Wine Tasting and Luncheon

at the University Club

This past Thursday I attended the University Club’s

Wine Tasting Luncheon.

IMU Executive Chef Damian Esposito worked

with Dennis Dunham,

a winemaker at Oliver Winery, to pair wines with a special menu.

We were informed that Chef Esposito had personally selected

the wines to complement the meal.

We were in for a treat.

The first wine presented was Vidal blanc sparkling.

Vidal blanc is a sparkling wine that is made from

grapes grown around B-town.

The taste is light and fruity with a touch of honey.

It is a specialty wine and only 300 cases are bottled each year.

This wine was paired with cherry tomatoes stuffed

with boursin cheese and

tarragon and Dijon chicken salad tartlets garnished with sliced grapes.

I was assured that the chicken salad tartlets were delicious.

I can tell you that the boursin stuffed cherry tomatoes

were wonderful.

The salad course arrived with its paired wine.

This time we received a glass of Reisling

and a lovely plate of smoked trout-stuffed ravioli with frisée

and Belgian endive and a lemon thyme vinaigrette.

The vinaigrette was light and refreshing

and the smoked trout filling was simply inspired.

The Reisling grape is grown elsewhere

as it requires a cool climate.

That is not what it would find in Southern Indiana.

This wine has a slightly spicy and citrusy flavor and fruity undertones.

After this course we asked if the chef

would part with his recipes.

Hopefully Chef Esposito will post the recipes

in the next University Club newsletter.

Then it was time for the entre.

The wine was Valdiguie, pronounced Val-dih-gee-ay.

This red wine does not age in oak barrels and is described as clean,

with the taste of cherries and rose.

I would compare it to a cabernet,

but brighter and not with as much of a bite.

The food pairing was a wild mushroom stuffed turkey breast roulade

and a truffled tomato demi glace

over sweet basil polenta with dried figs and sweet peppers

and broccolini.

The turkey was cooked perfectly and the flavors married perfectly.

This was a perfect match with the wine.

The final pairing of the meal was Moscato with dessert.
Oliver Winery's Moscato is slightly effervescent and
is bottled cold.
Moscato is light, fruity and sweet and perfect for
pairing with desserts.

The dessert for our meal was
a vanilla ginger custard over grilled pineapple bread
with a warm berry compote and an almond tuille.
Afterwards a self-serve coffee bar was available for
the diners.

This was a delicious lunch and we were able to try
some new wines and appreciate how they went with
different foods.

Many thanks to the University Club,
Chef Damian Esposito,
Dennis Dunham and Oliver Winery
for this lovely meal.