Beast + {Trimbach} Bottle: An Alsace Wine Dinner

 

What happens when you pair Denver Chef Paul C. Reilly with Anne Trimbach of the Alsatian wine label? Five stunning courses and three happy girls.

Last week, I met Pasta Vino’s , Kendra Anderson, and soon-to-be-New Yorker, , at my favorite neighborhood eatery: Beast + Bottle. The occasion? Some very important French wine, hand delivered by Mlle. Anne Trimbach, daughter of the Trimbach family winemaker himself.

The Trimbach family has owned a winery in Alsace since 1626, for 13 generations. They know the terroir of this region intimately.

alsace-winter

With the snow starting to fall outside, you could almost imagine we were tucking into a warm Alsatian bistro in the heart of winter.

We slipped into a cozy booth and started exchanging stories. For Kendra, Alsatian food and wine pairings are what officially inspired her to drop culinary school and go all into sommelier-ing. I remembered the street choucroute from my life in Paris and some delicious Alsatian wines I’d tasted while abroad.

And then the 2011 pinot blanc arrived. A “glug glug glug” wine, as Anne described it. And boy did you want to glug glug glug it. Very easy drinking, a real crowd pleaser. It paired extraordinarily well with a lamb heart tartare, served cutely on savory profiteroles.

lambhearttartare

The next course was Suzan’s favorite, very much a variation on that classic choucroute garnie I adored in Paris. In lieu of cabbage, Chef Paul plated fermented brussel sprouts topped with a house-made sausage and pork-belly. The pairing here is a true French Riesling – not too sweet, very dry, classic French. It went very well with the sausage and pork belly, though my tongue missed the cabbage/ sauerkraut pairing when it came to the brussels.

Trimbach-Dinner-Beast-Bottle

The third course wine was the true star of the evening: the 2004 Trimbach pinot gris reserve personnelle ‘osterberg’ grand cru. This wine is very rich and ripe, with a long finish – almost like a sweeter, late harvest wine. It pleasantly contrasted the rich and salty skate wing while complimenting the sweet poached pair.

The Roasted Duck was my favorite dish – a play on canard à l’orange, paired with a 2011 Gewurtztraminer. The duck, true to Beast + Bottle’s reputation, was exceptionally cooked and flavorful.

Trimbach-Wine

Dessert featured an amaretto-tasting semifredo that went undeniably well with Trimbach’s Liqueur de Framboise. I am a huge fan of dessert wines and this one just loves chocolate. Definitely a great choice for a valentines day sweet fest.

If you’re interested in the wines of Alsace, please check out our simple Alsace wine guide!

For more events at Beast + Bottle, make sure to snag a reservation at the February 20th “Beatles” wine dinner ($68.69 with wine pairings, call 303.623.3223 for reservations) and be sure to follow their facebook page!