On Monday, Muss & Turner’s hosted an amazing wine dinner featuring five wines by winemaker Stephen Ross Dooley. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever been to a dinner where everything was so elegantly planned around the wine! Even better, winemaker Stephen was able to attend and shared a bit of his story – how he entered into the wine business and his general approach to making wine. Also, the other folks at the dinner were all very fun and interesting, so I was very excited to make some new friends!

Now, on to the food and wine info!

The 2008 Pinot Gris paired very nicely with a salad of local vegetables, lettuce, and buttermilk dressing. Everything here was just excellent – very simple but all the fresh, local veggies just felt like summer.

The 2006 Edna Valley Chardonnay was served with an absolutely delectable combo of fresh georgia shrimp, riverview farms grits, and arugula chimichurri. The Chardonnay was of the full-bodied and buttery, so not really my style. However, the shrimp and grits was unbelievably good. (around $22 per bottle)

The 2007 Central Coast Pinot Noir accompanied a serrano “ham salad,” with quail eggs, spanish white anchovy, and cornichon vinaigrette. Overall, this was my least favorite pairing. The Pinot was light but didn’t quite measure up with enough fruit for me. The salad, on the other hand, had a nice flavor – except for the anchovies. I am just one of those people that really don’t like anchovies. My dislike boils down to the texture. Between the skin and little teeny bones, it’s just not a pleasure texture for me. (around $24 per bottle)

The 2006 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir complemented a duck confit, local beet salad, belle chevre, and mint. WOW! This wine and food pairing were fabulous! I often do not like duck… too gamey or too medium-rare. This duck was absolutely amazing though! I often dislike beets as well – but not in this dish. Everything just went together so well in terms of flavors and textures. The Pinot was delicious – very smooth, lots of raspberry fruit flavors. Just fabulous! (around $35 per bottle)

The 2006 Aubaine Pinot Noir totally rocked with the herbed gnocchi, braised riverview farms beef shank, and house made ricotta. I was beyond full after all these dishes, but this gnocchi and beef combo was superb. There was no way I was going to leave anything on that plate! The Pinot was rich but still very smooth, just great! (around $40 per bottle)

The final touch was a spoonful of chocolate mousse with coursely ground salt and other chocolate shavings on top. It was the perfect ending, and thank goodness, a small but wonderful bite!

Thanks, M&T’s and Stephen Dooley – this was a night well spent! Looking forward to having some of these Pinots again.