Votre Santé Wines from Francis Ford Coppola Winery
February 15, 2012 Last week, I was invited by Francis Ford Coppola Winery to celebrate their winter release of Votre Santé wines. Named in honor of the film director's paternal grandmother, the name is inspired by the French toast, "A votre santé," which means, "To your health." The gorgeous wine bottle label is also designed by Coppola himself.
Held at Twenty Five Lusk, the wine tasting was accompanied with a sumptuous dinner by Executive Chef Matthew Dolan. We started off with the Seared Day Boat Scallop with roasted bone marrow, Meyer lemon cured apple, sorrel and California sturgeon caviar. The 2010 Votre Santé Chardonnay was paired with the first course. At $14 a bottle, it's a balanced everyday wine that goes with many dishes.
For the next course, we tried the 2010 Votre Sante Pinot Noir with the Grilled Cavendish Farms Quail. Light and elegant, the bright cherry notes went very well with the delicate game bird. It also held up nicely with the cardamom spaetzle.
To match the robust flavors of the Storm Hill Rib Eye, the award-winning 2007 Archimedes was chosen to compliment the juicy steak. Named after Coppola's uncle, this voluptuous blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes is extremely smooth and complex. It's also exclusively available at the winery.
For dessert, the 2009 Director's Cut Cinema was paired with the Molten Chocolate Ganache with ginger ice cream, espresso caramel and fig streusel. Winemaker Corey Beck had combined his favorite varietal, Cabernet Sauvignon, with Zinfandel (Coppola's favorite). The spicy, full-bodied wine is big on dark berries, which is Beck's vision of the quintessential Sonoma wine.
To learn more about Francis Ford Coppola's wines, go to www.franciscoppolawinery.com.
Food image credit: Giovanni Nakpil
For editorial consideration, a press visit was provided for this post.
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