Grgich Hills at Sea Goose

Last night we spent the evening in the company of some friends enjoying Grgich Hills wines at Sea Goose Restaurant in Westerly, Rhode Island. We first heard of this event from James Morrison at The Wine Store in Westerly. It's been 30 years since we had a bottle of Grgich, so this was a great excuse for an evening out. In our winemaking journey, we've come to learn that it was Mike Grgich who made the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won at the Paris Tasting. The movie Bottle Shock is a somewhat fictionalized version of the Paris Tasting and the real story is recorded by George Taber in his book Judgement of Paris. There was a representative from Grgich Hills, Bill McPharlin, who provided a lot of background information so that we could enjoy the wine paired with food made by Chef Andrew. The event began at 6 p.m. with a reception featuring Grgich Hills Fume Blanc 2011 and Ninigret Cup oysters, a herb and gruyere gougeres and olives. The meal began with a fried oyster stew paired with Grgich Hills 2010 Chardonnay. This was a perfect dish with two fried oysters, a bite of lobster and an herb buttermilk biscuit. Bill mentioned that Grgich Hills Chardonnay does not undergo malolactic fermentation, which is the process that takes malic acid and converts it to lactic acid. This is probably why the Chardonnay had a very nice level of acidity that worked so well with the oyster stew. For the main course, Chef Andrew made a rosemary lamb jus, ratatouille and garlic roast potatoes. This was paired with the 2009 Grgich Hills Zinfandel.

The final offering of the evening was a luscious berry tart paired with a 2009 Grgich Hills Violetta. More information is provided on the back label of the Violetta. The Violetta is a late harvest wine made from botrysized grapes grown at their estate vineyards located in the cool area of Napa Valley. The vineyard is being farmed biodynamically and it is Demeter certified. The back label also has information regarding the sugar level at harvest, 36 ^oBrix, alcohol level 14.1%, and level of residual sugar 11.9 g/100 ml. Yum!
Ginger, from Sea Goose, who organized the event mentioned that the Violetta is a blend of Sauvignon blanc, Riesling and Gewürztraminer. It was a fun and delicious way to pass a Wednesday evening. Sunny days are coming an the vineyard is calling us!