I have never seen a wine dinner menu and pairings like this. Almost too much

WINE TALK
21

And how does one know when that is, when other people drink it?

People not drinking wine is one of my biggest pet peeves. People have thousands of bottles of grand cru that they never drink. If it’s an investment and you’re planning to sell it, that’s a different story.

I’ve had 12 salon 4-5x in the past 18 months. At first it seemed impossibly tight but after decanting and some air it was spectacular. I’ve had similar experience with the 02 salon. You never know how wine will be if you don’t drink it.

22

People can instead spend their money on well-regarded, aged vintages on separate occasions rather than blasting themselves with 10+ wines in a single event, as others mentioned. I’d much rather attend wine fairs represented by the makers themselves if delving into a bunch of recent vintages is the goal, and even there people get uncontrollably drunk :rofl:

Perhaps I’m not getting what you’re trying to say but deciding not to partake in a massive wine feast is not the same thing as hoarding wine and not drinking.

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23

Why can’t they do both? It sounds like a fun event. I would be inclined to not do it just because I have all these wines in my cellar so it’s not like I’d be buying access but if some friends wanted to do it, why not? Massive wine feast sounds awesome.

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24

Sure, and I didn’t say that such events can’t be enjoyable. I’m just stating my opinion that a wine would be better served well aged in a reasonable amount. I can also freeze a bottle of '12 Salon into super slurpee for a party and I’m pretty certain I’ll have a great time, but I probably can’t say I did justice to that bottle.

25

12 is a great wine. Needs less air than the 02, but I’d still prefer a few hours.

26

I would have guessed a heftier price tag so this is a pretty good opportunity for people who have the dough and haven’t had a chance to try these before, though I couldn’t agree more with Mark’s point about dumping the Massetto. That said, the food menu is giving me indigestion just thinking about it.

27

We need feedback from someone who was there.
Looking at it on paper, the problem I see with the food is that if the portion sizes are commensurate with the amount of wine being poured, then indeed it’s a lot of food, some of it rather rich.

The number of courses per se, is not the issue.
Multicourse menus can go well past five plates but with “tasting portions”. And several courses will be quite light, almost an amuse. And perhaps just single wine (2 or 3 oz), or other libation, with each course.

Coupled with serving wines that are asleep, one wonders what they were thinking.

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28

I wonder if they have any vegan options… :slight_smile:

29

having legendary NYC wine personality, john slover serve you is worth half the price imo.

30

That’s an impressive wine list, but I would explode! Can people really put this much food down!? Luxury is having an excellent meal without being miserable the rest of the evening.

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31

Yeah, I can’t even finish a whole Porterhouse steak these days (assuming it is at least 1.25" thick, which IMHO is the minimum thickness it should be to get a nice sear while not overcooking it, I mean come on, who the hell will make 1/2" thick Porterhouse steak).

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As a comparison, here is the food that was served with the 10 decades of CA Cabs I posted earlier on. Portions were on the small size and not overly heavy. It was a good balance and pairing, and I certainly did not feel bloated, and to the extent I could see, all courses finished.

33

Here are a couple of menus I did way back. Unfortunately I can’t find the pairings for each course for the 82 dinner.

1982 First Growth Dinner (Bouley NYC )

Chef’s Seated Canapé

•

Seared New York State Foie Gras

with Black Mission Fig and Apple-Rosemary Purée

•

Organic Connecticut Farm-Raised Baby Pig

with a Cannoli of Sweet Corn Polenta, Glazed Baby Carrots,

Honshimeji Mushrooms, Petite Salade of Black Radish

and Cipollini-Date and Parsley Root Purées

(Organic milk-fed with a diet of organic apples and clean grass only)

•

Tea-Smoked Organic Breast of Long Island Duckling

with Truffle Honey-Vanilla Glaze and a Balinese Peppercorn Crust,

Port-Aged Balsamic Glazed Black Cherries, English Walnuts,

Haricot Vert, Chanterelle Mushrooms and Fava Bean Purée

•

Organic Colorado Rack of Lamb

with Housemade Goat Cheese-Parsley Gnocchi,

Wild Arugula, Fresh Sage

Zucchini-Mint and Langres Cheese Purées

•

Chef’s Selection of Fine Imported and Domestic Cheeses

•

Coconut Soup with Pineapple Granité

and Organic Yogurt Sorbet

•

Chocolate Frivolous

Toasted Hazelnut Dacquoise, Chocolate Brulée and Chocolate

Soufflé,Chocolate Parfait Rolled in Soybean Powder

and Pine Nut Praline Ice Cream

Screaming Eagle Dinner (Eleven Madison Park)

November 9, 2007

Hamachi

Marinated with Pumpkinseed Oil and Butternut Squash

1990 Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blanc ______

Mediterranean Loup de Mer

Seared with Satsuma Tangerine, Florence Fennel and Tarragon

1996 Niellon Batard Montrachet ______

Poached Nova Scotia Lobster

Leek Fondue with Santa Barbara Sea Urchin

2002 Faiveley Corton Charlemagne ______

Foie Gras

Sautéed with Fuji Apples and Spice Crumble

1959 Gilete Tete de Tete

Veal Sweetbreads

Seared with Celery and Burgundy Truffles

Screaming Eagle 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004

Black Angus Beef Tenderloin

Swiss Chard, Porcini Mushrooms and Sauce Bordelaise

Screaming Eagle 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004

Millbrook Farms Venison

Herb Roasted with Butternut Squash and Chestnuts

Screaming Eagle 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004

Selection of Farmstead Cheese

Vintage Port

Araguani Grand Cru Chocolate

Symphony with Caramel and Maldon Sea Salt

34

They don’t serve you a whole steak at these things…

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35

But tortellini and fetuccine?

Seems like two dinners here. Or for me these days, three. I used to be able to eat like that and not think too much about it, even going for seconds.

Ah, to have the digestive system of a 20 year old!

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36

You know, nobody can crap on other people’s wine/dinner menu quite like we can…

Are the Berserker police gonna head over there and set them straight?

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37

I used to love setting up and going to over the top wine dinners. Haven’t done one in a long time!

38

I would honestly suggest you look at different Instagram accounts.

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39

If we’re posting menus to compare to this one, here’s a couple…

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40

This isn’t how I would personally organize a wine dinner, but this generally seems fine? It’s 13 wines over many courses and many hours with (likely) relatively small pours. These are also probably wines that the people coming to the dinner don’t have, so the suggestions to focus on one or two bottles over dinner with simple food are a bit much. As are claims that people wouldn’t attend for free - if I liked the people, I’d go for free, sure. Is this the “optimal” way of enjoying wine? No, probably not. Is it fun to do it sometimes? Absolutely. Would I want to do it every week? Of course not. But, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. These are not mutually exclusive things.

I also don’t find most the wines so objectionable - 2019 Leflaives are quite good (one of the few producers that I think made better 2019s than 2020s), 2017 is a very good white vintage - I’ve had these wines, they will drink really well. While the 2012 Salon is too young, it’s not exactly a baby - it’s already 11 years old. If given enough air, it’ll be fine. The Monfortinos have some age and the Bordeaux are prime. Like Mark, I would skip the Masseto and the DRC, but I appreciate this is meant to be a “baller dinner”, rather than a dinner with great wine. That’s a slightly different intent. As with the food - things are bigger in Texas :wink:

That said, I find the argument that one can’t possibly know how wines drink without opening them to be hopelessly naive - one does not need to stick a fork in a socket every time to check if they will get shocked. It’s mostly an excuse to open really expensive wine “in the name of science” rather than the real reason - showing off. I don’t care if people want to show off - that’s totally fine (I’ve been to dinners where people put ice cubes in their Salon - it’s their wine and their money, God bless). But I also don’t have to take these claims seriously.

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