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The last event for our day in Napa Valley as part of the Wine Bloggers Conference was dinner. For my bus it was dinner at Franciscan Oakville Estates. The meal was prepared by Franciscan Sous Chef Boris Olvera, with wines supplied by Franciscan, Blackbird, Bourassa and Corison. Representatives from each winery joined us for the event. The menu was
Antipasta: nuts, olives, salumi
2007 Franciscan Sauvignon Blanc
Dungeness crab, endive and avocado salad with creamy lemon vinaigrette
2006 Franciscan Cuvée Sauvage
Grilled New York steak, crushed golden potatoes with pancetta, red wine mushroom glaze
2005 Franciscan Magnificant
2006 Blackbird Illustration
2006 Blackbird Arise
2005 Bourassa Vineyard Reserve Symphony3
2006 Bourassa Reserve Petite Sirah
2005 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon
Artisan cheeses finished the meal.
 The meal was excellent, with the highlight being the crab/endive/avocado salad. A light, refreshing, delicious course. And the main course, while not particularly imaginative or innovative, was executed perfectly and proved to be a great complement to the wines.
So on to the wines and the wineries and the winemakers.
 Franciscan Oakville Estates: Really nice facilities, both for events and the tasting room. Don’t hesitate to visit. Their Sauvignon Blanc was very nice; made a cool bright start to the evening. The Cuvée Sauvage is a classic Napa Chardonnay: creamy, oaky, buttery. The Magnificant is a Bordeaux blend, and Franciscan has a history and deserved reputation for getting their Cabs, Merlots and blends right. I’ve got one bottle of their 2001 Cabernet left in my cellar.
 The Blackbird Vineyards wines were interesting. Winemaker Aaron Pott joined us for dinner, and explained the Blackbird’s owner had fallen in love with the Right Bank Merlot-based wines of the Pomerol region of Bordeaux. Aaron and Blackbird have tried to create wines inspired by the finesse and balance of the Pomerol wines. This was my first time tasting their wines, so I don’t know how they’ll age, but the ’06 Illustration, with 85% Merlot, was my second favorite wine of the evening. Also, Aaron is a fun guy, a bit on the irreverent side; you’ll enjoy meeting him if you go there.
It was also my first time tasting Bourassa Vineyards wines. Their Symphony3 took a while to open up in the glass, but when it did it was excellent. The Petite Sirah was also quite good. It’s a bit unusual to see a Napa winemaker produce a Petite Sirah, and enjoyable when they get it right, like Bourassa. Their tasting room and winery are in the city of Napa, so easy to get to.
I got to sit next to Cathy Corison at dinner. Remember that feeling of getting lucky and sitting next to the cute girl/guy in your high school classroom? Well, for wine buffs, sitting next to the top winemaker in the room gives a similar feeling. No doubt that the ’05 Corison Cab was the best wine there. Cathy fell in love with wines while in college, graduated and came straight to Napa Valley. Do not pass go, …. A nice, quiet lady, but she founded Corison Winery over 20 years ago, and her stamp is on the wine. It doesn’t explode in your mouth, or overwhelm you immediately, but grows on you quickly with its balance and friendliness. No one left even a drop of this one in their glass.
Previous Napa-related posts from our day:
Napa Cabs: Past, Present and Future
Peju Province Winery: Lunch with Herta Peju
Carneros Region Pinot Noir
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Rank: Administration
Joined: 3/16/2008
Posts: 240
Points: 286
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I'm sorry if someone was offended by my post. That certainly wasn't my intent. I will stand by my comment, that the main course was not particularly imaginative or innovative. I will also stand by my comment that the main course was perfectly executed, and proved a great complement to the wine.
I probably should have emphasized this second part more. While I am not a chef myself, I do understand how difficult it is to cook for any group over a handful of people, to get everything cooked correctly, at the same time, and served at the right temperature to the guests. There were around 30 of us having dinner that night at Franciscan, and to get every steak medium rare, ready at the right time, plated with the potatoes and the vegetables and the sauce is incredibly challenging. The course was also a great complement to the wines, which was the most important thing we were looking for.
It was a great wine/food pairing experience at Franciscan.
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