Recently my wife and I were fortunate to celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary and I was determined to mark the achievement in style. Though I am normally the head chef of the Booth household, I thought the uniqueness of the occasion merited calling in a real professional. Enter Chef Aviv Moshe who took over our kitchen to prepare what can only be called a feast which we shared with five of our most favourite people in the world.
Wine is my particular enthusiasm and plays a significant role in life’s celebrations, indeed for me, the act of breaking bread with fine wine is a celebration unto itself. The following paragraphs describe the wines I selected to pair with our Chef’s phenomenal culinary creations. Is not the matching of fine wines with the perfect dish a kind of marriage made in heaven?
Chef Aviv opened his account with a rosemary sourdough bread and a variety of spreads. To kick start the celebratory moment, I opened a 2008 Dom Perignon. It is he who is credited with inventing the Brut process in the seventeenth century, an achievement recognized to this day by his statue outside the winery. A few years back we were able to visit Dom Perignon. Unlike many Champagne houses, they do not allow access to the cellars, offering instead a tour of the Chapel where a model of what the cellars look like can be seen. For me, this wine is the champion wine of Champagne. It is beautifully balanced with an opulent structure and delicate notes. Dom Perignon is the apogee of celebratory wines: quite simply delicious, perfect for toasts as well as having the precise acidity for dips and hors d’oeuvres.
As our first course consisted of tiger shrimp in white wine garlic butter sauce, I selected a 2019 Chateau Climens Ahphodele. This white Bordeaux is one hundred percent Semillon. White Bordeaux wines are rare to begin with and are frequently blended with Sauvignon Blanc. I felt fortunate to discover this extremely rare wine that opens with an inviting nose, possesses a beautiful colour and delivers a delectable balance of soft citrus fruity opulence. It follows champagne well and has sufficient body to not get lost with the garlic butter and truly enhanced the dish.
Next up was a crab cake presented with avocado salsa and fennel slaw. I felt we could not go wrong with another Bordeaux wine and opted for a hundred percent Sauvignon Blanc of 2019 from Chateau La Louviere in Pessac-Leognan. (Bordeaux’s principal dry white wine region). This wine is a classic Sauvignon Blanc style with great acidity pairing wonderfully with crab cakes. Whilst I am a fan of the wines from Sancerre, when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc, I tip my hat to the classic white wines from Bordeaux, especially those from Pessac-Leognan.
Generously our Chef insisted on four appetizers. His third offering was a Mexican taco with house braised pulled beef on a warm corn tortilla accompanied by Pico de Gallo and tomato salsa. I always find wines from the Rhone to be great value. For this course I selected one of my favourites, the 2018 Chateau de Beaucastel, a spectacular Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. For the tacos I wanted a full bodied wine and this more than delivers a perfect match. From the Famille Perrin every vintage is good and it is perfect for cellaring. Deep ruby in colour, black cherry and blackberry notes, combine to furnish a glass of elegant complexity.
Our final appetizer was to be a Black Angus slider, Tokyo style, triple A Angus beef, baby jam, sriracha mayo and pickles. Tasting the mayo prior to serving, my thoughts turned to Oregon, and in particular, a 2019 Roserock Pinot Noir from Domaine Drouhin. Joseph Drouhin founded Drouhin in Burgundy in 1880 and Robert Drouhin established Domaine Drouhin in Oregon in 1987. The 2019 wine has a beautiful bouquet, followed by an extraordinary red and black cherry and raspberry complexity, resting on a well balanced base. The red cherry essence of this wine brought out the best in the slider. The match was a home run, or may even be a grand slam.
After a forty-five minute pause, Chef Aviv headed back into the kitchen to serve a delicate seared Halibut main course accompanied by broccoli, freekeh salad, lima puree, and a herbed green vinaigrette. Being a big fan of VQA, I wanted to bring in a wine from Ontario. Kelly Mason’s wines hit the spot for me, I selected a 2020 Mason, The Matriarch Pinot Noir. This single vineyard wild ferment wine is an awesome example of what a great winemaker can do with a great Ontario terroir. Delicate but complex, this Pinot Noir struck the perfect chord with the fish. Layered complexity, soft raspberry, followed by cherry notes and a perfect balance speaks to the essence of a wine grown a few miles away from our home. Bravo! This wine is an awesome example of terroir, VQA terroir, Niagara, Ontario terroir! I often serve Pinot Noir, especially delicate Pinot Noir with fish.
You cannot beat the old classics for dessert. Chef Aviv followed tradition serving an Apple Strudel, combining flaky pastry, caramelized apple, a hint of cinnamon, golden raisins and whipped cream. In constant communication with Chef, I favoured this dessert because I had in my cellar a treasured 2005 Chateau De Fargues Lur-Saluces from the Sauternes region. This property is next door to the more famous Chateau D’Yquem. After our visit to Sauternes and Chateau De Fargues, about five years ago, I was delighted to discover this wine behind locked doors in my local LCBO. Our fiftieth wedding anniversary was the fitting occasion to serve this “nectar-of-the-Gods” wine! A wine that stunned everyone with its incredible elegance and purity; a wine lover’s wine, a perfect match for the strudel. These dessert wines always pair best with apple or pear dishes; a result of their smooth and balanced elegant sweetness, bringing forward and matching the essence of the apple or pear. Whilst Chateau De Fargues remains as Sauterne’s second best wine and winery, it is pretty damn good.
Chef Aviv Moshe’s splendid meal, partnered with these extraordinary wines and the presence of some of our life-long friends in our home, made this an evening that we will cherish and remember forever.
We have a very personal connection to many of these wines as we have travelled through most of the regions where they are cultivated, and I explored Oregon with one of our guests. I am always pleased that my involvement in the wine business opens so many doors when travelling.
Note: Everyone had rides home or stayed over. Celebrate your significant life events and accomplishments with wine. Wine, especially fine wine, has a way of enhancing these moments. Sante!
All of these wines were or are available in Ontario.
