The weather was sunny and warm, but not hot, as we all gathered for a tasting and enjoyed some nice Washington state cheese. Kramer has a small vineyard near Yamhill/Gaston, with lovely views of the coast range.
After everyone had arrived, we sat down at long tables, nicely set with fresh summer flowers.Let the games begin!
The appetizer was lightly blackened wild Pacific salmon on a bed of microgreens with an orange-pepper gastrique. It was paired with Kramer's 2009 Brut. Delish!
Kramer is one of very few Oregon winemakers making champagne-style wines.
Next came a chilled cream of asparagus soup with dungeness crab and creme fraiche. This paired very nicely with their 2010 Pinot Blanc. We were pleasantly surprised, since we're not big "white" fans. It was nice and crisp.
Our salad course consisted of heirloom tomatoes, golden roasted beets, and bocconcini on heritage greens with an apple cider vinaigrette. This was paired with Kramer's 2011 Rose of Pinot Noir, which had strong strawberry notes and was an absolute pleasure.
They had to let it sit for longer than usual to get the beautiful color you see at right.
Next came the main entree, medallions of horseradish crusted beef tenderloin on a crispy chive mashed yukon gold potato cake with caramelized sweet onions.Heaven!
The entree had a dual pairing: the 2009 Rebecca's Reserve pinot noir and a 2008 Merlot from Walla Walla, Washington. The pinot was nice, especially with the veggies, but the merlot held its own much better with the beef.
Dessert was a fantastic strawberry tiramisu. Kramer also roasts their own "wine country coffee", a nice medium roast with no bitterness.
A very nice evening with some great winemakers and their fans!
It was one of the best Winemaker dinners I've been to at Kramer's. I'm glad you enjoyed it as well.
ReplyDeleteAlan Wilkerson