July 15, 2022 Lunch - Potstickers. Dinner - Bandol Rose’ Tasting in Santa Fe

July 15, 2022 Lunch - Potstickers. Dinner - Bandol Rose’ Tasting in Santa Fe

Today was a great food and wine day.

It started badly. I tried to walk without eating anything and faulted  even though I had a sugar pill.

When I returned I toasted two slices of bagel and spread cream cheese on them and garnished them with slices of red onion, Gravad lax, and capers.

I then watched the Tour de France. A Dane won the stage, so a Dane is in Yellow and polka dot Jerseys.  A lot of talent from a small country.

  

I then took a nap until 1:00.  I wasn’t sure when or if we would eat dinner so I sautéed a dozen pot stickers until golden brown.  I also made a dipping sauce of garlic and chili paste, soy sauce and the white portion of a green onion.   Drank a beer with lunch.

Suzette arrived and helped me finish the beer.

I then worked until 4:00.

Suzette made a avocado sandwich and showered and dressed.

We left for Greg O’Byrne’s Bandol Rose Tasting in Santa Fe.

It was held outdoors at a new food court at 505 Cerrillos across the street from Hotel Santa Fe at the intersection of Cerrillos and Paseo de Peralta.

We arrived twenty minutes early and walked around and saw that this was the location of the Poke Bar featured in today’s Venue plus a pizza restaurant, and a Cambodian noodle shop.

We said hello to our host, Greg, who is a sommelier and organizer of the two big wine events in New Mexico each year, the Chile and Wine Festival in September and the Winter Wine Fest in Taos at the end of January.

We then sat outside and waited at one of the reserved six top tables for the event.

Soon we were joined by a couple who lived in Phoenix and had a home in Santa Fe, named Amy and Lee. She was a doctor and I did not catch what  Lee did other than cycle.

At 6:00 Greg with the help of the Pizza restaurant owner’s daughter handled the entire tasting.  We were given two glasses and a sheet of paper with the pairings printed on them. The first pairing was a Domaine Tempier 2020 and 2019.  The 2019 was more complex and assertive.  The 2020 was more acidic and fruity, so we already could taste differences.

Soon a tray of antipasti and a plate filled with crackers was brought to our table.  It included three cheeses, a soft farmhouse cheese smeared with fig jam, an orange chedder and a white cheese, plus prosciutto, salmi and a peppered salami plus pitted Nicoise olives and green olives.

Greg had created a French picnic to celebrate Bastille Day. Dinner became irrelevant.

Here is a picture of the tasting wines.

Greg went around the patio at the end of the tasting to ask each of the forty attendees to vote on their favorite.  The wine that garnered the most votes was the 2020 Bastide de la Cisalette. A surprise in the company of the greatest roses of Bandol, iconic brands, such as Tempier, Ott, and Pibarnon.

I voted for the 2015 Domaine de Gros Nore’ because it seemed the most elegant and still was fruity after over six years in the bottle.

As we tasted a magnum of 2016 Domaine de La Gros Nore 750 ml bottle with the same year and producer but from a magnum bottle that this was a very special wine tasting and that many of the wines we tasted had come from Greg’s cellar.  We were experiencing deeply Greg’s love of Bandol roses.

Greg recommended an American rose, Bedrock Ode de Lulu, which is an homage to Lulu, the wife of the owner of Tempier.

We left happy at 7:15 and drove to the Railyard to hear music and specifically Matt Chavez, but we soon found out that he had already finished his set.  We went upstairs to the Opuntia Cafe and sat at a table on the balcony with a good view of the music stage under the water tower.

Suzette was hungry and ordered fried oysters on a bed of arugula.

I ordered a slice of flourless chocolate cake.  

The oysters were served with two incredibly hot salsas, so we requested a ramekin of lemon aioli.  Also the breading was polenta which had lots of sharp edges.

I loved my chocolate cake with layers of crushed walnuts and coconut flakes and puddles of delicious dark chocolate sauce.  The sugar and chocolate energized me to drive home at 75 to 80 mph.  

Suzette ordered a Pilsner and I ordered a pint of Scrumpy’s Organic Farm Cider from JK’s Farmhouse Ciders in Flushing, Michigan, which is one of the best American ciders I have ever tasted.

There was a good crowd of patrons and the area near the music stage in the Railyard was filled with revelers also. 

Here are some pictures.

At 9:30 we drove home after a super pleasant evening.

Bon Appetit