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This past weekend Wine Spectator Magazine hosted its annual Wine Experience event at the Marriott Marquis in New York, which boasted a crème de la crème walk around grand tasting a superstar lineup of educational wine seminars; and a black tie award gala.
One of the main event highlights was the Four Chefs Food and Wine Tasting seminar, featuring Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck and Charlie Trotter; moderated by Wine Spectator’s executive editor, Thomas Matthews. This year the theme of the tasting was a study of gratins; each of the chefs made their own tasting version of gratin to pair with 2 selected wines, one of which was chosen by a fellow chef and the other by Matthews. The seminar began with a few remarks from Matthews introducing the chefs and discussing the format of the tasting; then followed by a few words from each of the chefs, while the Marriott wait staff rushed around the room to serve the food and pour the wines. After about ten minutes, the seminar officially began and I could not wait to dive in to the tasty treats in front me. Below are my notes from the event and the menu items from each of the chefs.
Menu:
Emeril’s dish: Bay Scallops with corn, chorizo, tomato in a manchego cheese fondue. This was a bold dish that had a nice spice component from the chorizo, but also with the perfect amount creaminess from the scallop, corn and cheese to balance it out.
Wine Pairings:
1. Charlie chose a 2007 Terlato Family Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley to pair with this dish for two reasons, first that he was indebted to the Terlato family and wanted to give them a shout out, and secondly that the oak from the Chardonnay would hold up to the creaminess of the scallop, while the lightness of the wine would not overpower the dish.
The majority of the audience, including a few of the chefs, did not think the wine was a good pair for the dish, as it was too light and lost itself behind the spice of the gratin.
2. Matthews chose a 2008 Avanthia Godello Valdeorras from Green Spain. It was rated 90 points by the Wine Spectator and retails for $30 a bottle. He explained that it had enough acid to hold up to the spice, and has citrus fruit, herbs and mineral notes that would be a good match for the scallop.
This seemed to be the overall favorite pair for the dish.
Mario’s dish: Porchetta with a Fennel Gratinato. Mario bought whole pork shoulders from Heritage Foods, a high quality meat that takes on a rich flavor development when cooked. For this dish, which he calls a Tuscan pork pie, he slow roasted the pork for several hours, shredded it and then mixed in béchamel sauce, fennel and spices and continued to cook. It was a hearty and satisfying dish for a cool fall afternoon!
Wine Parings:
1. Emeril chose the 2007 Gamba Zinfandel from the Moratto Old Vine Vineyard in Russian River Valley. He thought it was a big, bold, fruit forward wine that would complement the rich flavors of the dish.
Most of the chefs and audience agreed that this wine worked very well with the dish. Mario commented that if one were to serve a white wine with a pork dish in Tuscany, they would most likely be shot!
2. Matthews went the opposite and selected a 2007 Loimer Gruner Veltliner from Austria. It was a nice white wine with a good amount of acidity and minerality. He thought the acid would cut through the fat of the pork and the freshness of the wine would work with the fennel.
Although, it wasn’t a bad pair, as pork is a versatile meat and can be paired with a variety of white or red wines, the majority of the room thought Emeril’s Zin was a better match.
Charlie’s dish: 96-hour Red Wine Braised Jerked Goat with sous vide Artichokes, and Charred Eggplant Confit. This dish was daring and a big undertaking for a group of this size, but it was a magnificent creation and was the first time a chef served goat at the Wine Experience! Charlie created a jerk rub out of cumin, ginger, and habanero, which he let marinate before the braising process. Although artichokes can be a wild card, and tough to pair with wine, the overall dish was balanced and the flavors sang in harmony.
Wine Pairings:
1. Wolfgang decided on a 2007 Morlet Syrah Bennett Valley Bouquet Garni to pair with the goat. He thought the wine was elegant, with peppery notes and could be a great match with the jerk flavors.
2. Matthews chose the 2007 Descendientes de J. Palacios from Bierzo Spain. This wine is made from the Mencia grape, which typically takes on herbal and earthy notes with dry yet fruit forward flavors.
These wines both matched extremely well for different reasons, and tied for which was the better pair!
Wolfgang’s dish: Braised Wild Boar with Cinnamon, Almonds and Madeira wine. Wolfgang also decided to make a few small sides to go with his boar, a biscotti-like cookie wrapped with Serrano ham and a Roquefort and apricot tart with a toasted pecan. Each dish was unique with a sweet touch, which was a nice way to end the seminar!
Wine Pairings:
1. Mario selected a Charleston Sercial Madeira from the Rare Wine Company. This wine retails for $52 a bottle and is a dry Madeira with a good amount of acid, which held up nicely to the sweetness of each of the dishes.
The chefs all agreed the Madeira was their favorite with the dish!
2. Matthews chose a 2003 Fonseca Vintage Port, rated 96 points by the Wine Spectator and retails for $92. It is a full bodied, ruby red wine that coats the palate with jammy blackberries, passion fruit and notes of chocolate. Since he didn’t know what Wolfgang’s dish was going to be until the day before the tasting, he went out on a limb and selected this wine hoping it would work.
This port is truly a great wine, and a wonderful prelude to the tasting, but it was better on its own then with the food!
Aside from the general popularity of the seminar, the comical stories, and the typical chef banter, everyone seemed to agree that this was the best seminar they had done to date and that the gratins were a fabulous way to showcase a single dish to match with the wines!
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