Maura, Roy and Carl at the wine dinner.
I am a little late reporting to you an exquisite wine dinner we held on Friday, October 23, 2020. We were very fortunate to have Roy D. Chapin IV and his fiancé Maura Clark of 4 Winds Winery fly in from Napa Valley to present their 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon along with my Glenwood Cellars wines to our LEX 530 Wine & Dinner Club guests.
As usual the evening started out with a reception which gave everyone the opportunity to meet and chat with Roy and Maura prior to dinner. During the reception we presented the 2016 4 Winds Cabernet.
Pouring the the 2018 Glenwood Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
Before I tell you about the 4 Winds wines, let me digress and speak to how I have come to know Roy Chapin. I was in Napa Valley on a wine making trip and got invited to a Cabernet wine tasting at the Dean & Deluca store in St. Helena. There were a large number of wineries presenting and only 50 people were invited to the tasting. I was privileged to be one of the 50 along with my great friends Didier Loustau and Sean Larkin. Roy and his mother Jane Chapin were there representing their 4 Winds Winery and pouring their Cabernet. As I was working my way around the room, I went to their table to taste their wine and I had the pleasure of meeting them both.
Julia James performed at the wine dinner.
Since that meeting, our friendship has grown and we meet for dinner every time I am in Napa Valley. One “small world” item that goes along with our friendship: Roy’s grandfather Roy D. Chapin Jr. ran the family company Willis Motors in the 1940s and my grandfather Adolf Carl Tiedemann Jr worked for Roy’s grandfather at Willis Motors. Now, so many years later Roy and I are friends.
Back to the 4 Winds wines we poured at our dinner: The 2016 Cabernet was released on October 19, 2019, and there was a total of 260 cases produced. It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and the wine is produced by the renowned winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. Below are his tasting notes for the 2016:
Pouring the 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon
4 Winds is a classically built Cabernet Sauvignon typical of this wonderful Napa vintage: deep fruit, enveloping texture, voluptuousness and long supple structure. It is endowed with striking aromatic intensity, nuance and depth. The wine had decidedly dark flavors of blackberry and black cherry with subtle notes of sweet baking spice. Supple tannins run through to the long, elegant finish.
Maple-miso Glazed Arctic Char with baby bok choy and soy butter.
Below is our LEX 530 Executive Chef Chad Coryn’s menu for the dinner and the wines we paired with each course:
1st Course: Potato Leek Soup with Vermont white cheddar and bacon. Paired with the 2018 Glenwood Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
2nd Course: Maple-miso Glazed Arctic Char with baby bok choy and soy butter. Paired with the 2015 Glenwood Cellars Chardonnay
3rd Course: Smoked Pork Tenderloin with sweet potato purée and broccolini with a dark cherry demi-glace. Paired with the 2015 4 Winds Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dessert: Chocolate and Chili Pot De Crème with Mezcal Chantilly and cacao nibs. Paired with the 2008 Tiedemann Dessert Wine.
Chocolate and Chili Pot De Crème with Mezcal Chantilly and cacao nibs.
The 4 Winds wine we poured with the third course was the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. This was released on October 11, 2018, and 400 cases were produced. Again the wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Here are the winemaker’s tasting notes:
This Cabernet Sauvignon is a classic Napa Valley, Stags Leap vintage – pure, opulent and voluptuous. Layers of black and red fruits marry with spice in the glass. On the palate, the wine gives way to flavors of blackberry jam, mocha and sweet new oak. Seamlessly integrated tannins make for a broad mid-palate that finishes with elegance.
The crowd for the October wine dinner.
What a great event. I was very pleased that Roy and Maura would take time out of their very busy schedules and come to Elkhart to share their wines with all of us in the LEX 530 Wine & Dinner Club.
There is no doubt that on my next trip to Napa Valley we’ll have dinner and spend the evening talking about wines and what is happening in Napa Valley. Hope to see you at the next wine dinner!
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Cheers,
Upcoming Events – Mark Your Calendar For the Entire Year!
1/15/21 January Wine Dinner
1/29/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
2/12/21 February Wine Dinner
2/26/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
3/12/21 March Wine Dinner
3/26/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
4/9/21 April Wine Dinner
4/23/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
5/7/21 May Wine Dinner
5/21/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
6/11/21 June Wine Dinner
6/25/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
7/16/21 July Wine Dinner
7/30/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
8/13/21 August Wine Dinner
8/27/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
9/10/21 September Wine Dinner
9/24/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
10/8/21 October Wine Dinner
10/22/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
11/5/21 November Wine Dinner
11/19/21 Wine Talk & Taste Event
It was a great dinner. I encourage anyone who loves good food and wine to try it out.
Thank you for the endorsement, Jackie. However, one thing you left out was that they get to meet wonderful people like you at the event.
Cheers
Boy am I envious. It sounds like that dinner was amazing. I have been hoarding 2016 Napa Cabs, and, in fact, have two of the 2016 bottles of 4 Winds in my stash. To boot, Oct. 23 was our 44th wedding anniversary.
Hey Mark! How are you? Yes, it was a great dinner and Roy’s wine is just pouring wonderfully right now. You don’t have to worry…those 2016s you have will last for years. Roy is a great guy and pal. It was very fun to have him visit for our event.
I have every vintage he has made except his first, which was 2012. I have been trying to talk him out of some of his stash of ’12s, but no luck yet.
All the best.
Cheers