Kelly

This wine was extremely easy to drink, light and fruity.  I actually liked the one I had during the event a little better - shame I don’t know which one it was - but this was very enjoyable.  Not very complex, yet a good example of a Pinot Noir.  For around $20, it is affordable enough I’d recommend trying it yourself if you like Pinots.  If you like heavier reds, this is not the wine for you.

Winery: La Crema

Year: 2005

Location: Sonoma Coast

Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir

Barrels: 100% French, 29% new barrels, medium, medium+ and heavy toast levels

Price: $22

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This Chardonnay had a crispness to it, as well as some tang - very unlike the more buttery/oak-intense chardonnays which seem to be more common.  I thoroughly enjoyed the green apple flavor and the smoothness of the wine.

The Cakebread Chardonnay’s aren’t an everyday drinking white wine at a price around $40, but for a special occasion white I highly recommend it.

I’m also quite proud that we said the above comments before reading the wine spectator review which also mentioned ‘clean and refreshing’, ‘zesty’ and ‘green apple’ - maybe we are getting good at this!

Winery: Cakebread

Varietal: Chardonnay

Year: 2006

Price: ~$40

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

We started our night at the bar at South City Kitchen in Vinings.  We knew the event was supplying appetizers, but not knowing what that meant we didn’t want to go hungry - and why not make a full evening of it.  I enjoyed a delicious champagne, but unfortunately the wine menu isn’t online so I can’t tell you what it was - I liked it so much though I had two glasses.  I really enjoy starting a night with champagne instead of ending with champagne, and it was meant to be as you will read later in this post.

We sampled some delicious appetizers - my favorite being the Farmstead Gouda Fritters - wow did those melt in my mouth.   And we decided to throw a dessert in at the end and really enjoyed the double chocolate bread pudding.  I enjoy South City Kitchen and their wine selection for a nice dinner out.

After our dessert we headed over to the gallery.  The night was filled with looking at art, drinking wine and talking to other couples and it was very nice.  The silent auction didn’t really interest us although than one piece of art by Joline Pol, but we weren’t really willing to go high enough.  There were a couple of things in the live auction that interested us, and this is the one thing about the night that really … was unfortunate.  The guy on the mic is the owner of Melting Pot, having taken it on from his dad - and we started bidding on one of the items (a magnum bottle of Revana signed by Heidi Barrett) and while our first couple of bids are taken, someone else is outbidding us.  Who apparently is friends with the guy on the mic - and so he says to them - I’ll throw in this bottle of such and such if you just give me $x right now.  Um, excuse me?  Is that how an auction is supposed to go?  They never even looked at us again - I was somewhat… upset.  However, I guess it was karma that instead of paying lots of money for something mainly because it was for charity - I had bought a $10 glass of champagne that came with a raffle ticket and I won!  Jewelry!  And I’m very excited to go pick it out - a wonderful Atlanta designed called Mickey Lynn.

All in all, we had a great time and I recommend the event for next year.  We’ll probably go again, just with more realistic expectations of the live auction.

Oh and while I don’t know which wine it was, we were drinking a La Crema Pinot Noir that was wonderful - we have some in our cellar as well so I’ll open one up soon to compare.

This weekend we are headed to see the Duttons and will try really hard to take notes on what we drink, so we can post here.

Have a great weekend,
Kelly

PS On Amelia’s blog, I did a post about what would I do with 12 hours in Atlanta, a question asked of his readers by The Amateur Gourmet - check it out!

Second Annual Paint the Town Event

September 19 and 20, 2008
Vinings Gallery
4686 South Atlanta Road
Smyrna, Georgia 30080     Map

The Melting Pot Restaurants invite you to the 2nd Annual “Paint the Town” charity event at Vinings Gallery to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on September 19 and 20. Join us for two evenings artistically paired with fine wines, savory foods and amazing art.

We’ll be going on Saturday to see one of our favorite artists….

Saturday, September 20, 2008  from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to own an original masterpiece painted live by one of America’s best-loved artists! Named one of the “25 Artists You Should Know” by U.S. Art, Thomas Arvid has become an art world phenomenon with his iconic portrayals of the wine experience. As the highlight of the live auction, Arvid will create an original composition during the event which will be auctioned at evening’s end. With a four-year waiting list for original works and a price tag of well over six figures for original oils, consider this an exclusive opportunity to own a piece of history from Atlanta’s own Thomas Arvid.

To be sure the evening is truly unforgettable, we will sample delectable hors d’oeuvres and unique, fine wines from the private cellar of The Melting Pot owner and sommelier, Mark Gunn. The night is sure to enchant connoisseurs and epicureans alike with rare, wine-influenced auction items such as a private dinner with Arvid and a special opportunity to win a trip to the “Wine Country” - Napa Valley, California.

The following week we are headed to Charlotte to see the Duttons!  We’ve missed them - wine drinking isn’t the same without them.  I mean, that means we have to finish the bottle by ourselves! (Okay maybe that isn’t so bad).

And we are thinking we are going to this:

Charlotte Shout 2008

September 26 & 27, 2008
This one-of-a-kind extravaganza showcases celebrity chefs, interactive cooking demonstrations and competitions, food sampling from some of the region’s finest restaurants, high-energy entertainment, a dazzling array of beer, wine and spirit sampling, ice sculpting, and much, much more to an audience of over 25,000 people in 2007.

So if you are around, maybe you should join us!  We’ll be sure to post follow ups to both posts.

As the weather gets cooler, we’ll also start posting more wine reviews.  During summer we do enjoy wine, particular white, but we also find we drink more beer & margaritas.  We also haven’t been breaking out of the mold very often, going with ones we’ve already reviewed.  We’ll work on that!

Kelly

For this special its a fixed menu, but I was very pleased with the range of options.  I choose to start with a summer tomato soup and grilled cheese appetizer.  Those that know me know I’m not a huge tomato soup fan, but I had trouble resisting the grilled cheese - well the soup was amazing and I would definitely order it again.  The grilled cheese was a fun touch - just a small triangle to eat with the soup and the cheese choice (maybe gruyere?  or gouda?) was perfect - mild with a little tang to compliment the tomatoes.  I highly recommend it.  For a second course I went with salmon wrapped in grape leaves served on wheat berry couscous - wow was that a good choice.  The grape leaves were very flavorful and gave an unexpected twist to the salmon and it all was topped with a wonderful mustard-based sauce.  For dessert it should be no surprise I went with the chocolate cake option (served with Ginger ice cream I believe) - it was good though not exceptional, but a nice way to end the meal.  All in all I was very impressed with the meal and will definitely go back sometime with the hubby.

Restaurant week still has a few nights left - be sure to look it up!

Kelly

Note - I was going to write a seperate post to review the wine I had - a delicious Camenere from Chile - but their wine menu online isn’t the one we had last night, and I don’t remember any other details.  Wine Spectator did rate Repast as one of the best wine lists in Atlanta, so be sure to check it out.

Crusty French bread - sliced on the diagonal

1-2 Yellow Summer Squash - sliced

1 Zucchini - sliced

1 Red Bell Pepper - sliced

1/4 cup Vidalia onion - sliced

1-2 TBLS. garlic-infused Olive Oil

Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Parmesan Cheese

Put olive oil, salt, pepper and all vegetables into a bowl and toss until coated, Roast in 425 oven for 15-20 minutes or until edges begin to brown.  Let vegetables cool before dicing.  Toast French bread, top each slice of bread with roasted vegetable mixture and sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese before serving. Enjoy with crisp white wine, such as Lucas and Lewellen 2006 Chardonnay.

Winery: Domaine de Ballard

Vintage: 2006

Varietal: Colombard Sauvignon

Price: $10

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Vinyard: Cline Cellars

Region: Oakley California

Price: $8.49-$11.99

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Winery: Whitehaven

Varietal: Pinot Noir

Region: Marlborough, New Zealand

Price: ~$24

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cheers!

Kelly