The scene: Robert Mondavi Winery, Oakville, California. The winery offered, for the first time, a four hour dinner experience to embrace Robert Mondavi’s belief that wine is best enjoyed with food. This experience requires a detailed description. There were 10 other people who had the opportunity to enjoy this amazing, intimate, adventure with me.
Our adventure began on the back patio of the winery, next to the garden. We started with a glass of Fume Blanc, a crisp, tart, and refreshing wine for a gorgeous, sunny, 78 degree afternoon in Oakville. We were greeted by our guide, Peter. More about Peter later. Head Chef Jeff Mosher joined us on the patio, and described what we would be making for dinner. He described the garden he had planted, and the different herbs and vegetables in it. Then it was time for some work. People snipped basil and picked beans. I had the personal pleasure of cutting eight beautiful little purple eggplants for us to use. The garden also featured other glorious items like tomatoes, rosemary, watermelon, peppers and fruit trees.
Once we were done collecting our ingredients, it was off to the kitchen. Every guest was given a black Robert Mondavi apron, which I wore the rest of the day. Chef Jeff doled out a few tasks, such as washing the ingredients and doing prep work. I eagerly volunteered for the task of mincing garlic and dicing shallots, because I wanted a knife lesson from an expert chef. And I got one! Chef Jeff showed me how to properly cut the shallot to avoid eye irritation (I’m a big crier when I cut shallots and onions). While my knife skills were not as quick as his, I made it all the way through my shallots without crying! And all of my prep work looked like his. I was very appreciative, and thrilled! Chef Jeff showed us how to prepare stuffed tomatoes, how to get the right consistency in a béarnaise (you want your base to have ribbons, where it doesn’t come back together quickly, before adding butter), and he let us taste test some of the items. While he worked, he answered all sorts of questions about his personal experience, how he chooses menus, and how to make your food compliment your wine (if your wine tastes flat, the secret is to add a little lemon or salt to your food).
Eventually we had to leave the kitchen so that the real kitchen staff could finish the preparations. While dinner was being finished, our wonderful guide Peter took us on a private tour of the winery. By this point the winery was closed to the public. We went into the vineyards and tasted the different varietals of grape that would later become exquisite Robert Mondavi wines. The roses in the vineyards were in full bloom, and smelled lovely. From the vineyards we then went into the wine making facility, to see the big barrels that were being prepared for this fall’s harvest. Two stories tall! We visited the cellar, to appreciate Mrs. Mondavi’s commitment to keeping everything aesthetically pleasing. She has the center panel of all the oak barrels painted red, so that if some wine spills out, the stains won’t be noticeable. During the tour Peter showed the amazing depth of his knowledge. He gave us the history of the winery, the science of wine making, and he answered the glut of questions that we had. Nothing stumped him!
Finally we made our way to our table in the rose garden.
The meal: We sat down at our gorgeous dinner table, with beautiful flower centerpieces, in the rose garden. We started with a Chardonnay, to compliment the hors d’vours. The Chef had made a few small bites to start out our experience. First came a smoked salmon on a vegetable slaw with dill mayonnaise. I’m not a huge lover of smoked salmon, but I enjoyed this small bite. The vegetables were crisp, and it brought out the notes in the wine. We had a small bite of the Chef’s take on the BLT. Mind-blowingly thick crispy bacon, thicker than I’d ever had before, paired with a bit of fried green tomato, avocado, and even a little bit of cherry tomato. Delicious. As a special treat, we also had an amuse bouche of melon gazpacho, served in an adorable little espresso cup with a tiny spoon. I loved the plating. The gazpacho was crisp, sweet, and made me look forward to what was coming next.
The second wine was poured. It was the 2008 Fume Blanc Reserve. Another light and refreshing wine, but with deeper tones than the first Fume Blanc we’d had. And then the food arrived. Seared wild salmon served over a caponata with garden basil, eggplant (I picked those!), and tomatoes. I’ll be honest. This salmon was absolutely the best salmon I have ever had, and it may have been the single greatest dish I have ever had. It was that good. Chef Jeff had used some white pepper and salt. It was seared in grape seed oil so that the salmon developed a delicious, almost decadent, crust. The caponata was great, too. The eggplant has been rolled in Wondra (a super fine flour), and lightly fried in grape seed oil, so it maintained its crisp texture rather than getting soggy. The caponata was full of big flavors, because everything was so fresh. Chef Jeff scored huge with this dish, and it brought the wine to life, too. My taste buds have never been so happy!
Our plates were cleared, and the third wine was poured. This wine was a real treat. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. The most expensive bottle of wine I’ve ever had (aside from the corked Opus One I tried **shakes fist!**). I sipped it while waiting for the next round of food, and it had a deep rich flavor. I could see the difference between this wine and the cheap $15 bottles I often buy. There was no bitter aftertaste. It was smooth, and the taste that lingered after I’d taken a sip was warm, pleasant, and comforting. This was a very good wine. And it was made better by the next round of food. Pan Roasted Niman Ranch Ribeye, served over a potato puree with mushrooms and summer beans, and a garden tomato a la Provencale in a béarnaise sauce (stuffed with my minced garlic and diced shallots!). Makes your mouth water, right? Starting backwards, I loved the tomato. It had the rich taste of something that had taken a very short trip from the vine to the kitchen to my plate. I love a fresh, ripe, tomato. And the béarnaise sauce complimented it nicely, with notes of fresh herbs. The beans were crisp, and eaten in combination with the mushrooms and potato puree made a lovely pairing with the meat. The ribeye! The ribeye probably got less love from me than it should have, because it was following that absolutely unforgettable salmon. But the ribeye had crispy, flavorful edges, and was cooked to perfection. It was tender and juicy in the middle. This course, above the others, really captured Robert Mondavi’s dream. I appreciated the wine even more because of the food. I savored a sip of wine after every bite, and was sad to see when both my wine (okay, my third glass of the amazing wine) and my food were gone.
The final pour of the night was a 2009 Moscato d’Oro. It was paired with a peach and blackberry crostada, whipped crème fraiche, and a blackberry sauce. I wish I could have watched the pastry chef at work, because the crostada was perfect. It had a delicate and moist crust. The pairing of fruits made a dessert with some edge. Sometimes fruit based desserts are sickeningly sweet, and then paired with the dessert wine, it just overwhelms my sugar sensors. But this dessert had a bite to it. And the crème fraiche was a fantastic touch. It, too, was both sweet and tart with hints of vanilla floating through it. I had never thought of using whipped crème fraiche, but this dessert has inspired me to move away from plain old whipped cream or ice cream, and strike out in new directions. I thought this dessert really paired nicely with the wine. Chef Jeff had carefully picked a dessert that wouldn’t compete with the sweetness of the dessert wine. Instead the sweet flavors of the peach in the crostada worked with the flavors of the wine, making both taste better.
The service: Our main server, Ken, was just wonderful. All of the waitstaff were efficient and pleasant. Ken went out of his way to make sure we had everything we needed. He poured the wine frequently and generously, was friendly, and made an effort to treat each of us as individuals. First class service.
The price: We paid $150 per person, and I’m going to tell you that this program is WAY WAY WAY underpriced. I think a more appropriate price would have been $250 or $300. The amount of wine and the quality of the food, alone, easily justified paying the price we paid. But to include private access to the winery, the ambiance, and the uniqueness of this experience, they should definitely be charging more.
The highlights: Honestly, everything about this experience was amazing. We also got to keep our aprons, and we received an autobiography of Mr. Mondavi’s life, as well as a small cookbook from Chef Jeff Mosher.
Final thoughts: This was a unique and memorable experience, and I am so very grateful to all the people at Robert Mondavi winery whose contributions resulted in such an amazing adventure. This has given me a new and profound appreciation for the power of pairing a good wine with a delicious meal.
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