Cool sounding dinner at Jujube on April 9th

Despite being in Chapel Hill, Jujube is an awesome restaurant with unique and very good food. I spent New Years Eve with them and had a blast. They just sent out an email with this interesting sounding wine-inspired dinner for $70. Email with menu after the jump..

—-

Domaine Weinbach Wednesday April 9th 7pm

Among the first wines I was turned on to when I took the bold step into wine geekdom was an Alsatian Riesling. That wine, a 1988 Hugel, truly ranks among my major wine epiphanies. Mind you, it turns out that the particular wine itself was not even among the most highly regarded wines of the region (which is likely why I was able to afford it on my $8/hour line cook’s wages) but that exposure triggered an embarkation into my fascination with this very unique wine growing region.

Here’s a bit of a primer for those unfamiliar with the wines. Alsace is an area in the northeast of France that borders Germany and, as suggested by the names of cities and winemakers, is as much culturally German as French. This certainly applies to the grapes grown there as they have more in common with those found in Germany than in other parts of France. This is an area for amazing white wines; profound, rich, and potentially wonderful with food. I say potentially because sometimes they can just be so damned huge, and that tends to be an issue I have with one or two of the top houses.

This, however, is not the case with Domaine Weinbach. Certainly considered among the elite producers in the region, their wines do as good a job as any of pairing that singularity and power with a glorious refinement and harmonious balance. Where there’s a touch of residual sugar, there’s acid to set it off. Where there’s flamboyant fruit, like in Gewurtztraminer, there’s a nervy restraint to hold it together. Where there’s weighty richness, there’s elegance and levity. These are wines that a chef can love.

I’ve been trying to lock down a dinner with this house for some time and only now has the timing finally worked out well. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance. So, affable and knowledgeable Danny Haas from Vineyard Brands (the importer) will be joining us to take you through these beauties. They’re not inexpensive, mind you, but because I really want everyone to experience them, I’m taking about as lean a margin as I can on the wines so as not to make the dinner too pricy. So, my cost to you is $70 plus tax and tip which, if you look into it a bit will find is at least quite fair.

So, without further ado, the menu:

Scallion crepe and spiced goat cheese purse with pear coulis and beet frites
-Pinot Blanc Reserve 2006

Salad of avocado, mango, and local arugula with torn herbs and piquant dressing
- Gewurtztraminer Cuvee Personelle 2006

Brined and roasted striped bass with basil curry and sweet potato puree
- Riesling Cuvee Theo 2006

Natural veal palliard with daikon spatzle, crispy onions, and watercress salad
-Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2006

Crispy sweetbreads and seared foie gras with shiitake-scallion ragout
- Pinot Gris Cuvee Ste. Catherine 2003

Confections and Cheese

—-

You can make reservations on OpenTable.

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• Blue Period