27591 Sun Jan 25 15:00:32 -0800 2004 9 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 114053 occasion: 50th birthday, dinner for 4....ok, expert wine people, what would be your wine recs for this menu, or should we go with the sommalier's suggestions? www.chezpanisse.com/downmenu.html Sun Jan 25 15:00:32 -0800 2004 0 Susan 1 114057 ....and even with the rich bass, too. BUT keep in mind that artichokes will affect your perception of the taste of the wine. Maybe suggest Syrah/Shiraz to the sommelier, and have him/her opine on one. Happy Birthday! All the best people were born this week. (Mine's the 31st,see...) Sun Jan 25 19:34:31 -0800 2004 114053 0 peg 2 114085 Truthfully, I find this dinner to be VERY wine-challenging, with alot of contradictions. Honestly, it doesn't look like a sommelier was involved in the dinner construction. Anyway, here's some ideas: 1) For the Leeks/Beets/ truffle vinagrette... for the leeks-beets-vinegar you are screaming for Sauvignon Blanc. However, the truffle presents a bit of a challenge. Nothing else sounds better to me than S.B., however, so I'd still stick with it. ALSO because the SB might carry over to some of the other dishes. 2) For Bass-Fennel-Blood orange... For the bass and fennel you've got several options with chardonnay, a Kabinett, possibly viognier. When you introduce the citrusy dimension I think that narrowly favors riesling. So my first reaction would be a kabinett, second a chardonnay...you also have the S.B. on hand from the appetizer and that might work... I'm not as convinced as the prior poster that S.B. and the tart orange is a good match, still preferring the somewhat sweeter riesling, but with a kabinett for this course and an S.B. for the appetizer, you would have both options available for the Striped bass. 3) Rack lamb w/ braised escarole & artichoke gratin. First of all, I'm assuming that the escarole & artichoke are "on the side" and not somehow "topping" the rack of lamb, which is a real mess. So, assuming a straight rack of lamb I'd go with a cabernet here. Also the cabernet is not a complete clash with the artichoke and, depending if there's substantial cheese in the gratin a cab might match quite well if there's cheddar and/or parmesan involved. The braised escarole is another Sauvignon Blanc oriented item AS IS THE ARTICHOKE so keep your S.B. glass available from the appetizer on. 4) Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle and Hazelnut Ice Cream... WELL, there's good news here because this is a slam-dunk: go with a beautiful Liqeur Muscat to match awesomely with both the dark chocolate and the hazelnut. There's no great chocolate or hazelnut match on their Dessert list so THATS the bottle I'd definitely bring!! Bottom line: I'd bring a 2001 German Riesling Kabinett and a half bottle of Australian Liqeur Muscat. You can find a Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet on their list. Bon Appetit! I'll put in a small rant here that way too often "great" restaurants produce very wine-challenged dishes. The reason this occurs is lack of involvement of the sommelier in the menu planning stage. I recently reviewed a similar (or worse) mess at Jean-Georges in Manhattan Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/206931#1102591 Mon Jan 26 01:06:46 -0800 2004 114057 0 Chicago Mike 2 114086 Truthfully, I find this dinner to be VERY wine-challenging, with alot of contradictions. Honestly, it doesn't look like a sommelier was involved in the dinner construction. Anyway, here's some ideas: 1) For the Leeks/Beets/ truffle vinagrette... for the leeks-beets-vinegar you are screaming for Sauvignon Blanc. However, the truffle presents a bit of a challenge. Nothing else sounds better to me than S.B., however, so I'd still stick with it. ALSO because the SB might carry over to some of the other dishes. 2) For Bass-Fennel-Blood orange... For the bass and fennel you've got several options with chardonnay, a Kabinett, possibly viognier. When you introduce the citrusy dimension I think that narrowly favors riesling. So my first reaction would be a kabinett, second a chardonnay...you also have the S.B. on hand from the appetizer and that might work... I'm not as convinced as the prior poster that S.B. and the tart orange is a good match, still preferring the somewhat sweeter riesling, but with a kabinett for this course and an S.B. for the appetizer, you would have both options available for the Striped bass. 3) Rack lamb w/ braised escarole & artichoke gratin. First of all, I'm assuming that the escarole & artichoke are "on the side" and not somehow "topping" the rack of lamb, which is a real mess. So, assuming a straight rack of lamb I'd go with a cabernet here. Also the cabernet is not a complete clash with the artichoke and, depending if there's substantial cheese in the gratin a cab might match quite well if there's cheddar and/or parmesan involved. The braised escarole is another Sauvignon Blanc oriented item AS IS THE ARTICHOKE so keep your S.B. glass available from the appetizer on. 4) Bittersweet Chocolate Souffle and Hazelnut Ice Cream... WELL, there's good news here because this is a slam-dunk: go with a beautiful Liqeur Muscat to match awesomely with both the dark chocolate and the hazelnut. There's no great chocolate or hazelnut match on their Dessert list so THATS the bottle I'd definitely bring!! Bottom line: I'd bring a 2001 German Riesling Kabinett and a half bottle of Australian Liqeur Muscat. You can find a Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet on their list. Bon Appetit! I'll put in a small rant here that way too often "great" restaurants produce very wine-challenged dishes. The reason this occurs is lack of involvement of the sommelier in the menu planning stage. I recently reviewed a similar (or worse) mess at Jean-Georges in Manhattan Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/206931#1102591 Mon Jan 26 01:06:46 -0800 2004 114057 0 Chicago Mike 1 114062 Obviously a 50 year old wine won't do it because I believe they refused to make wine in 1954 it was such a dismal year. I actually found a 1954 Port once but it was also dismal. Now, on to the solution. It really depends on what you have access to. There has always been a saying that in a great year order La Tour and in a bad year order La Tour. The older Joseph Phelps Insignia wines are incredible. Beringer Resrve and early releases of Opus One. I am only stressing the older wines because of the event. My friend and I recently had dinner at Plump Jack and opened a 1966 Haut Brion (all right, we're pretentious} that was fabulous. Good luck and Happy Birthday to your friend. Sun Jan 25 20:21:45 -0800 2004 114053 0 Hugh Lipton 2 114295 I think you mean Latour, as in Chateau Latour. Tue Jan 27 21:14:11 -0800 2004 114062 0 Melanie Wong 1 114079 Well, if your dining companions really have some wine expertise, they will no doubt be more impressed by (and pleased with) your ability to suss out the real gems on the list, rather than your willingness to dump a bundle of cash on a trophy. A birthday calls for something festive, and Champagne fits the ticket. CP thankfully has a pretty cool array of interesting bubbly. Honestly any of them would do just fine, and you can argue the merits of a richer, more vinuous style versus something with more precision. I would start with a bottle of the Billecart Rose - downright ethereal stuff, and just the thing to get your juices flowing for the first course, which looks like a tough match for any wine. You might have some success with an Alsatian Riesling or TPG, or maybe the Vouvray demi-sec, but I would stick with Champagne just for the fun of it. The fish course with fennel and blood orange, calls for a wine that can mirror the the sweet anise, and tart orange - Sancerre is your best friend here - the Lucien Crochet is very good, and a bargain on this list. If you want something unusual, the Joly Savenierres could be very interesting (i'd ask the wine steward if he or she has personal experience with it to be sure). Also the Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa is super! The lamb course gives you loads of options, and the list is devoid of any tired old Bordeaux to distract you from the really great spread of interesting, unusual, and sleeper reds. If I had the Champagne and the Sancerre to start, I would probably stick with the French theme, but shift gears from young and racy, to something more confident and mature. The 95 Tempier Bandol La Miguoa sounds good if you're oaky with something on the funky/earthy end of the spectrum. But I would be tempted by the '95 Chave Hermitage ( a bit pricy, but one of the world's great producers) Truthfully, this is a great list with good options from Italy, France, California, and other regions. You'd be hard pressed to find a dud. Maybe you should let everyone pick a wine? Sun Jan 25 23:44:15 -0800 2004 114053 0 Sam B 2 114089 One follow-up: The poster's suggestion of trying the Sea Bass-fennel-blood orange with the Savenierres is an interesting adventure. I find chenin blanc to be GREAT on it's own but often a difficult marriage with food. Whenever you get a potential match, it's always an adventure. I'm thinking that the chenin blanc is not as "vegetal" as the Sauvignon blanc and might do better with the blood orange. Still I'd lean to a riesling here... Mon Jan 26 02:12:11 -0800 2004 114079 0 Chicago Mike 3 114296 The 97 Joly "Clos de la Bergerie" is from a very ripe year and a producer who intentionally oxidizes his wines. It's a very unique expression of Chenin Blanc. I liked your suggestion of Viognier with the fish course. Bear in mind that the wine list on-line hasn't been updated since October, and many selections will be different. I hope that there is a Condrieu/Viognier available. I have a fond memory of a enjoying Georges Vernay's Condrieu with sea bass topped with fennel and oranges on his visit to the States. I also think the Gruner Veltliner, being from a ripe and near tropical year, would be nice with it too. I was surprised that there weren't some fortified wines that would be better companions to a chocolate dessert. But again, the list is from October, and perhaps it has shifted to a more wintry phase by now. Also, I'll mention that on my last visit to CP, a Tokay Aszu not usually on the list was poured by the glass as a companion to the kumquat dessert. So, I would expect the wine buyers to have acquired something to go with the dessert. Hopefully, Banyuls. (G) Tue Jan 27 21:27:51 -0800 2004 114089 0 Melanie Wong 2 114293 Nice choices, and I'll echo your conclusion that several wines will go well with this meal. The wines are carefully selected to be food-friendly, and the dishes at Chez Panisse are so well-balanced, you can drink them with just about anything. Certainly some choices are going to be better than others, but my best advice in this kind of situation is to choose a wine that you like to drink and you'll be happy. Tue Jan 27 21:12:30 -0800 2004 114079 0 Melanie Wong