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.
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.
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.
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.
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!