a departure from delicacies from the sea and will feature a Mole Pork Tamale with sweet pepper, onion and mint salsa, presented with the rich, Bordeaux-like Viader Napa Valley Red 2002, rated '92' by Wine Spectator.
Guests will enjoy a fourth course of Warm Lamb Carpaccio served with gremolata, Cloud View olive oil, black currant biscuits and paired with Cloud View Proprietary Estate Red 2001, featuring warm, toasty scents and tasty black-fruit flavors.
The fifth course will feature a Long Meadow Sirloin Roast served with cocoa-vanilla compound butter, micro anise-heirloom tomato salad, and Aquidneck potato fries served with four incredible wines:
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2000; rated '88' by Wine Spectator. This cab has a dark, ruby-red color and an exquisite nose of cassis, violets, roasting coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and cloves.
Long Meadow Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2001; this cab illustrates the vineyard's distinctive black and red fruit flavors, particularly red plums, black cherries, and strawberries.
Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 2002; rated '91' by Wine Advocate, this cab is brimming with ripe, intense currant, black cherry and cedar, topped off with seductive mocha- and vanilla-scented oak.
Andrew Geoffrey Cabernet Sauvignon 2001; rich and concentrated, this cab presents chewy tannins with layers of earthy currant, coffee, mint, blackberry, cedar, anise and spice.
The final dessert course will feature a Dolce-poached Bosc Pear served with cherimoya ice cream and cinnamon praline, and paired with Far Niente's renown dessert wine, Dolce 2001, rated '96' by Wine Spectator and listed as number 20 in the top 100 wines by the magazine.
About the vineyards:
Far Niente: Tom Gilholey, Eastern U.S. Region Manager, will present Chardonnay
Since its first vintage of Chardonnay in 1979 and the introduction of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1982, Far Niente has held true to its philosophy of producing estate wines of luxury and elegance with a consistent house style. While many wineries make wine at several different quality levels, Far Niente produces one Chardonnay and one Cabernet Sauvignon of the highest quality possible from its estate vineyards; if the wine doesn't meet expectations, it doesn't make the final blend.
The winery attributes its twenty-plus years of resounding success as a highly regarded Napa Valley winery to its pursuit of these exacting standards and commitment to quality without compromise. For more information, please visit http://www.farniente.com .
Cloud View Vineyards: Linda and Leighton Taylor, owners, will present their proprietary red wine
Cloud View produces a single proprietary premium red wine blended from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Cloud View Vineyards comprises 23 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot planted between 1990 -1995 on 90 acres of mountainside. Vines are trained on vertical trellises; hand-pruned to bilateral cordons with yields limited to assure quality and intensity and hand-leafed for optimum sunlight. For more information, please visit http://www.cloudviewvineyards.com .
Andrew Geoffrey Vineyards: Peter Thompson, owner, will present Cabernet
Andrew Geoffrey Vineyards' 13 acres of red wine grapes are situated within a 60 acre parcel of prime hillside vineyard property on the highest slopes of the Diamond Mountain District sub-appellation of the Napa Valley. Red wine grapes grown on Diamond Mountain have an outstanding reputation and Diamond Mountain red wines possess a strong consumer recognition. For more information, please visit http://www.andrewgeoffrey.com .
Viader: Delia Viader, owner, will present Napa Valley Red
The Vineyard is located on Howell Mountain at the 1200 ft. elevation, approximately 2.5 miles northeast of St. Helena in the Napa Valley. Viader has chosen a unique planting design. Rather than running the vine rows contoured in terraces, the vineyard rows run up and down the hillside with a slope of 32%. The vineyards are solely hand-labored and organically farmed (no chemicals used). Viader does all of this in order to maintain the fine balance between struggle and survival which results in grapes, and finally wines, of great character. The result of such care and attention to detail is a very distinctive flavor profile. For more information, please visit http://www.viader.com .
Spottswoode: Lindy Novak, Marketing Manager, will present her family's Cabernet
Spottswoode is a family-owned historic vineyard and winery whose cornerstone is its estate vineyard, a very special piece of land. The winery places the highest priority on its relationships with others, and they show the same respect for the environment by being responsible stewards of the Spottswoode Estate - its land and historic buildings.
Spottswoode produces only two wines, both in very limited quantities to ensure the highest quality - its primary wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc. The farming and winemaking of each are guided by intuition, and by respect for the unique conditions Mother Nature presents each growing year. No effort is spared in the growing of the grapes or in the crafting of the wines. For more information, please visit http://www.spottswoode.com .
Long Meadow Ranch: Chris Hall, on-premise sales manager, will present Cabernet
Under the guiding hand of Napa Valley vineyard management legend, Laurie Wood, Long Meadow Ranch began its vineyard development in 1990. The vineyards have been managed by Frank Leeds, a true pioneer in organic farming in the Napa Valley, since 1998. Vineyard yields are tiny (less than three tons to the acre), but the clusters of small berries produce beautifully concentrated wine. From the very beginning, the wine has expressed a distinctive character with concentrated deep black cherry and blackberry flavors. "Excellence through Responsible Farming" is the motto of Long Meadow Ranch, bolstered by the belief that world-class products can be produced using sustainable, organic farming methods. Long Meadow Ranch does not use herbicides or pesticides and its products are organically grown and certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers. For more information, please visit http://www.longmeadowranch.com .
Silver Oak Cellars: Tom Johnson, Eastern Regional Wine Manager, will present Cabernet
In the early 1970s, Silver Oaks emerged as a dream tied to an intrepid idea. Founders Ray Duncan, an entrepreneur with a sense of adventure, and Justin Meyer, a former winemaker with Christian Brothers, dared to devote every effort toward the pursuit of a single wine, Cabernet Sauvignon. What's more, they resolved to create a wine with a style all its own-not another hard, tannic red wine requiring years of aging to enjoy, but a wine of fully developed flavors and a velvety soft texture on the day it is released for sale. Ray and Justin believed that if they chose the right Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards from California's premier appellations, and if they aged their wine for as long as five years, first in American oak barrels and then in bottles, they could produce an exhilarating, smooth red wine. For more information, please visit http://www.silveroak.com .
Twomey Cellars: Tom Johnson, Eastern Regional Wine Manager, will present Merlot
Twomey Cellars originates in a single Napa Valley vineyard, the Soda Canyon Ranch, where Merlot grows with such extraordinary complexity that it calls for a wine of its own. To showcase the brilliance and balance of these grapes, Twomey Cellars employs the soutirage traditional, a labor-intensive approach used by classified growths in Bordeaux. The vineyard is one of few wineries to apply these classical techniques to California Merlot. The vineyard is planted with Merlot developed by the French clonal selection program, where quality takes precedence over yield. Compared with California clones, these vines produce smaller berries with thicker skins and more complex flavors and aromas. The vines are tightly spaced to produce low yields and high quality, and the shoots are trained vertically for optimal sun and air exposure. Because the roots grow in stressful conditions-rocky, volcanic soils with low levels of nutrients-they direct most of their energy into producing small clusters of intense fruit rather than excessive leaf canopies. For more information, please visit http://www.twomeycellars.com .
Lang & Reed Wine Company: Tracey Skupny, owner, will present Cabernet Franc
Founded in 1996, Lang & Reed Wine Company is owned and operated by John and Tracey Skupny and their two sons. The vineyard's name comes from the Skupny's two sons: J. Reed Skupny and Jerzy Lang Skupny. The elder Skupnys have spent the last 25 years in various aspects of the wine business and the founding of Lang & Reed Wine Company was the evolution of a shared dream. They have lived and worked in the Napa Valley since 1984. They are the only California producers focused solely on the cabernet franc varietal. Since 1996, they have produced two styles of this delicious varietal.
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