LEX 530’s Spanish Wine Dinner Recap

Last Tuesday evening we held our second LEX 530 Wine & Dinner Club monthly dinner. This month dinner featured five courses of Spanish-themed dishes, selected and prepared by LEX 530 Executive Chef Chad Coryn. Each course was paired with five different Spanish wines. All of the wines were hand-selected for each course and they all paired very well.

Courses and Wine Pairings:
Here is a description of each course and the wine paired with it:

First Course: Asparagus, serrano ham, sunny-up quail egg & manchego. Paired with the 2017 Marques De Caceres Verdejo.

Second Course: Spring pea paella, mussels & smoked pimentón prawns. Paired with the 2016 Burgans Albariño.

Third Course: Pan-roasted cod, romesco, & catalan greens. Paired with the 2011 Torre De Barreda Amigos.

Fourth Course: Sherry-glazed pork belly, braised fabada beans in chorizo broth. Paired with the 2010 Torre De Barreda Pañofino.

Fifth Course: Spanish olive oil cake, lemon curd & marcona almond brittle. Paired with the Marques de Caceres Cava Brut.

Of the four main courses I particularly enjoyed the first and second courses. Course five, the dessert course, featured a Spanish olive oil cake which was quite tasty as well. Below I have attached Chef Chad’s video on how to prepare the first course featuring the serrano ham wrapped asparagus!

My Thoughts on the Wine:
I was pleased with how well the wines paired with the food. If I had to select which wines I thought stood out the most I would say the 2016 Burgans Albariño and the 2010 Torre De Barreda Pañofino were it.

Albariño (alba-reen-yo) wines are light-bodied white wines generally from Spain and Portugal. The typical Albariño has a high acidity level and features citrus flavors.

The 2016 Burgans Albariño was a bright refreshing greenish yellow color. The nose had fruity aromas while the wine had tastes of ripe apples, apricots and peaches on my palate. The finish was long and dry with balanced acidity. It paired very well with the seafood paella.

My second favorite wine of the evening was the 2010 Torre De Barreda Pañofino produced by our winemaker friend Juan Barreda. We have been fortunate to have had Juan here in Elkhart to do two wine tastings with us. Juan’s winery is located in the town of Corral de Almaguer in central Spain.

The 2010 Pañofino is 100% Tempranillo, the grape of Spain. The wine is cherry red in color with dashes of purple. The nose has hints of mature fruit and oak in equal portions. On the palate there are wonderful flavors of dark fruit, plums and cocoa. The finish is long and full-bodied with polished silky tannins.

Mrs. Tiedemann and I enjoyed the evening greatly as we got to see old friends and the opportunity to meet new ones. There are a number of people I would like to thank, including Jonathan Lutz and his management team from Uptown Kitchen for coming to this dinner. Uptown Kitchen is a wine club partner.

LEX 530 Wine & Dinner Club will offer a wine dinner at Uptown Kitchen in June, stay tuned for the details. Also on the thank you list: Chef Chad Coryn, LEX 530 Director Lou Ann Welsh and Lou Ann’s team of servers. They all do an amazing job and are one of the big reasons the wine dinners are so successful. Another thank you goes out to Melissa Hiner, my marketing director, and Courtney Catanzarite, my assistant and social media guru. The two of them work tirelessly to promote our events and provide all the menu cards, wine sheets, etc.

Our LEX 530 Wine & Dinner Club dinners are such a success due to the efforts of this team of hard working and passionate folks.

The dining room of LEX 530 just before the Spanish Wine Dinner in April 2019.

Next LEX 530 Wine Dinner
Our next wine club dinner is planned for Wednesday, May 29, 2019, and will have a Spring theme. I have decided to pair our Glenwood Cellars and Tiedemann wines with the various courses. Click here to look at the menu and pairings, and here to buy your tickets to this exciting event.

June LEX 530 Wine Dinner
We are changing locations for our June wine dinner to be with our wine club partner: Uptown Kitchen in Granger, Ind. The event will be held on Friday, June 21, 2019. The theme is Steak and Oysters. Information on this dinner will be forthcoming.

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Until next week,
Cheers

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