Roasted veal tenderloin, cheese potato gratin, rapini, natural jus paired with Guado Al Tasso, Bolgheri superior, 2005.
WESTERN BUREAU:
"Wine is like a woman who changes with the occasion, changes with her mood," said Cuba-born sommelier Jorge Miranda, as he unveiled the many moods of wine produced from thousands of hectares of the Antinori vineyards in Italy.
The Antinori family of winemakers has been at it for the last 600 years and the result - their elegant and stylish wines - was evident with each course at the White Witch Restaurant in Rose Hall, Montego Bay last Friday night.
While Miranda showed off his knowledge of wines, he was matched by the Witch's food and beverage director, Jorge Delin and his culinary team who delivered an appetising warm octopus salad, garbed in green bean, hearts of palm, confit tomatoes and orange tarragon dressing.
With this meal, Miranda paired Caribbean Producers Jamaica's (CPJ) distributed Bramito de Cervo white wine. Made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes and enriched by the process of alcoholic fermentation in oak barrels, the short ageing in wood gives this wine its straw-yellow colour and a good rounded flavour. "It brought out the flavour in the octopus," said Miranda.
With course finished, food lovers who came for the first in a series of wine dinners planned by White Witch and CPJ, had their taste buds tuned to the arrival of a succulent white balsamic glazed smoked duck breast, garnished with potato gnocchi, tomato, basil, parmesan sauce and crisp leeks.
Perfect match
Warm octopus salad, green bean, hearts of palms, confit tomatoes and orange tarragon dressing paired with Bramito de Cervo at the Antinori Wine and Dine at White Witch in Montego Bay on Friday night. - Photos by Janet Silvera
For this mouth-watering dish, the experts selected Peppoli Chianti Classic made from Sangiovese grapes, with a small addition of Merlot and Syrah. A perfect match, because this full bodied wine works well with fleshy meat. When pairing wine, it is important to think about the texture of the meat.
The third course consisted of seared bronzini (white fish), accompanied by wild mushroom sauté, cherry tomato and truffle oil, paired with one of the most important Antinori wines, the Santa Christina, which has been around since 1946. This must have been an extremely challenging task for the experts, owing to the fact the textures were so close. Not many people will match white fleshed fish with red wine, but this was an excellent choice.
The fourth course - a very tasty veal tenderloin, a little overcooked, was paired with the prestigious flagship wine Guado Al Tasso, which fully expressed its structure, elegance and complexity. Made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah grapes and aged for about 14 months in new French oak barrels, this wine is then matured in the bottle for a further 10 months.
To top this evening of food excellence, a honey lavender Pannacotta and lemon gelato dessert was used as a signal to a future dinners of great wine and food at the White Witch.
Janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com.
Honey lavender pannacotta, lemon gelato, pistachio biscotti paired with Muffato Della Sala, 2006.
Identified with the regions of Tuscany and Umbria in Italy, the Antinori wines showed true character at Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited (CPJ) Wine and Dine at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall White Witch restaurant in Montego Bay last Friday night.
Left: Seared bronzini (white fish), wild mushroom sauté, thyme rosemary cherry tomato, truffle oil, paired with Santa Christina, Toscana, 2007 wine. Right: White balsamic glazed smoked duck breast, potato gnocchi with tomato basil and parmesan sauce paired with Pepploi Chianti Classica 2005.