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Last Saturday evening I attended the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne fundraiser event that had Bobby Flay as the guest honoree. The event featured more than 40 chefs who were on had to serve bites of their signature dishes. There was also a silent auction. The event was held out East under the big tents at the Wöllfer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack.

Wines were supplied by Wöllfer Estate, Champagne by Tattinger, beer from Belgium including Stella Artois, Leffe Blonde and Hoegaarden and cocktails by Tito’s vodka. Since it was a long drive back home I had to moderate the wine consumption and limited myself to glasses of Champagne and rosé

Tattinger Brut “La Francaise” NV (Champagne). My Champagne of the day.

2013 Wöllfer Estate Rosé (Long Island). Their “regular” rosé, Merlot based, light salmon pink in color with strawberry notes on the nose and fruit with moderate acids and was easy drinking.

2013 Wöllfer Estate Rosé “Grandioso” (Long Island). The base varietal Merlot was fermented in six-year old French oak barrels. Pale copper in color, earthier on the nose than the regular rose with notes of wildflowers and was tight and crisp.

Other wines from Wöllfer that were poured:

2011 Chardonnay

2012 Diosa Late Harvest Chardonnay

2011 Merlot

2011 Fatalis Fatum

2006 Grapes of Roth Merlot

Couldn’t drink a lot at the event but I could certainly eat plenty,  signature dishes that I sampled and the Chefs that created them included:

Lindsay Autry: Deviled Crab with Summer Vegetable Slaw, Melba Toast and Hot Sauce.

Steven Deveraux Greene: Watermelon Gazpacho with Peekytoe Crab, Jalepeno, Coriander and Yuzu.

Chris Jaeckle: Tuna Crudo with Kizami Wasabi, Olives and Basil.

Brian Loiacono: Lettuce-Cucumber Gazpacho with Poached Langoustines, Pink Peppercorns and Cilantro.

Chad Brauze: Apricot-Fossil Farms Quail Ballontine with Paprikash Vinaigrette.

Todd Mitgang: Seared Black Bass with Sun Gold Tomatoes, Wild Arugula, Salsa Verde and Crispy Artichoke Leaves.

David Santos: Charred Portuguese Octopus with Cured Tomatoes, Olive Petals and Almond Foam.

Alex Guarnaschelli: Homemade Riccota Crostini with Heirloom Tomatoes, Flying Pigs Farm Bacon and Ancho Chile Salt.

Jason Hall: Crispy Suckling Pig Pressé with Farofa and Stone Fruit Mostarda.

James Carpenter: House-Cured Gravlax with Black River Caviar and Aquaponic Greens.

Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth: Blue Crab Waldorf Salad, Sliced Green Apple Wrapped Pecans, Grapes, Celery, Lemon and Blue Crab with Buttermilk Yogurt.

Hugh Magnum: Smoked Bone-In Beef Ribs with Chimichurri and Picked Ramp Raita.

John Greeley: Cherry Smoked Fossil Farms Duck with Rocket, Sweet Corn, Pine Island Onion-Ash, Salt and Barrel-Aged Pepper Sauce.

Coby Farrow: Scallop Crudo with Preserved Lemon Custard.

Shane McBride: Smoked Leg of Fossil Farms Lamb Hogie with Pickled Sweet Corn.

Rufino Rengifo: Za’atar Grilled Lamb Chops with Tabbouleh and Greek Yogurt.

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A couple of weekends ago I attended two nice wine events. On Saturday I attended a rundraiser for Wheeling Forward, an organization that helps people with disabilities that was held at City Winery at 155 Varick Street and featured over a hundred wines donated for the event. Sundays event was the Grand Tasting which was part of a week long food and wine festival sponsored by Westchester Magazine with the wines provided for by Zacheys wine shop located in Scarsdale. The event was held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in White Plains and featured many local restaurants serving bites of food and much good juice. The problem was that I had a massive head cold and my palate was shot. I mean completely shot, I couldn’t smell anything, all aromas were closed down which meant that white wines tasted flat and red wines tasted like bitter cherries. Everything tasted the same. At both events I ended up drinking sparking wines because the bubbles at least made the juice interesting. At the Westchester event that included:

Gosset Brut Excellence NV

Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut NV

2006 Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque

2002 Dom Ruinart

Henroit Souverain Brut NV

Barons de Rothschild Brut NV

Chateau de L’Aulee Brut Intense NV

2013 Chateau Miraval Cotes de Provence Rosé

2010 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs

Roederer Estate Brut NV Brut Prestige NV

2011 Raventos I Blanc De Nit Cava Rosé

Ferrari Brut NV

Berlucchi Cuvee 61 Rosé NV

It was an interesting weekend in learning on how much the ability to pick up aromas affected how wine tastes.

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Saturday afternoon I attended a fundraiser sponsored by Chambers Street Wines and Louis Dressner importers for Partners in Health. It’s been an annual event for a while and the past few years has been held at City Hall Restaurant on 131 Duane Street. The event was open to the consumer and ran from 1-5 and over 100 wines were poured, mostly French with some Italian. I have to admit I had a head cold and congestion which made picking up the aromas from the wines difficult so most of them came across as closed on the nose.

Whites

I tried a few Muscadet from a couple of producers, I usually think of Muscadet as light and crisp, something to drink young with oysters. I tried a few with some bottle age to them and was impressed with the results. The wines gained a creaminess and complexity as they aged.

Domaine de la Pepiere                                                                                                                             2012 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie (Loire). Their basic wine, light yellow and easy to drink.

2012 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Les Gras Mouton” (Loire). Single vineyard, light yellow with tight fruit, tart with lemon notes on the finish.

2010 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Chateau-Thebaud Clos des Morines” (Loire). More body than the Mouton with good acidity.

2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “3” (Loire). Nice minerality with a mouth-watering finish.

Domaine Luneau-Papin,                                                                                                                2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Le L d’Or” (Loire). Light peaches on the fruit with nice acidity on the long finish.

2005 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie “Le L d’Or” (Loire). Great body followed by firm acidity with citrus and peaches on the finish.

Nusserhof 2010 Vino Bianco Blaterle. (Trentino Alto-Adige). An unusual wine, Blaterle is the grape varietal, yellow with some earth notes on the nose.

Maison Brulee Vin de France 2012 “Poussiere de Lune”. (Loire). Another unusual wine,  an orange wine made with Sauvignon Blanc and was pale red with moderate body.

Reds

Alain Coudet 2012 “Clos de la Roillette” Fleurie (Burgundy). Cru Beaujolais, dark purple with a nose of warm, cooked fruit and crushed black berries and was tight with bitter red licorice on the finish.

Georges Descombes 2012 Brouilly (Burgundy). Cru Beaujolais, dark purple with dried mushroom and forest floor on the nose with crushed red fruit and a nice grip.

Cascina Tavijin 2012 Grignolino D’Asti (Piedmont). Very light red in color with a closed nose, more fruit than the color would suggest with good balance with notes of dark flowers on the finish.

Monte dall” Ora 2009 Valpolicella Classico Ripasso “Sausto” (Veneto). Medium red with silky medium fruit with bitter cherry notes on the balanced finish.

Poderi Sanguineto 2011 Rosso di Montalcino (Tuscany). Medium red with dusty, silky fruit with tart cherry notes on the nice balance.

Domaine Bernard Baudry 2011 Chinon “Les Clos Guillot”. (Loire). Dark red in color with dusty fruit and silky tannin with a firm grip.

Domaine Bernard Baudry 2011 Chinon “Domaine” (Loire). Dark red with notes of slate and crushed rocks on the fruit with velvet tannin at the end.