February 2, 2017 Lunch – Café Pasqual in Santa Fe, winter wine festival Reserve Tasting in Taos

February 2, 2017  Lunch – Café Pasqual in  Santa Fe,  winter wine festival Reserve Tasting in Taos

We packed up our gear by 9:30 and left Albuquerque by 9:45.

We called Amy and Vahl and met them at Cafe Pasqual around 11:00.

Everyone ordered something different. I ordered smoked trout hash, which was pieces of smoke Trout on a large potato pancake that covered much of the plate with two lightly poached eggs and served with green chili tomatillo salsa.  I like the lightness of the smoked trout on the crisp deep fried potato pancake, especially smeared with a bit of sour cream and some green chili tomatillo salsa.

I requested and were served sour cream and a cup of Earl Grey tea.

  Suzette ordered a dish of  Huevos Barbacoa , eggs, shredded beef, with a chili Arbol sauce and black beans, Served on a tortilla, which turned out to be surprisingly heavy.  The beans sat on her tummy until at least 5:00 when we were admitted to the Reserve wine tasting.

After lunch we went up to Café Pasqual’s retail shop, which had some beautiful items for sale.  I particularly was attracted to a pendant with a 1 ½ inch by 2 inch slab of Arizona blueness turquoise set in a silver mount that was marked $540.00.

We said goodbye to Amy and then drove to Owings Gallery on Marcy St. where Billy and Elaine bought a Marsden Hartley print of a pile of apples and a nocturnal image of a church by Blumenschein lithograph print.  I bought a William Penhollow Henderson ink drawing that was probably a book illustration.

We then drove to Barry and Kylene’s house outside of Taos and rested until 4:30 when we drove to Monte Sagrado for the Winter Wine Tasting Reserve Tasting from 5:00 to 7:30.  I think I tried most of the wines and food offerings.  The most wonderful white wine I tasted was a 2015 Chateau Granville- Lacoste from Graves in Bordeaux imported by Kermit Lynch.

 The best champagne was Voirin- Jumel Grande Cru Cremant, and the most surprising and wonderful discovery of the night was that Bailiwick Vineyards bought the Londer property and is producing pinots from it now.  The wine has that same nectar of the gods taste.  Actually there were several Anderson Valley pinots and several good Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs at the tasting.  The food was first rate this year also, cured salmon, poached salmon from Love Apple, beef and pork meatballs, a pork belly in White bean cassoulet ham and pork terrine from Doc Martins, and lots of other wonderful treats.

A line of wineries at the tasting

This was the best food and wine combination I can recall in the last few years.  We had tried everything by 7:00 and drove back to the house on the hill.  Billy made a fire and we watched The Big Short based on Michael Lewis’ book.

Bon Appetit