Renwood Holiday Wine Dinner

My books are like water; those of great geniuses are wine. Everybody drinks wine.
-Mark Twain
While we are all eating and drinking ourselves right on into a January gym membership, why not indulge in one more festive night out by attending the Renwood Winery’s Winemaker’s Dinner, presented by the Silver Moon Supper Club? The dinner takes place on Thurs., Dec. 17, with cocktails starting at 6:30 p.m. and dinner around 7 p.m. Glancing at the menu, it is apparent that Executive Chef Josh Smith and his cohorts really put some creative and educated thought into the food and wine pairings for this event. With six courses and seven incredible wines (one extra for cocktail time), the $75 cost per person makes for a fabulous holiday night out on the town. For reservations, you can call the Silver Moon at 701-356-9097.

Renwood Winery is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, in the prime Zinfandel growing region of Amador County. History buff and Boston native Robert Smerling founded the winery in 1993, not only out of love of wine but also because of the reputation surrounding the property. Having grown up drinking wines from France and Italy, he was first attracted to the Old World varietals (Barbera, Viognier, Syrah) being grown in Amador County. Soon, he also developed a great love for Zinfandel, and this was certainly the place to grow it. With vines first planted in the 1850s, these vineyards were a frequent stop for Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Legend has it that while in the area researching an article (later to become his first book) about a local frog jumping contest, he first got drunk on these wines originating from America’s oldest clone of Zinfandel. In his honor, the vineyard was later named Grandpère and at over 140 years old, these vines still produce award-winning and legendary wines today.

Although there will be no Grandpère served at the Silver Moon on Thursday, the dinner will feature some equally amazing wines with cool stories like this one being shared by Renwood’s representative and Certified Sommelier, Scott Schneider. Not only does he know his wines, but he also brings a historical and mythical perspective, a welcome addition to any wine drinking experience. For the pre-dinner social, the Renwood Red Label Pinot Grigio will start the evening.  This light, citrusy wine will kick off the party by providing a first glimpse into the amazing evening that is to come.

For the first course, a puff pastry topped with crème fraiche, apricots and grilled white fish will be served with the Red Label Viognier, a crisp white wine which showcases Smerling’s love of the Rhone Valley wines of France. With its unique varietal characteristics, Viognier is becoming an increasingly popular wine. California Viogniers are often priced quite high, which can be a turnoff for those who have never heard of this French grape. The Red Label series consists of the wines produced by the younger vines, and although less expensive, most of the varietals are pretty impressive. These handcrafted wines are line-priced and can usually be found for around $10 a bottle. 

The second course, crispy potato napoleon with scrumptious-sounding components such as duck confit, beets and apple syrup, will be served with Amador County Barbera, which I am very excited about. I have to admit that I haven’t tried this one, but I have tried the Red Label Barbera and really enjoyed it, so I can only imagine what the older and more sophisticated version has in store.

The third course will be served with one of my all time favorite Zinfandels, the Grandmère. As consort to the famous Grandpère Zinfandel, this wine equals, if not surpasses her mate in quality and greatness. For this wine, only the best of the Old Vine Zinfandels (50 years is the minimum for this winery) are taken from the vineyards. This “warm, friendly, and inviting” wine, as the winery describes it, can still pack a punch with its 15% alcohol. A fruity, full-bodied wine with aromas of holiday spices wafting into your nostrils, this will be served with an incredible-sounding roasted chicken breast salad. I don’t want to ruin the surprise by giving away the other ingredients, but let me just throw raspberries and butterscotch sauce out there as a teaser.

If you think this course sounds incredible, it only gets better. Smoked ocean trout with, among other things, a bittersweet chocolate and blueberry salsa will be accompanied by the limited production Jack Rabbit Flats Zinfandel. Coming from one of the classic ancient vineyards of this region, the vines here are 80+ years old, so with this wine you get the true essence of what an Amador Zinfandel is all about. This richly crafted wine, with its full tannins and hints of caramel and mocha, adds to my anticipation of how delectable this pairing is going to be.

At this point, as if it couldn’t get any better, grilled New York Strip Steak and Amador County Syrah will make up the fifth course. I swear I am not eating for two days before this dinner! I am so in love with Syrah and steak, I cannot mention it enough.  Again, if you haven’t tried it, you really should. With its gorgeous dark red color and its mahogany aromas and rich, heavy, black currant finish this wine is a perfect complement to the steak. This is only the third harvest of this particular varietal, which is a rarity for this winery, but you certainly can’t tell by the quality of the wine.

The last course provides a unique and tasty treat of warm peaches and cream coffee cake paired with the Amador Ice Zinfandel.  This dessert wine made from 96% Zinfandel and 4% Barbera for color, is produced when grapes frozen while still on the vine are pressed, resulting in a concentrated amount of very sweet and delicious juice. Due to the process, these wines are made in much smaller quantities, making them a welcome, yet not inexpensive, indulgence whenever you can get them.

One of my favorite things about attending a Silver Moon wine event is the engaging hospitality of bar manager extraordinaire Jennifer Maxwell. She not only organizes these shindigs down to the Secret Santa Giveaway (yes that means some free wine from Santa!) at the end of the evening, she also picks out all of the wines. So take a little time at the end of this elegant, yet approachable holiday night out, to think how lucky we are to have things like this to do in Fargo, and make sure to thank those who are responsible so they will be encouraged to do it some more.

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INFO:
What: Renwood Winery’s Winemaker’s Dinner
When: Thurs, Dec 17, 6:30pm
Where: Silver Moon Supper Club
Cost: $75