Wine Bloggers — Part II

From Chile to Argentina. The wine distributor Winebow sponsored a brunch of Argentinian wines and food on the first day of the conference. The wine and food pairings — accompanied by tango dancers and tango music — brought back good memories of our 2011 trip to Buenos Aires and Mendoza. The menu:

• Pomegranate lime ceviche with shrimp, garnished with cayenne and sugar on the rim of the cup
• Scallops seared on big blocks of sea salt, black bean hummus
• Corn and cheese empanadas with spinach aioli
• Beef empanadas with raisin balsamic, Kalamata olives, and red pepper puree
• Pork belly braised with cumin and ancho chile, cherry barbecue sauce, polenta
• Butternut risotto with cinnamon beets and goat cheese
• Cherry-smoked duck breast on a rye cracker with micro greens and kumquat jam
• Stuffed fig with brie and cilantro
• Flat iron steak mainated in chimichurri with chipotle sweet potatoes and cilantro

Scallops with black bean hummus

Empanadas were a big hit with diners

The excellent food was paired with wines from Alma Negra, Bodegas Nieto Senetiner, Bodega Catena Zapata and Catena Alta, and Bodega Renacer — some old favorites and some wines new to us. 

Bloggers then began the hard work of talking about wine and blogging. Exhausting. So when it was time for dinner, we were ready.

People got on random buses to visit nearby wineries. We were lucky to get on the bus to Phelps Creek Vineyards near Hood River in the Columbia Gorge. Phelps Creek hosted the dinner with winemakers and wines from Viento Wines, The Pines Vineyard, Cathedral Ridge Winery, and Naked Winery. Mike was especially excited for the chance to taste The Pines Old Vine Zinfandel, which is made from the grapes of vines planted more than 100 years ago. History in a glass!

Some of the evening’s excellent wines

The beautiful Phelps Creek vineyard

Again, we enjoyed excellent wine and food pairings:

• Appetizers: dungeness crab and ricotta salata tortilla española with nasturtium pesto; corn mousse with smoked salmon; and beet and pink peppercorn salad
• Lobster mushroom carpaccio with lovage and sauteed chanterelles with treviso and pickled currants
• Sturgeon and zucchini salads
• Lamb loin with cherry chutney, pototato gougère
• Braised beef short rib with fresh pocha beans and heirloom pepper carrot sauce
• Goat cheeseake with peach licorice coulis

Mike and Lonnie Wright from The Pines