Lido di Manhattan winemaker dinner with Jeff Keene- 1/30/13

Lido di Manhattan will be hosting Cornerstone’s first winemaker dinner of 2013 in Manhattan Beach, CA on January 31st! Join Winemaker Jeff Keene and Director of Sales Alex Crown for a 5 course meal in this Southern California beachside town.

Executive chef Luis Martinez has prepared a five-course gourmet meal carefully paired with five elegant wines. Lido di Manhattan was featured by Chef Gordon Ramsay and has grown to prominence within the south bay community. The food is exquisite and the evening’s pairings will be extremely memorable. Join Jeff and I at Lido on Wednesday, January 30th 2013!

$89 per person (excluding tax and gratuity)

Cornerstone Wine Club members: $70 per person (excluding tax and gratuity)

Club members, please email Alex Crown for your reservation: alexc@cornerstonecellars.com

Reservations are highly recommended as seating is limited!

Lido di Manhattan Restaurant | 1550 Rosecrans Ave. | Manhattan Beach | CA | 90266 | US 310.536.0730

We look forward to seeing you there!

1st Course
Seared Scallops finished with mango chutney over wonton crisp
Maryland blue crab cakes with remoulade sauce
Paired with: Cornerstone Sauvignon Blanc

2nd Course

Farro Salad with Chanterelle Mushrooms with dried currants, toasted cashews with champagne vinaigrette

Paired with: Cornerstone Pinot Noir

3rd Course
Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu with tomato, bell peppers and shaved parmesan
Paired with: Cornerstone Cabernet Franc

4th Course
Petite Filet Mignon peppered with mushroom wine sauce, served with roasted garlic and spinach mashed potatoes
Paired with: Cornerstone '09 Napa Cabernet
 

5th Course
Flourless Chocolate Torte finished with blueberry puree & homemade whip cream
Paired with: Cornerstone Howell Mountain Cabernet
 

Please RSVP at 310.536.0730.
Lido di Manhattan Restaurant | 1550 Rosecrans Ave. | Manhattan Beach | CA | 90266 | US

Alex on the Road: Memphis part 2

And now the conclusion of my Memphis trip!

The following night I was fortunate enough to meet with more of the Memphis based partners of Cornerstone. Everyone came from diverse backgrounds, but all had one common passion: compelling and intriguing wines from California and Oregon. For this meal together I wanted to focus on the future of Cornerstone’s wines from both states. We sipped on both red and white wines from 2011, 2010, and 2009. I was excited to try some of the 2010 Stepping Stone reds as the last time I tasted them was just days after their bottling. Their elegance, flavor, aroma, and texture is readily apparent. The partners had many questions as well, wanting to hear more about my travels and where Cornerstone was in the cities they traveled to. Fortunately, these were conversations I had recently with a number of our distributors and was able to point them in the right direction for their next destination.

A few days later after visiting accounts with our distributor, Mike, Beni, and I all had an evening free to do dinner. Rarely do I have access to such a beautiful and well stocked kitchen. I insisted that instead of the three of us going out we instead stay in and I cook dinner. Beni’s ears perked up when I said that as she is a great chef with a killer rack of lamb recipe. Wine is to be had with any proper meal and prior to coming up with a dinner plan Mike and I headed to the cellar. I just as well should have walked into a time portal. In half of the cellar very Cornerstone vintage was elegantly displayed. The other half held wines from friend’s California and Oregon as well as an impressive array of older Bordeaux  and Burgundies. Relying on a staple pairing, red with red, I cooked rib eyes with Farro and Brussels sprouts.

On my last evening in Memphis, Mike and I went to Folks Folly restaurant to provide the staff with a Cornerstone tasting of their own. Attending the Friday night pre-shift fifteen servers and managers listened to Mike tell the history of Cornerstone while I poured them the 2007 Cornerstone Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that they carry on their list. Even though I waited tables for years in the Napa Valley, it was rare that I would get the chance to taste wines with the owner of a winery during pre-shift. Many of them knew Mike already from the Memphis community. Being that this was a very rare and special treat, we decided to pull out a library selection for the staff thus allowing them to see all of Cornerstone’s storied past. As Mike is talking about our 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet, I see a few servers eyes light up as I reach into the wine bag and pull out a bottle of 1996 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Beaty Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. I love being able to try older, rarer wines. This group was no different and one could see how much they enjoyed the wine. Be sure treat yourself and stop by Folks Folly on your next trip to Memphis.

My four days with Mike and Beni were very memorable. The meals, the stories, the history, the wine and oh yes, the fun. It was not all business on this trip. I did make it to Graceland.

Alex on the Road: Memphis part 1

Kermit Lynch often laments about his time spent with the winery families he meets while traveling throughout France in his book, Adventures on the Wine Route. Much about a wine’s character can be understood by knowing and dining with the people who are behind its creation. For four days and nights this month I experienced wine as Kermit does when I traveled to Memphis. There I visited with Michael Dragutsky, a founder of Cornerstone Cellars and his wife Beni. To say that these two are kind and caring would simply be insufficient. My original plans for this trip were to stay in a hotel, perhaps meeting with them a few times for dinner or a casual lunch. This was completely out of the question, with Mike insisting I stay with them. I’m glad I did as I was welcomed and treated just like a member of the family.  

It had been years since I had seen Mike. The drive from Nashville to Memphis had me recalling the dinner we had a few winters ago in our VIP room, catered by Hurley’s Restaurant, and paired with more vintages of Cornerstone than I can remember. It was a casual affair with Mike talking to us about Cornerstone’s past, present, and future all through the medium of wine. We were able to taste through the history and toast to the direction we were heading. Though only a few hours in length and no white tablecloths, it was the first time all of us at Cornerstone were able to sit around a table together.

When I arrived at Mike’s house it was as if we shared that meal just last week. Shaking my hand with his right while reaching for my suite case with his left and grinning, Mike quickly ushered me to the guest bedroom all while introducing Beni. The introduction was fleeting as we made our way to Debby Karelitz’s -an ardent Cornerstone fan I happened to meet at the California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara just a few months prior- house for a casual wine dinner with her and her friends. A lovely pot luck, people had two options: either bring a dish or bring a few bottles of Cornerstone to share. I opted for the latter having shipped in bottles of our Cornerstone Cellars 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet, Cornerstone Oregon Chardonnay and Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Napa Valley Cuveé Musque. For both white wines, little if any, will be reaching a restaurant or wine shop. Mike and Beni opted to bring some of Cornerstone’s past, reaching for a few bottles of 1993 Cornerstone Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.

Next week: Memphis part two!

Cheers!