LEX 530 German Wine Dinner

One of our goals in developing the LEX 530 Metropolitan Event Center was to be able to host our own events and support other events or organizations we care about. Events such as our local Women in Business group (WIB), an organization Mrs. Tiedemann is passionate about and The Elkhart Art League. We are also hosting our own corporate wine dinners for friends and corporate clients; we are helping other companies host wine dinners for their own clients and we have started the LEX 530 Wine and Dinner Club.

The LEX 530 Wine and Dinner Club was formed for several reasons: First, to bring people together so they might meet and create new relationships and build long-term friendships. Second, to taste new and different wines, build wine knowledge and palate, and of course enjoy good wine and food paired together and served in a comfortable environment. Once per month we hold a wine dinner that has a particular theme. This month’s theme was German which you can read about below. Our August 20^th dinner will have a Summer theme. Our October dinner will be “Octoberfest “with plenty of authentic German food and lots of beer and wine. For this event we are teaming up with Iechyd Da Brewing Company in Elkhart who will provide all the beer. The event will be on October 15, 2019.

This past Wednesday, July 24, we held our fourth monthly wine club dinner, and everyone claimed it to be a great success. Guests thought it was the most relaxed and best dinner, so far. We certainly appreciate all of our member, and their guests, support.

The 2016 Hooked Riesling was served with the first course of the evening.

We had 50 people in attendance for our German themed four-course dinner. For this dinner we switched to four courses rather than our normal five. We had difficulty selecting five German wines that we liked and that paired well with our food selections. Executive Chef Chad Coryn and I just didn’t want to serve a wine we weren’t satisfied with. We will return to our standard 5-course menu at our next event.

The Dinner
Chef Chad did another exceptional job preparing and executing the evening’s menu.

First Course: Smoked whitefish chowder, baby fennel and Espelette pepper.

The wine paired with our first course was the 2016 Hooked Riesling. The wine comes from the Saar (“Za”) sub-region and Mosel (“Moselle”) wine regions of Germany. The wine was a pale yellow in color. It had lots of strong citrus on the nose with hints of ripe apples and pears. On the palate the wine had a salty lime taste and was slightly dry. On the finish the wine had hints of sweetness that balanced a zesty acidity with a mild stone, minerality and fruit finish. The wine had a 90/100 point rating from Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Second Course: Rabbit sausage, sauerkraut, smoked bacon and wine-mustard sauce. People raved about this course…some even saying it was the best of the evening.

Rabbit sausage, sauerkraut, smoked bacon and wine-mustard sauce was the second course.

The wine paired with this course was the 2016 Becker Estate, Schweigen/Pfalz, Pinot Blanc. This is a 100% Pinot Blanc that was also light pale yellow in color. The nose on this wine was similar to a Chardonnay as Pinot Blanc is said to be Chardonnay’s understudy. There were hints of light fruit and lime. The wine was crisp, medium-bodied with hints of sunny pear and kiwi on the palate with a balanced grapefruit finish of a good long length. It paired well with the mustard sauce. The wine was rated at 91/100 points by Wine Enthusiast magazine.

The third course was beef tenderloin medallions, German-fried fingerling potatoes, broccolini and cambozola cream.

Third Course: Beef tenderloin medallions, German-fried fingerling potatoes, broccolini and cambozola cream.

The wine paired with this course was also a white wine. Some commented, “How can you pair a white wine with red meat?” It paired well because of the broccolini and cambozola butter topping on the beef tenderloin. It had a similar taste to cheese with white wine.

The wine was the 2016 Domäne Wachau (“Va-chow”) Grüner Vetliner from Austria. On the nose there were ample amounts of lemon, grapefruit and stone fruit. The wine is a medium-bodied wine with hints of green fruit and fresh pepper which is its signature style with hints of kiwi and green apple. The finish had some acidity and was of a good length.

Fourth Course: Black Forest mousse, wild Morello cherries, chantilly cream and cocoa nibs.

The wine paired with the dessert course was the 2008 Tiedemann Dessert Wine. The wine had aromas of black cherries, strawberries, black currants and leather. On the palate there were showings of vanilla, cigar and spice from the oak barrels the wine was aged in for 10 years. The wine was full-bodied with a 19.5% alcohol level. The finish offered a nice long subtle and silky smoothness with velvety vanilla spiciness. It was an excellent pairing with the dessert.

For information on how to join the “LEX 530 Wine and Dinner club visit here.”

I look forward to seeing you at our next Wine Club Dinner on August 20, 2019, at The LEX 530 Event Center in Elkhart.

As always I appreciate your support of our wine blog and encourage you to share it with family and friends. If you are reading this blog for the first time please consider subscribing while you are on the website. This way you’ll get our reviews and articles in your email. If you care to share your comments on this blog posting or other topics please do so in the comments section below.

Until next week,
Cheers

Calendar of Events

• August 1 – International Albariño Day
• August 4 – National White Wine Day
• August 18 – International Pinot Noir Day
• August 29 – International Cabernet Day
• September 20 – International Grenache Day
• November 7 – International Merlot Day
• November 14 – International Tempranillo Day
• November 20 – International Zinfandel Day
• December 4 – Cabernet Franc Day
• December 20 – National Sangria Day
• December 31 – National Champagne Day