Grapes are Women

Two weeks ago (OK, so I’m a little behind on blogging, y’all…) I received an e-mail at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday that I almost deleted, because I honestly thought it was ‘spam.’*

*As I’ve never actually eaten Spam, I’m not sure why I thought I’d recognize it now.^
^Sorry. Not funny. Moving on.

Um…I don’t know what that means. But….yes?

Turns out, Jette, who I had met very recently at the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival Media Launch suddenly had a spot open up at the Parsley Family Winemaker’s Dinner for that evening at urban, in the Domain.Five Courses? Five paired “healthy pours” of wine? A chance to sit and speak with the winemakers themselves while eating and drinking and enjoying general conviviality*? For free?
*word of the day…use it three times today and I’ll give you a gold star

Forget my post-work workout. I’m going to dinner!

After finding a tutoring sub, rushing back home (a long drive y’all) to grab my camera*, changing out of “teacher wear,” and rushing back up north to urban, I immediately relaxed as I was greeted in the lobby by both a duo of jazzy musicians in the bar area…

*Clearly it has become impossible for me to eat anywhere without bringing that beauty along.…and a glimpse into the private dining room in which we would be, well, dining.

(And, judging by the number of wine glasses laid out–and the fact that it was called a Winemaker’s Dinner*—imbibing.)

*I’m very astute, you know.

Side note: I was sort of obsessed with this little room’s decor. The cookbooks and wine bottles lining the shelves, the long wooden table around which everyone fit comfortably, but not so large that anyone felt excluded from large group conversation…if I ever have a home and can afford it, I imagine I’d like a dining room something like this.
While waiting to be seated, I was brought a glass of bubbly. In case you are wondering, bringing me a glass of delicious Prosecco is exactly the way to make me happy. [I was now pretty much guaranteed to love everything. ]
The place settings promised much more joy to come…
…and you KNOW the miniature clipboards with the menu on it were immediately met with squeals* of adoration.
*Mine. Only mine.
[Before I get to the food, I have to give props to Alicia Polk, who organizes these events. No only did she line up a delicious menu and group of diners, she immediately set a warm tone to the evening by having us introduce ourselves and reveal our "passion." What a great icebreaker and an immediate bonding activity of sorts; it totally broke down any barriers, and the ten or so of us that were there were able to have a fabulously relaxed and enjoyable evening because of it!]
Forgive me as I focus much more on the dinner than the wine part of the evening. [Y'all know where my heart lies.] Having been to urban before, I knew the meal would be great…but I had no idea that everything would be (as I so eloquently kept saying) “reeeeeeallllllllllyyy goooooood” as it was! Chefs Bryce Murphree and Mizael Saucedo created the pairing menu. Without further ado, let us begin!

Y’all know I’m not super into cheese. Y’all know I’m not super into bread. However, I am super into soup…and I managed to somehow eat most of it without the use of a spoon. Forks are amazing things. [Also amazing? Oh, I don't know...the duck confit hidden inside that I may or may not have picked out just because I didn't want any of it to be lost.]

San Miguel snapper on red beet risotto, topped with beets, shaved fennel, and pomegranate seeds

Not only was this the most beautiful dish of the evening, it was also the most delectable (in my opinion). I regretted later that I was “pacing myself” and therefore did NOT lick my plate clean. Poor choice, Sarah. Poor choice.
As this was a wine dinner, where they claim “the wine comes first” [I'm sorry, no matter how charming the winemakers are---and Mr. Parsley, the elder, you were incredibly charming--food always comes first to me.] I should probably mention that the fish was paired with their Sparrow Hawk Chardonnay. I don’t normally like chardonnay…but I loved that one.

Wine Pairing: Sparrow Hawk Russian River Pinot Noir ’09This was a play on chicken ‘n waffles…

“chicken fried” pork with caramelized pear and roasted apple waffles

Yes, you really could taste the sweetness of the apples and pears in the waffles…and the cherry notes in the wine were accentuated by the whole dish. [I'm not just making stuff up this time...I really could taste it!]My stomach doesn’t let me get too excited about anything fried…but my tastebuds were positively freaking out about the syrup: reduced Riesling and Chardonnay mixed with pure maple syrup. Oh. My. Goll. Y’all. PLEASE try that at home!

Third Course: Lamb & Cheek

lamb chops stuffed with braised veal cheek with a mint demi-glace on parsnip puree

It was like a beautiful, beckoning heart.

“Eat me…please…”

OK.

Moment I knew I was in love with the waitstaff? “Would you like to take the second chop home?”Wine Pairing: Sparrow Hawk Napa Cabernet Sauvignon ’07

It was about this time that I learned from the growing-ever-more-lively group that “The more you drink, the more you know!”

I was getting pretty wise at this point.

Intermezzo: Cucumber Spring Roll

Not gonna lie…this was perhaps my second favorite thing I ate (besides the beet risotto). So fresh and clean and light…and I could have eaten twelve more of them.

Yeah. I saw a poached egg and it was pretty much over at that point.

Over for the egg, I mean. As in…the yolk runneth over…. or its existence on this planet outside of my stomach was over…

Wine Pairing: Silver Stag Napa Cab ’05

Fifth Course: “Blue’s a Drunk”

poached pear stuffed with bleu cheese, pecans ,and herbs on a bed of galette “diamonds”

It was poached to look like the skin had been put back on…which confused ALL of us because many people kept saying, “How did they get the cheese in there?!?!?”

Perhaps the amount of wine we drank can account for all of that.
Or this?
All I know is having the opportunity to eat such delicious food, with the man sitting beside you who started the vineyard that produced the lush, rich wine you are drinking, and being able to talk about why wine is such a joy to produce (it is meant to be savored…and shared) and to learn from him that grapes are women, and must be treated as such–delicately?–well, it was an experience I’ll never forget.

Plus, now I have a vintner’s autograph. Thanks Harry!