A fun night with at the Hilton with Dr. Elliot Engel and Guy Bower.

   It is a refreshing moment when our local A.I.W.F. chapter came up with a unique idea to invite Dr. Elliot Engel noted author and professor, to our little corner of the plains to talk about "The History and Mysteries of Wine." This was also an event to raise money for the Orpheum Theater restoration. Former professor at Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State (No basketball jokes, please,) his special area of literary interest is renown Victorian era author Charles Dickens. Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening was well-known host of "Its all Good" Sierra Scott and after an informative introduction we were treated to a 45 minute talk by Dr. Engel.
   I would say Dr. Engel has a fun and slightly whimsical style to his speech making. Leading the audience in with a prelude of both known and unknown facts about wine leading up to a climatic dissertation of some of world of wine's lesser known facts and truisms. From listing Noah as the first vintner to the master marketing strategy of Friar Dom Perignon's marketing phrase "I am drinking stars!" Dr. Engel's rhetoric entertained and fascinated all. All embellishments aside for the purposes of entertainment, i.e. Perignon did not really invent Champagne, most of his career focused on stopping secondary fermentation and introducing tight laced trellising to produce more intense clusters with lower yields, he did provide the audience with some rather interesting facts about wine. From its origins to 6000 B.C. to the Egyptians discovering aging in amphora and declassifying "the bad stuff" by simply pouring it out, Dr. Engel laid out a timeline of political, scientific, sociological and philosophical paradigms that has affected or most notably almost killed the wine industry. In proselytising the effects that the Egyptians and Greeks had on the development of wine, Dr. Engel demonstrated the both the sociological and manufacturing effects contributed by both empires. From the Pharaohs designation on vintage tied in to the year of their reign, to the first medicinal use by Hippocrates, A coherent understanding of the sociological cohesiveness of wine upon the ancient world was relayed by Dr. Engel's most interesting comment on the origin of the Greek word Symposium-"Drink Wine Together."
   Dr. Engel then ventured into three different areas where the sociological transitions of mankind almost brought about its downfall, or at least placed it on the back burner for a while. First, was the ancient Roman lifestyle of "Milk it does a body good" lifestyle until the advent of Christianity. Second, was the conversion of the prophet Mohammad from wine connoisseur to teetotaler after a drunken disciple got out of control. Third, was the invention by Arab doctors of ethyl alcohol. Wine had a lot going against it at the time, from the invention of gin and other distilled spirits, the use of fresh water, the rise in the popularity of coffee and as Dr. Engel put it, "To Insure Prompt Service," for compensation for coffee waiters.
   As  Dr. Engel points out, others were continuing to insure the eventual success of the wine industry in to our posterity. The Jewish people were the first to incorporate it into nearly every social event of their lifestyle. The Christians brought both white and red wine into their religious rights. The Celts put it into a barrel, the French put it into a bottle, and Thomas Jefferson brought home a few bottles and planted a vineyard. I need to try and fine one of those bottles.
  The lecture by Dr. Engel was both stimulating and very informative having successfully entertained his audience for the better part of forty minutes. He closed his lecture with a fun solicitation of both one of his books and a C.D. copy of  "The History and Mysteries of Wine." I would like you to know that several of his commentaries and lectures on a variety of subjects are posted on YouTube. If you have time you might gander at a peek.
   Next was the dinner, and the Chefs at the Hilton were once again in top form, both with the pairings and the menu. I never saw the Caviar Blini but the Salmon Blini with white wine creme fraiche was extraordinarily decadent. The Ghost Pines Chardonnay 2007 with its great nose of Green Apple, Pear and Clove, the wine possessed a certain richness with a good amount of body and butter texture typical for a Chardonnay from the region and at 4 years old has stood up to mild aging extremely well. Personally, I would have preferred a Loire Sauvignon Blanc, but since Louis Martini only produces reds and this was a Gallo/Martini umbrella tasting, I can see the choice of the Ghost Pines.
  During our dinner the guest speaker was none other than Wichita's Good Life Guy himself  Guy Bower. Guy is very well known as a local wine educator and a well tasted connoisseur himself and it is always a pleasure to hear him speak. Having spent so much time in my note taking with Dr. Engel and choosing to focus on the wines at hand, I forgot to takes notes on Guy's lecture. I would in the future like to tape or videotape one of his lectures if he will allow me too. I do remember him however speak of the incredible work ethic that Michael Martini possessed even after the multi-million dollar sale of his winery to the Gallo group. I also overheard Guy commenting about the herbaceousness and green tones of the Alexander Valley 2006 Cabernet.
  Our first course was the Beef Carpaccio Salad paired with the Martini Sonoma County 2008 Cabernet, which if you looked at the menu card was listed second by accident. I looked at each bottle to make sure and the Sonoma was poured first. I have always enjoyed the Sonoma County Cabernet from Martini as they are very consistent year in and year out. I enjoyed the aromas and flavors of Black Currants, dried herbs,
and Black Cherry with its medium body and soft shaded tannins. The wine paired very well the Beef Carpaccio. Next was the Raspberry pan seared duck breast with the  Cabernet demi-glaze and the mushroom ragout. I love Cabernets with duck, hard to beat especially with the Napa 2007 from Lois Martini with its rich finesse ripe style so typical of the 2007's from an outstanding year in Napa Valley. Fruity, with dark berry and chocolate provided a great contrast to the duck. The next wine presented was the Alexander Valley Cabernet 2006 from Louis Martini with the Peppersteak Tournedos. I was slightly disappointed in this wine as it had lacked the opulence of the Napa Valley Cabernet and the solid structure of the Sonoma County wine. Aromas and flavors of black cherry, Bing cherry, herbs cedar and a weird overtone of greenness about it made me wonder if they had picked the fruit a little early. It had a pronounced tannic structure on the finish made me wonder also if the wine wasn't going through some sort of "dumb" phase.
The 2005 Louis Martini "Monte Rosso Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon Napa was a real treat and absolutely stunning against the Chocolate Napoleon Purse. Possessing a rich ripe nose of  Cassis and Indian Spices with warm dark fruits brooding around a soft persistent finish, this was my favorite wine of the evening.  My hats off to the Chef and staff at the Hilton who always do an impeccable job with wine dinners.
On a concluding note, I felt that some notes on news on the Orpheum restoration would have been in order as some people mentioned the restoration process had slowed a bit. After all, that is what we were raising the money for. As to the whole of the evening, this was one of the most creative wine dinners ever done by the members of the A.I.W.F.  and I would like to thank each and every one of them who put time in to make this event a wonderful success.