Okay, I am getting really tired of these false hopes for snow; it snowed nicely for about 20 minutes last night, while we were watching Rudolph. Then, of course, it began to rain. Woke up to icy roads & a smidgen of snow. Rats!
Anyway, on to the Eberle dinner! Warning: vegans will NOT want to read this! We were a little late (why did the hub exit at 46 west, when he's been to the winery a zillion times?), but Jan, (Gary's awesome 'right hand' woman extraordinaire), made sure we had some appetizers. Wow! A pork belly amuse bouche in a won ton soup spoon, a shrimp 'lollipop' (stick was a green onion) & this amazing creamy celery soup with a bit of truffle oil...yum! And of course, wine!
We were lucky enough to get to sit at Gary & Marcy Eberle's table this year! We actually had been seated with them a few years back, but a couple we had met a few times had us moved to their table. The wifey got a little loud & rude that year, made some highly inappropriate comments in the tasting room, & we haven't seen them since. Perhaps they got the boot; I'm just glad we didn't by association!
Anyway, we also sat with a very nice retired couple from Texas, as well as a very interesting man who lives in Cali & Nevada, who is a self-taught electrician, and works on big-time assignments, with extremely high voltage, like nuclear plants...
Last year's dinner was a little disappointing, but this year was a homerun! The chef was Budi Kazali, the chef & co-owner of the Ballard Inn & restaurant in Santa Ynez. First course was an amazing yellowtail hamachi sashimi...so delicious! This was served with avocado & a soy/yuzu vinaigrette. I'm usually not a huge yellowtail fan, but it was perfect. Very thinly sliced, which I realize, is part of my problem with sushi bars; the fish is sliced so thickly. Then, my favorite course: a seared scallop with a slice of foie gras on top. Delectable! These two courses were served with two very nice white wines: a viognier, & the Côtes-du-Robles blanc, a fantastic blend. I usually am not a white fan, but esp. enjoyed the blend.
The third course was a pan seared duck breast, with a sweet potato puree, balsamic reduction, served with an awesome Eberle zin made from the famous Steinbeck vineyard, as well as the Wine-Bush vineyards. Fourth course was a yummy braised short rib, with parsnip & chanterelle mushrooms, served with the Eberle '06 cab. Dessert was a perfect chocolate pecan tart, with Frangelico whipped cream, served with the first ever Eberle port. I usually don't like port, but this was so good, we had to get a bottle. Not overly sweet or syrupy, and a very 'manly' port. It was aged in very old barrels obtained from Remy Martin.
This is chef
Kazali
receiving
a magnum
of
Eberle
wine,
and
talking
about
the
amazing
meal he prepared.
Every year
we have
to take
a photo
in front
of the
Christmas
tree in
the cave.
I took
photos of
Gary
and
Marcy,
but I
am not
posting those
to respect their privacy. It was a fantastic evening!!
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