Cakebread Cellars Wine Weekend

Another memorable wine weekend at Castle Hill as Bruce Cakebread, President and COO of Cakebread Cellars joined a collection of 45 guests Saturday evening November 7th for dinner. Bruce’s seminar was incredible; his passion for his craft was so evident. Without a doubt, the wines and the food were the stars of the show. Until next time… read on below about all the courses that were served and the wines that were paired. 

The evening began with a selection of hors d’oeuvres, including American Caviar with lemon-chive crème fraiche in a golden potato cone; Elysian Field’s Lamb Sausage with a chestnut-grit cake and blackberry jam; Hudson Valley Foie Gras Boudin with sweet potato bread and local apple-walnut compote; Vegetable Dumplings filled with a tasting of Castle Hill’s garden harvest and miso broth; and Simmons Farm Pork Tacos with an Ancho chile glaze, cheddar refried beans, and blue corn tortilla; to be enjoyed with the 2006 Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc., offering classic aromas of fresh pink grapefruit, mineral, and stone fruit and a crisp palate of gooseberry, melon and grapefruit.

Dinner began with a butter-poached Maine Lobster Tail with caramelized autumn squash, Sweet Berry Farm cider nage, and an apple chip, paired with the 2007 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay, displaying vibrant citrus blossom, ripe apple, sweet melon and white peach aromas, and succulent, ripe peach, yellow apple and lemon zest flavors.

The evening’s second course featured skillet-roasted Arctic Char with crispy skin, chanterelle mushroom-leek ragout, salsify, and Pinot Noir gastrique, complemented by the fresh, fragrant aromas of toasted blueberries and warm, ripe strawberries, with enticing baking spice scents and red-cherry and strawberry flavors of the 2006 Cakebread Cellars Pinot Noir.

A dish of Vermont maple-rosemary smoked Canadian Wild Boar Chop followed, served with hazelnut-barley risotto, lingonberry-vanilla jam and the 2004 Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Benchland Select, offering fragrant aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry and black plum fruit and rich black fruit, dark chocolate and briary spice flavors.

Dinner concluded with a Pradera Soufflé with dried cherry compote and cashew brittle, paired with the 2004 Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Dancing Bear Ranch, boasting intense aromas of Bing cherry, brambleberry and spicy dark plum fruit with wild cherry, ripe fig, spicy black fruit and dark chocolate flavors.