My wife and I both are fond of Pinot Noir wines from the Santa Rita appellation near Lompoc California. When we learned that Chez Melange was going to host a Santa Rita based winemaker dinner, we decided to attend and celebrate Valentine’s Day a bit early.
While we arrived, there were quite a few people already seated in the restaurant. Winemaker Ken Brown went table to table to introduce himself to everyone and it appeared that many in attendance already knew him.
Feb 9 was also Fat Tuesday and the front half of the restaurant, Bouzy, was in full gear with the festivities. The back half of the building was more relaxed as the attendees were preparing for a more conservative winemaker dinner.
The Ken Brown ‘Vogelzang’, Sauvignon Blanc, 2013 was the first wine served. It was paired with a seared scallop surrounded by a mint walnut pesto with puréed peas. The Sauvignon Blanc was light and very crisp with hints of peach. The scallop was perfectly cooked and the pea puree had pieces of bacon.
The next pour was the Ken Brown Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, 2014. Ken gave the background on this wine and remarked that it wasn’t that long ago when pink wines weren’t fashionable to drink. This delightful offering was crisp and had hints of strawberry. The hot smoked salmon served with it was moist and worked well with the persimmon relish.
Two different Pinot Noir wines were paired for our next serving: Ken Brown Santa Barbara 2013 and a Rita’s Crown, Santa Rita Hills, 2013. The Santa Barbara 2013 vintage was blend from several different vineyards. It was full bodied and was slightly acidic in nature. Because of this, you can pair this wine with a wide range of food anywhere from seafood to beef.
Conversely, Rita’s Crown is exclusively from the Santa Rita hills region. This wine had hints of pomegranate and chocolate. My wife really enjoyed this wine. Duck Breast with cherry sauce, butternut squash and fried mushrooms accompanied these wines. I thought the duck with the cherry sauce was outstanding and paired nicely with the Rita’s Crown vintage.
The final wine served that evening was their ‘A Cuvee’ Syrah, 2013. This was paired with a Lamb Rack Chop with black and blueberry sauce and cheese tortellini. The Syrah was a well balanced wine with hints of fresh plums. The flavor of the black and blueberry sauce elevated the lamb chop quite well and was a great match with the wine.
For dessert, we were served a Tuxedo Cake with Homemade Peanut Butter Ice Cream. This cake was light and fluffy and the choice of peanut butter ice cream really enhanced the dessert.
With the except of the Vin Gris, all of the wines served were made available at a heavily discounted price. My wife surprised me by purchasing three bottles.
Both Ken and Michael Franks (Chez Melange owner) made great hosts that evening. The entire experience lived up to our expectations for Valentine’s Day.
- 157 W Hwy 246, Buellton, CA 93427; (805) 688-9400
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kenbrownwines
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pinotnoirkb
- 1611 S Catalina Ave. Redondo Beach, CA 90277; (310) 540-1222
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChezMelange
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chezmelange
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