| Northwest Wine Fan Attends A Celebration of Champagne! |
| Talk to the Cellarmasters: Tim & Carolyn Sinniger northwestwinefan@msn.com |
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| The night had finally arrived! We had long talked about centering an evening completely around Champagne. So, with great friends, esteemed chefs, a newly certified Sommelier, the best of ingredients to work with and Champagnes from the 80s, 90s and beyond we set out to enjoy... Le Grande Etape Champagne! |
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| Champagne Sabrage! This is something I have always heard about, but until this night had never witnessed. Expecting Jon to gather his saber from the car and slice that bottle open I was shocked when he told us that he was going to sabrage the bottle with the base of a wine glass! Warming the seams of the bottle he took the base of the wine stem and wow! Glass intact, bottle open, and it was great Bollinger. After dessert we repaired to the patio to enjoy cigars with Gosset Marc de Champagne and 20 year old Roger Groult Calvados. A perfect end to a perfect evening! An incredible experience. A big thank you to everyone, especially Lance! |
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| Chef's Courses: Lance Steffen: Seared Tiger Paw Diver Scallops with Fried Caper Brown Butter. Sage and Bacon Roasted Pheasant with Celeriac and Potato Puree, Black Truffle Butter and Sauteed Kale. Grilled Honey and Balsamic Marinated Quail with Israeli Couscous, Giant Morel Mushrooms, Sauteed Radicchio and Arugula Salad. Cheese Course (the infamous "Lance" cheese course). Ryan Mulligan: Dungeness Crab and Lobster Claw Cakes. Grilled Wagyu Flat Iron Steak with Roasted Baby Fingerling Potatoes and Ginger Marmalade Caramelized Parsnips. Randy Steffen: Wild King Salmon Tartare. Fanny Bay Oysters with Mignonette Sauce. John Hardy: Sauteed Veal Sweetbreads with Chardonnay Poached Grapes and Rhubarb Compote and Fresh Blinis. Seared Fresh Sonoma Foie Gras with Kumquat, Apple, Tomato Marmalade. Raspberry, Strawberry and Blueberry Pavlova. |
| Up To The Challenge! It was exciting to watch world class dishes being prepared to pair with the Champagnes served, and the chefs were more than up to to the task! John Hardy started our evening by preparing a wonderful summer sparkling cocktail as we figured out the course and Champagne pairings. Even with two kitchens to work from it was still a challenge to prepare all of the dishes and reset plating for each course. Everyone chipped in to help and everything went flawlessly. This evening's dinner and camraderie could not have more enjoyable. Le Grande Etape Champagne was hosted by Lance Steffen Guests: Amber Burton and John Hardy from Blacksmith, Kevin Gilman and Ryan Mulligan from Tetherow, John Hansen from Tart, Randy Steffen, and Tim Sinniger from Northwest Wine Fan |
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| The Champagnes! What a wonderful time we had discussing the Champagnes and how they paired with the food courses. Every one showed well, with no dead or corked bottles. Though all were great, we did have a few favorites... the 1990 Piper Heidsieck Rare Cuvee Reservee, 1998 Boizel Brut, 1996 Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin La Grande Dame and the Krug Grand Cuvee. Of course the Gosett Marc de Champagne brandy was the smoothest I have ever tasted. |
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