Stonecrest Fess Parker Wine Dinner-Thurs, Feb. 25

Posted by Bottle Report on Feb 25th, 2010 in Event Coverage, Featured Articles | 0 comments

The miners used to say "Eureka" when they found gold so David Pund had the guest start the evening with a "Eureka" toast

Event: It was California ~ Liquid Gold night as Stonecrest held a dinner featuring California Cuisine paired with Fess Parker wines. Elizabeth Cooper, Southeast Brand Manager for Fess Parker Winery, was the evening’s wine educator. This was the 17th wine dinner at Stonecrest and had a record 35 guests (with 10 on a waiting list). Mark Herbert, owner of Stonecrest, said that with the success of the wine dinners they were going to limit them to fewer than 30 guests to keep them intimate and possibly having them twice a month. The next dinner, March 30, already has people signed up so if you want to attend better make reservations soon!

Wine assistance was provided by Roger Strohl, of Vineyard Wine Market and Missy, of Atlanta Wholesale Wine.

Where: Stonecrest Southern Steakhouse
601 North Belair Square, Evans, GA

When: Thursday, Feb 25th, 6:30 pm

Cost: $140 per couple; $75 for singles.

David Pund started the evening talking about the inspiration for the evening-”California cuisine,” which is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in “fusion” or integrating disparate cooking styles and ingredients. Those ingredients being freshly prepared local ingredients. The food is typically prepared with particularly strong attention to presentation. The term California cuisine arose as a result of culinary movements in the last few decades that included influential chefs and food proprietors such as Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck. He then asked everyone to raise their glasses for a toast, saying “Eureka” the term miners yelled when they found gold.

Elizabeth Cooper described Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard as not being a single winery but a family of wines produced by members of the Parker family sometimes under several labels. Although Fess Parker is “alive and kicking” he doesn’t participate in the day to day operations of the winery. His son Eli (President and director of Vineyard Operations) and daughter Ashley (executive vice president) along with Ashley’s husband Tim Snider (general manager and vice president of marketing and sales) run the winery’s operations. Eli, who said he had an “epiphany” about what he wanted to do, started his own label Epiphany back in 2003 as he learned the wine business. He became president in 1996 of the family winery. Tonight’s guests were luck enough to have some of his Epiphany Syrah Starlane 2003.

As stated earlier, this is a “family” of wines as the last wine of the evening was from Fortress Vineyards owned by Tim Snider.

Cooper added that the winery is also coming into a new age as younger winemakers start to create wines that are less manipulated, more natural and in smaller batches. “A much more seamless operation.” The addition of Blair Fox as head winemaker is evidence of that.

Course One
Corn Fritters with Arugula & Warm Tomato Salad
Paired with Toad Hollow Risque
This “vin vivant” (lively wine) was the only non-Fess Parker wine for the evening. Traditionally the Stonecrest wine dinners start with a sparkler, which is not in the Parker lineup. It is a crisp and fruity sparkling wine with low alcohol (6%) and the taste of fresh green apples and pears. Softly effervescent with just enough sweetness. It is produced by Methode Ancestrale. This wine also comes with a traditional cork with a wired stopper on the neck to seal the bottle after opening.
Winery: Toad Hollow

Course Two
Fennel-Crusted Ahi Tuna with Lemon Aioli over Couscous
Paired with Parker Station Pinot Noir 2008. This wine is one of the top selling wines, an “entry level” Pinot Noir, a little lighter than some of their Pinot Noirs, less tannins. It is 86% percent Pinot Noir and 14% Gamay.

Course Three
Crab Cakes with Spicy Avocado Sauce
Paired with Fess Parker Ashley Chardonnay 2006. This is their flagship Chardonnay. The grapes come from a single vineyard named after Parker’s daughter Ashley. This vineyard is a slope style and is only 11 miles from the ocean making for cool growing conditions. No longer owned by the Parker’s they buy the grapes from the new owner. (This pairing with the crabcake was excellent. A beautiful wine with a nice lush finish).

Frontier Red Lot 91

Course Four
Pomegranate-Grilled Lamb Chops & California Bay Tarts
Paired with Fess Parker Frontier Red 2009. Frontier Red was their first red back from the beginning in 1989. Lot 91 stands for the 1st bottling of the 2009 vintage. The label, featuring Fess Parker as Daniel Boone, was originally part of a marketing package for Disney. Parker used the label to attract customers hoping that they would realize it wasn’t a gimmick and that it was good wine. Lot 91 celebrates the winery’s 20th year. It is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Mouvedre, Cinsault and Carignane.

Course Five
Rosemary Beef Tenderloin with Balsamic Peppers & Green Bean Bundle
Paired with Epiphany Syrah Starlane 2003. This is one of the first wines Eli Parker made after having an epiphany about what he was going to do. They found some cases in Atlanta and were able to share them with the evening’s guests. An excellent wine. This 100% Syrah spent 26 months in American and French Oak.

Course Six
Coconut-Piloncillo Ice Cream with Coconut Tortilla Chips & Fruit Salsa
Paired with Fortress Finale ~ Late Harvest Semilion 2007. This is the flagship wine of Fortress Vineyards, owned by Tim Snider. At 2,300 ft., this Lake County vineyard is one of the highest in California. The higher elevation allows for making some great late harvest wines. The grapes are kept on the vine past the usual harvest date. They start to get “noble rot” that helps draw out the water and leaving a heavier concentration of juice.

Mark Herbert, owner of Stonecrest treated the guests to a “Methuselah” (a 6-liter bottle) of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from his personal collection. He had been babying it for many years, saving it for a special occasion. With the largest group to ever attend a Stonecrest Wine Dinner he decided to share. It was a extremely nice way to end the evening.