By SHAVAUGHN MOSS, Lifestyles Editor, shavaughn@nasguard.com

Chef Joshua Campbell, was given a challenge to provide a four-course wine-tasting menu that would showcase the deliciousness that are Wente Wines, and the foods he prepared allowed the wines to shine for the 80 select persons in attendance at Graycliff Restaurant for the Burns House affair recently.

Instead of preparing a delicious meal and then trying to see what could pair with what, Chef Campbell opted to have the wines the purveyors wanted to use sent to him, and then he came up with the fabulous meal to compliment.

The end result was a first course of Foie Gras Creme Brulee with Spiced Cranberry Bread, served with a Wente Riesling, which set the tone for the evening. Many of the dinner attendees summed it up in one word — "wow". It was a little more friendlier foie gras dish for people who weren't used to having seared foie gras. Savory and sweet it melted in your mouth, and gave a hint of winter, which had passed, but fit in well on the night which proved to be a cool evening.

Grilled Calamari Salad with Spicy Tomato Chutney Preserved Lemon and Parsely Coulis with the Wente Chardonnay was next, followed by a Mahi Mahi with Black Olive Shaved Fennel, Carrot Cumic Tapioca which paired well with the Crane Ridge Merlot. And the New Zealand Rack of Lamb with Parsnip Puree, Roasted Vegetable Terrnie and Wild Mushroom Demi Glace was a perfect match for the Wente Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.

Without a Saturn or Port dessert wine in the Wente line, Chef Campbell opted for an Apple Pineapple Crostada with Vanilla Bean Ice cream and Warm Caramel to serve with the Wente White Zinfandel to end the evening on a high note, as he pulled the old "switcheroo". Normally, dessert wines are sweet. Wente does not have a Port wine, but they do have a White Zinfandel, which they displayed on the night. The crostada proved to be a nice help to boost the wine to bring it into dessert wine category.

At the end of the evening, the guests were raving.

"When I think of a wine-tasting, I like high-end food, and things done a certain way. I like crisp and clear cut, but then again I like some dishes to feel rustic and sometimes you sort of have to walk the line when you do a wine-tasting like that. Some of the dishes can be clear-cut and clean, and then you can have the rustic ones too like the apple crostada with pineapple in it — flavors of the high land with the local pineapple in it.

Chef Campbell was pleased with the pairings, and said that the Wente wines weren't so big that they need to be supported by food. He says you can easily open up a bottle with friends and relax, but he added that food helps to bring out the little subtleties in them.

Wente chairman Eric Wente also expressed pleasure with the food which he said complimented his wines very well.

"There were some very interesting pairings. The foie gras and the Riesling, I thought that went very well together. Very rich flavors, slightly sweet flavors in the creme brulee and foie gras, and the Riesling had that nice intense character and body to offset the richness of the food.

"Then the calamari and the Chardonnay were sort of a classic fish and white wine pairing. And then we went a little different with the Crane Ridge Merlot going with the mahi mahi because it had more texture and was more meaty, and with the tapicoa, and so that was quite a nice balance. The merlot is kind of mouth-filling, with nice cassis flavors to it, so that went well, and then the lamb and Cabernet was a classic traditional pairing. And at the end, with the fruit in a sort of tart the White Zinfandel was kind of clean, almost a palate-cleansing, nice acidity, to go with the dessert, so it all came off well," he said.

Many of the wine-tasting dinners were of the opinion that if you haven't tried a Wente wine, that it's time to, you will like it.

Wente himself likened his wines to a home-cooked meal. "I like home-cooking, so I think the wines are very good quality, and they're a good wine for the price. I think the combination is what makes a winner."

Wente Dinner Menu

First Course

Foie Gras Creme Brulee with Spiced Cranberry Bread

Paired with: Wente Riesling — $15.95

Second Course

Grilled Calamari Salad with Spicy Tomato Chutney Preserved Lemon and Parsely Coulis

Paired with: Wente Chardonnay — $16.30

Third Course

Mahi Mahi with Black Olive Shaved Fennel, Carrot Cumic Tapioca

Paired with: Crane Ridge Merlot — $26.50

Fourth Course

New Zealand Rack of Lamb with Parsnip Puree, Roasted Vegetable Terrine and Wild Mushroom Demi Glace

Paired with: Wente Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve — $26.50

Dessert

Apple Pineapple Crostada with Vanilla Bean Ice cream and Warm Caramel

Paired with: Wente White Zinfandel — $11.49