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Blue cheese, cauliflower, Chardonnay, cheddar gratin, chocolate, chorizo, cupcake, Curry, Hood Mountain, Maitake Mushroom, Mediterranean, Merlot, organic, pairing, port, Potato gratin, red wine, Russian River Valley, sauvignon blanc, Sea Bass, Sirloin, Smoked bacon, Sonoma County, St. Francis, St. Francis Winery and Vineyards, syrah, tamari, Vegetable succotash, white wine, Wild Oak, Wild Oak Vineyard, wine, wine pairing, Zinfandel
St. Francis Winery and Vineyards is this summer’s hip hang in Sonoma, hosting events ranging from a Thursday night film festival series, to a Lobster Feed, to October’s annual St. Francis Blessing of the Animals, where (rumor has it) a giraffe appeared in the parade of animals to receive blessings from the priest in observation of the winery’s Patron Saint of Animals and Ecology.
St. Francis’ piece de resistance, however, is a stellar pairing kitchen, from where even the film festival’s picnic nibbles and wines are paired with a theme inspired by the night’s main event. The upcoming Dinner Under the Stars is an opportunity to experience how elegantly St. Francis showcases their vast catalog of wines against the expansive backdrop of their Wild Oak Vineyard, birthplace of legendary 2008 Wild Oak Syrah. The secret weapon is Executive Chef, David Bush, whose seasonal pairings play on theme, style, and irony.
The St. Francis dining room, with its tiled fireplace and spectacular vineyard and Hood Mountain views, is a beautiful setting to experience Chef Bush’s breaking-the-rules pairings. The four-course pairing tasting begins with a glass of 2009 Chardonnay, Intatto (Italian for “in tact”) at the tasting room check-in. This unusual gem aged in zero oak has a crisp summer snap to it, reminiscent of a sauvignon blanc, and a perfect transition from the summer heat into the soothing hospitality and service that is St. Francis.
In the tasting room, the first to arrive is another Chardonnay, the 2009 Wild Oak Chardonnay, a little bit of oak for a hint of cream, with Bush’s Poached Corvine Sea Bass in housemade yellow curry and summer vegetable succotash from St. Francis’ organic garden. Bush, goes easy on the heat with the curry, allowing the chardonnay to carry its latent properties to the surface.
The next pour in the flight is the aromatic and peppery 2007 Zinfandel, Giovanetti, Russian River Valley, and its accompanying Torta Cubana, a slider-sized sandwich of housemade chorizo, jambon de Paris, fire-roasted salsa, shredded butter lettuce and smoked paprika Fromage Blanc. This robust zin finds the nose long before the rim does, and continues its rapture around the chorizo’s mixed layers of heat.
A slight pause renders a meet and greet with an expert host, and possibly Chef Bush himself, who likes to “get people excited about food and wine” and for people to “leave with a greater appreciation of what food and wine do together.” This is an excellent place to pause for a spell, since the big zin and chorizo are still on their honeymoon.
2008 Wild Oak Syrah is complex and smooth, versatile, and pairs with most anything under the sun. Although it maintains syrah’s jammy quality, it is flexible the way pinot is flexible. Bush’s pairing is just abstract enough to add another facet to its flexibility. A roasted Maitake Mushroom resembling a flower releases its perfume of smoked bacon-tamari broth and still-steaming mustard greens with shaved green onions. The first contact point with the Wild Oak Syrah is the bacon, brought forward from the broth where it might have been otherwise camouflaged. From there the flavors unfold like the petal pattern of the mushroom itself, delicately and completely, with each one its own free-standing structure.
Big reds get even bigger in the final course of 2008 Merlot, Wild Oak paired with Garlic and Thyme Roasted Sirloin of Beef. Garlic and merlot transport the delicate beef while the gratin of potato, cauliflower and aged cheddar play down the “bigness.” Creamed spinach and sweet carrot puree tease the peppery notes and parsley salt punctuates a Bordelaise ribbon.
An unexpected sweet finish comes in the form of St. Francis’ tawny-style Port and a nice deep cheese with a case of the blues, wine-stewed cherries and a bite-sized chocolate cupcake to seal the palate. Atop the sharp blue’s creamy pungence, the depth of the port seeping into the al dente adult version of a childhood comfort food favorite is a perfect menage.
The pairing menu is seasonal, changing every several weeks according to farm yield, and fluently highlights the flavor structures of the winery’s artisan wines and foods. Pairings are offered at St. Francis Winery and Vineyards Thursday through Monday with several seatings each day, and require a reservation. Tickets for the Dinner Under the Stars are available by visiting the events page on the St. Francis website. To view the event dinner menu, visit the Facebook event page.
Below: Dave Bush discusses breaking the pairing rules and shows us that “mellow” is not just a tasting note.
The Maxwell Company 