Colorado Fall Harvest Dinner at Delizios: recap

This past Monday, I helped moderate a wine dinner at Delizios Cafe and Wine Bar that featured Colorado wines and fresh Colorado ingredients. The owner of Delizios, Bob Mickus, is a home winemaker and wanted to pay homage to the hard working farmers (and yes grape growers are farmers) of the state. I worked with Bob to select a pair of Front Range wineries and a pair of western slope wineries to complement a specially prepared locally themed menu. The 13 diners who attended were enthusiastic and eager to taste Colorado.

The first course paired Boulder Creek Winery's 2010 Dry Rosé with assorted Colorado cheeses and fresh fruit. The wine paired beautifully with both the cheeses and the fruits. I especially enjoyed the Haystack Chile Jack (goat cheese), with roasted mild green chilies. This wine was the crowd favorite as even after all four
courses guests were still asking me about it.

Next up was the black sheep of the night. Both the mixed green salad with roasted Colorado corn and red peppers and the Jack Rabbit Hill 2008 M & N were good on their own, but the raspberry vinaigrette clashed with the unique blend of pinot noir and pinot meunier. A handful of guests enjoyed the wine, but most said that they weren't a fan of the pairing.

The main course of brandied peach pork chops was served with the Garfield Estates Vineyard and Winery 2009 Cabernet Franc. I was afraid that the wine might over power the dish, but the smooth and supple new release paired well and was a hit with all diners. While no official poll was taken, I'd say that the cab franc was the second favorite of the night just behind the rosé and closely followed by the last wine. After seeing how well this young wine showed, I can't wait to break into my 2005 Garfield cab franc soon!

Finally, we finished the evening with Infinite Monkey Theorem's Black Muscat along with peach cobbler topped with Di Crema gelato from Boulder Ice Cream. Though this was the only wine I did not taste of for some reason, the guests were impressed with it. A few diners that said they often did not enjoy sweet wines, found the IMT muscat to be balanced and complemented the cobbler perfectly. Overall, the night was a success and I think the guests left with a new appreciation for Colorado wines. I am looking forward to hosting more wine dinners at Delizios and even exploring wine regions other than Colorado. I hope to see you at one of these events in the future.

Colorado Fall Harvest Dinner at Delizios

So many restaurants proclaim to cater to locavores. But far too often local wines are nowhere to be found on the wine list. Even worse, is when restaurants create Colorado-themed dinners only to pair wines from California or France with the local fare. Here in Denver, we are starting to see a few establishments getting it right by pairing local wine with fresh local ingredients. Jacob Harkins, founder of Coloradowino.com, has put together a few Colorado Wine dinners at Sputino in the Highlands neighborhood of Denver. The bounty of winemaker dinners in Grand Junction and Palisade this past weekend was at an apex with the 20th annual Colorado Mountain Winefest drawing visitors from around the country. Other than a few of these events sporadically popping up around the state, local wines rarely get top billing at themed dinners. Next week, I am throwing my hat into the wine dinner ring by moderating the "Colorado Fall Harvest" night of Delizios' Regional Wine Dinner Series. I invite you to join me by indulging in some of Colorado's finest wines and tastiest cuisine Monday, September 26th at Delizios in historic downtown Littleton. The evening will include informal wine education and discussion of Colorado's wine industry.

Colorado Fall Harvest

Monday, September 26th
Monday,

6:30pm

Delizios Café and Wine Bar
2299 W Main St., Littleton



$45 pp (plus tax and gratuity)

Seating is limited, so please call to RSVP (720-897-6550)

The menu for the evening will consist of:

1st Course:
Boulder Creek Winery 2010 Dry Rose
Paired with assorted Colorado cheeses and fruits

2nd Course:
Jack Rabbit Hill 2008 M+N (Meunier & Pinot Noir)
Paired with a mixed greens salad garnished with roasted Colorado corn and red peppers

3rd Course:
Canyon Wind Cellars 2009 Cabernet Franc
Paired with brandied-peach pork chops accompanied by fresh asparagus and roasted rosemary
potatoes

4th Course:
Infinite Monkey Theorem Sparkling Black Muscat
Paired with peach cobbler topped with Di Crema gelato from Boulder Ice Cream