The Raleigh Wine Shop on Glenwood Avenue hosted a popup dinner last night with Fall Harvest foods and paired wines. The dinner sold out in advance. I didn't take detailed notes on the wine but will list the pairings. This time I was more impressed with the white wines than the red wines and ordered a bottle each of the white Burgundy and Gruner Veltliner for later pickup. I also decided to purchase a bottle of Lucien Crochet Sancerre (blanc) Le Chene. Unfortunately this favorite of mine has gone up in price from under $30 to closer to $40 currently. It is the high end of Lucien Crochet offerings. They also had the producer's regular Sancerre.
The food, prepared under the supervision of chef Sam Bradford from Plates Restaurant (up the street on Glenwood Avenue) with the help of Lilly Gray-Warren, was excellent. It used local food sources. Lots of compliments from other diners including a caterer who sat across from me. (She has catered meals for visiting artists such as Paul McCartney and Three Dog Night.)
We were greeted with warm red or white spiced mulled wine.
Amuse bouche of thinly sliced radish, turnip, finely diced apples in a light coulis with a sparkling wine: Domaine J. Laurens Cremant de Limoux--crisp, refreshing apple notes.
A green bean salad with almonds, smoked bacon, mushrooms, fried shallots in a buttermilk vinaigrette paired with Carrusin Lia vi Barbera d'Asti. The Barbera, which I liked, had earthy undertones and dark berry fruits.
The next course was a really delicious butternutsquash soup with Boursin pave terrine and roasted chestnuts that had several clamoring for the recipe. I was hoping it would be paired with a white wine since I have enjoyed squash soup with a Vouvray Silex in the past. It was paired with a Rainer Wess Wachauer Gruner Veltliner, Austria, although one of the shop owners had argued for a pairing with Viognier. The GV was pale, clear, and mouthfilling. It proved a very good pairing with the soup. It was nicely balanced as far as acidity. In most cases the vintage was not listed on the menu board.
We could try any or all three of the next wines with the entrée of roasted ham, roasted stuffed turkey, oyster or vegetarian dressing, brussel sprouts, sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce. The white wine offering was 2012 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Blanc. I have a bias towards Alex's wines as I have followed his career since 1999 when I first met him at the Nantucket Wine Festival and have tasted with him several times since then. I did think this wine was really nice at around the $30 price point. No noticeable oak but it has some weight on the palate and would probably be well received by a group. I also had a pour of the Clos de Roilette Fleurie Beaujolais Cru. I have used Beaujolais wines as a Thanksgiving accompaniment myself. Nose of dark cherries/berries, Burgundy color, cherries on the palate. I had a few sips of the People's Zinfandel which was the favorite wine of the lady seated to my right, a Raleigh lawyer. It was attractive, but for me the Bourgogne Blanc and the Gruner Veltliner stood out. All the wines had some good attributes. Most of them were under $20 a bottle, the one from Alex Gambal being an exception to that price level.
Dessert was pumpkin pie in a somewhat non-traditional presentation with ice cream and raisins and a shot of Calvados.