
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 8, 1995                   TAG: 9502080048
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETH CRITTENDEN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WINE AND FOOD GAME SHOULD BE FUN, VINTNER SAYS

Pairing wines with food was the name of the game Monday night as an appreciative crowd listened to Napa Valley winemaker Gary Andrus and tasted the fruit of his labors with an array of food from chicken to chocolate. Roanoke's 309 First Street restaurant hosted the winery's owner and winemaker for this five-course winemaker's dinner.

Guests were greeted with a chilled glass of Pine Ridge 1993 Chenin Blanc as they met Andrus, a former U.S. ski team member and owner of several Napa Valley vineyards, including Pine Ridge Winery.

As one of the leaders in Napa Valley's Stag's Leap district, Andrus has a philosophy of producing wines that accentuate the special qualities indigenous to the soil in which the vines are planted. The French call this le gout de terroir, the taste of the soil.

Striving for consistency, Andrus explained, "Winemakers can change, it can rain too much, it can be too dry, we can do a good job or a bad job on our wine, but the soil always remains the same."

Andrus shared anecdotes about U.S. Presidents who enjoyed his wine - former President Reagan once sent a small jet to Sacramento to pick up two cases of Pine Ridge wine for a last-minute Christmas gift - and told jokes about other Napa Valley winemakers.

He said his philosophy is: "Wines and foods are fun, and the only good wines are the wines you like."

First Street's owner, Rob Callahan, and its chef, Wayne St. Clair, plan wine dinners four times a year, choosing a different winery to highlight for each. Guests for this event received a first-course appetizer of Hickory Flavored Pan Smoked Chicken Breasts, served with an artichoke mustard sauce and matched with Pine Ridge Chardonnay 1991 Knollside Cuvee. The wine was light and fruity with a crisp finish to hold up to the artichoke and mustard components of the dish.

A salad of red leaf lettuce, Belgian endive, black-eyed peas, country ham and peanuts comprised the second course, which was paired with another of Pine Ridge's Chardonnays, this one a 1992 from the Stag's Leap Vineyard. The Stag's Leap Vineyard Chardonnay proved to be richer, fuller and more buttery, but still crisp with good varietal character. The black-eyed peas, country ham and peanuts made for a surprisingly smooth bridge to the wine.

Andrus and his wife, Nancy, own several separate vineyards in the Napa Valley, and different vineyards generally are used to create different wines, rather than blending all the juice together for one. Pine Ridge produces three Chardonnays each year, one from each of their three Chardonnay vineyards.

A 1991 Select Cuvee Merlot was poured for the third course selection of Chesapeake Cioppino, a rich, peppery seafood stew with shrimp, clams, scallops, mussels, oysters and crab in a tomato-based stock. The accompanying wine had soft tannins, black cherry fruit and a hint of spice and herbs. Raspberry sorbet was a welcome cooler and palate cleanser.

The entree was Butterflied Fillet of Beef stuffed with garlic and fresh herbs and served with roasted, herbed red potatoes and steamed sugar snap peas. Pine Ridge 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag's Leap District, made a classic pairing with its brilliant cherry characteristics, openly knit structure and soft tannins.

And for dessert: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! St. Clair constructed an ultra-rich, flourless chocolate decadence cake to serve with another of Pine Ridge's Cabernet Sauvignons, this one a 1991 Rutherford Cuvee. The chocolate was heavenly for any chocolate lover, and the Cabernet had nice raspberry and chocolate notes. The match should have been made in heaven, but missed the mark with the cake too sweet for the wine, thus muting the fruitiness of the Cabernet. They were both delicious, but best savored separately.

The approximately 50 guests, including several local restaurateurs and members from the New York cast of Mill Mountain Theatre's upcoming "Romeo and Juliet," warmed as they became acquainted with their dining companions and as the courses and wine progressed.

Andrus closed with an appropriate Danish proverb: "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly."

In the end, that is what food and wine matching is all about: not taking it so seriously and simply enjoying the meal and the company.

Beth Crittenden writes ``The Wine List,'' a monthly column in the Extra section.

by CNB