The Kitchen
September Wine Flight and Menu

September is an exceptional month food-wise, with so many beautiful ingredients in season like tomatoes, summer squash, and all the beautiful berries as well as great meats and seafood available like Wild Salmon, Gulf Coast Rock Shrimp, house made bacon and locally raised Rabbits. For a foodie, this menu is not to be missed. And for a wine lover, or even a wine liker who wants to try some new things, Doug and Randall have assembled an adventurous and exciting line up of some of their favorites for you to savor this September.

Take a look at our Wine Pairing Flight and see if something tempts you. As always, you can enjoy these pairings as a comprehensive ‘flight’, by the bottle (good for larger groups), or individually by the glass as it suits your fancy.

Get away from it all for a night! Come see us in September, kick up your heels, relax and enjoy all the best things in life.

For reservations, call 916.568.7171


Menu and Wine Pairing Flight
September 2010


- First Course -

‘Soup and Sandwich’ of Heirloom Tomato and
Maine Lobster with Homemade Bacon, Swiss Gruyère
and Cherry Tomato Salsa

to be served with

2008 Lady Slipper Pinot Noir, Carneros
$10.00 glass / $36.00 bottle

This 2008 is the first Pinot Noir release from Lady Slipper, coming to us from the lovely, cool Carneros region, which usually turns out wonderful Pinots. This one was a winner all around with our staff, exhibiting a soft, lush mouthfeel with mild spice notes, flavors of plum and cherries and a pretty, velvety finish. Doug has found that the right Pinot Noir works effortlessly with most of our tomato soups, as long as it is not too heavy on the palate. This one is just right. We like the producer’s attitude too, as under their tasting notes section they state, “We prefer that you taste it and discover for yourself what aromas and tastes are layered in the Slipper. As always drink it with food and friends.” We couldn’t agree more!


- Second Course -

Slow Braised Elk Grove Rabbit with
Thyme Infused Pasta, Olives, Ricotta
and Young Parmesan

to be served with

2008 Domaine Gris des Bauries Le Duo des Achaux
$10.00 glass / $35.00 bottle

So, just what is this wine, you ask? Well, it’s a gorgeous Grenache/Syrah blend from the Rhone region of France, and to our mind it is the perfect companion for braised rabbit as well as for the piquant olive flavor in the dish. We enjoyed the mild aromas of fresh earth and berries and the soft, plush mouthfeel as well as the flavors of dried herbs and wild berries. This is a very easy drinking wine that finishes with firm tannins. Domaine Gris de Bauries is a very small producer, and its wines are a labor of love for the four friends (two couples) who teamed up to make great wines in their little corner of the world. Drink and enjoy!


- Sushi ~ Sashimi ~ Crudo -


- Third Course -

Butter Basted Grilled Wild Salmon and Rock Shrimp Hush Puppies
with Last of the Summer Squash, Almonds,
Butter and Burrata Cream

to be served with

2008 Benovia Chardonnay ‘La Pommeraie’ Russian River Valley $18.00 glass / $70.00 bottle

This stunning Chardonnay from Benovia was made for this dish! With loads of baking spices, a bit of oak, lemon, pineapple and tropical notes as well as mandarin orange and kumquat, it’s just bursting with juicy, seductive flavors and aromas. A gravelly, dusty finish is a surprising and welcome addition as is the exceptional length and bright acidity of this big wine that will still clean up your palate nicely. Some notes from the website about the growing site for these grapes: “This spectacular vineyard sits along Laguna Ridge at the edge of the Green Valley AVA. Meticulously farmed and planted at a very high density of 2420 vines per acre, the vineyard is planted to Dijon clone 548 and 95. Once a spectacular apple orchard, we pay homage to the Martinelli Family and the history of the site by naming the wine ‘La Pommeraie‘ - French for apple orchard.” If you like Chardonnays, you will love this wine. And if you don't, give it a try - you might be pleasantly surprised.


- Fourth Course -

Beef Tenderloin Cooked ‘Backwards’ with
Saskatchewan Chanterelle Mushrooms,
Red Wine and Arugula

to be served with

2007 Audelssa Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley
$16.00 glass / $60.00 bottle

For our super-tender, cut-it-with-a-fork Beef Tenderloin Course this month we have selected a lush, full-bodied Cab from the venerable Audelssa winery in Sonoma. Always a winner with their Cabs, this vintage of Audelssa offers up beautiful aromas of mocha, raspberry, black cherry, vanilla and gingerbread and tempts the palate with a soft and layered entry and flavors of cocoa, berries, cassis, vanilla, fine-grained tannins and a long, luscious finish. From the website we get more insight into the winery: Audelssa - the name, an abridgement of the Schaefer daughters' names - is a winery that truly echoes its circumstances. The dramatic vineyards are inimitable thanks to restrictions on the development of hillside vineyards that went into effect in Sonoma County in 2000. Even the label reveals an image that could either be the extreme elevation or the strong winds that blow intensely over the terrain. These forceful conditions ultimately produce Audelssa wines. A worthy goal of a winery with moxie.


- Dessert Course -

Vanilla and Chocolate Crème Brûlée and Phyllo Napoleon
Blackberries, Cookies and Sorbet

to be served with

2007 Domaine Mas de Lavail Maury Blanc
$14.00 glass / $40.00 (375_ml)

This is a lovely, 100% Grenache Blanc dessert wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon region in the Southwest of France. It is meant to be drunk young and cool, and is yellow-gold, with orange tinges. The nose is a fabulous array of just about every white fruit you can imagine. Apples and pears, peaches, apricot and grape aromas mingle with notes of Seville oranges, root ginger and Armagnac. The palate is extremely luscious, with sweet fruit flavors, honey and lemon, marmalade and spice. It is very complex, but like all good sweet wines, it has a lovely layer of acidity, which keeps it nice and fresh. Wonderful with scallops and foie gras and, yes, chocolate desserts!



We look forward to the pleasure of your company in September.

Cheers! The Selland Family!