In under a month we will be joined by two exceptional Malbec Masters from Argentina, Winemaker Luis Reginato of Luca and Tikal and Santiago Mayorga of Mendel. We will relish in a traditional Argentine “Asado” of grilled meats, empanadas, fresh vegetables and a multitude of Malbecs.

After my inspirational trip to Argentina last year, I decided to bring their many traditions home to Palmetto Bluff. When you fly over the Andes into Argentina you instantaneously feel a tangible difference in the air. There is a vibration or a magic that is undeniable. You can feel it throughout the city, the vineyards and in your interactions with the locals. That feeling was so powerful that I put aside my distaste for meat and feasted on various cuts of beef, pig, lamb and many other meats for the first time in 18 years.

If we do our jobs well you too will be inspired by the six magnificent wines produced by these extraordinary makers that will pair with our “Asado”. If the food and wine isn't stimulant enough the soulful sounds of Jazz Guitarist Victor Varner and Violinist Beek Webb should seal the deal.

September 25^th, 2010 at 6pm

Five Paired Courses

$125 per person

One of the hot trends in the wine world is wine on tap or out of a keg. It is practically unheard of on this side of the country but some are starting to see the light because of the many benefits. Wine from kegs is more efficient than bottled wine because there is no waste and it keeps some wines fresher. There are also the numerous eco-friendly aspects to take into consideration. Once the stainless steel keg is used it can be refilled by the winery and used again. There is no longer a need for labels, bottles, boxes, corks or capsules. The shipping costs are less as well because a five gallon keg which holds 25 bottles of wine or over two cases weighs approximately 50 pounds while the average 12 bottle case of wine weighs 30 - 35 pounds per case. 

I recently installed a small brewmaster tap tower behind the bar of our flagship restaurant, The River House. The brewmaster had to be upgraded to become a winemaster because wine kegs are not exactly the same as beer kegs. I changed out the taps to stainless steel taps and changed the gas from CO2 to Nitrogen so we wouldn't have sparkling sauvignon blanc. I also added a line to the outside of the system to give us the ability to pour a red wine on tap as well. 

The man responsible for inspiring this recent addition to the Inn at Palmetto Bluff is the always charming Dan Donahoe of Teira Wines and his keg wine business called Silver Tap. Dan is joining us at Music To Your Mouth for the first time this November. He will be pouring wines from keg and bottle; I challenge you to tell the difference. We will soon be adding two other wines to the Wine Tower. Our good friend and frequent visitor Dave Miner of Miner Family Vineyards in the Napa Valley has agreed to keg his most recent vintage of Chardonnay for our system. Lastly, we are adding an Anderson Valley Pinot Noir from one of Palmetto Bluff's favorite wineries, Lioco Wines. 

Join us prior to the Music To Your Mouth food and wine festival for a taste from the tap, the River House is open nightly. 

Its official, the jolliest man in Germany is making a trek across the pond to join us for our food and wine festival, Music To Your Mouth. Johaness Leitz of Josef Leitz Winery or as you soon will be calling him, Josi, has agreed to make a special trip to Palmetto Bluff to share his gift for riesling. When you meet Josi, you will instantaneously like him, he is just that guy but when you taste his rieslings you will love him. I am awestruck by the purity of his wines. I want to use the word finesse to describe the wines but that would imply that he dressed them up for the party or fixed them in some way. Instead, I will use the word effortless because these wines seem to be an extension of the man himself, humble, charming and infinitely giving. 

The Marlboro Man of the wine world was here for one night only. On June 12^th, Paul Hobbs visited Palmetto Bluff to host “Home for Dinner”, an evening of home cooking paired with eight of Paul’s tremendous wines.

I will admit that I was a little intimidated at the thought of meeting Paul; after all he is a legend in my world. We were to spend at least an hour together in the car on the way back from the airport and it could have been awkwardly silent but thankfully he is down to earth and easy to talk to. You would have never known that he is the head of an empire and one of the most influential winemakers in the United States not to mention his projects in Chile, Argentina and Hungary.

We instantaneously hit it off at the airport and chatted our way through a few errands and throughout our journey to the resort. In anticipation of our time together I had a long list of questions that I was eager to ask him but our conversation never made its way to wine. We discussed politics, wealth, the Bohemian Club, corporate America etc. but never a mention of our one commonality. It was surprising and refreshing.

The evening started off in the garden of Marge and Norm Agin, our hosts for the evening, which was complete with a coy pond and miniature locomotives circling atop the pond.

The dinner began with Paul telling us about his childhood, the early part of his career and how the Paul Hobbs Winery began. As dinner started Guest Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, GA eloquently explained his approach to the menu and his creations for the evening. Our Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert shed some light on his menu items and revealed the meaning behind his “Home for Dinner” menu item, “Spaghetti & Meatballs”.  

I think we made quite an impression on Paul and hopefully it convinced him that there are some serious food and wine lovers in the south and to visit Palmetto Bluff again soon.

Only one week left until Paul Hobbs joins us for Five Courses of decadence. We are serving up comfort foods, guilty pleasures that you don't dare eat in front of others paired with multiple glasses of Paul's own brand of decadence. This sinful cuisine will be created by Guest Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, GA and Palmetto Bluff's own Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert.

A boisterous crowd from all over the east coast gathered for both nights of our Plumpjack Weekend spectacular Hosted by Winemaker Tony Biagi. 

The weekend started with a casual evening at Buffalo's Eatery. My favorite pairing was a cheerwine barbeque glazed pork tenderloin with a vidalia onion pirlau, tomato confit and early spring peas served with the ’06 Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet. After dinner we retired to the firepits for a blind tasting game and some smores.  

Saturday we really hit our stride with Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham, AL behind the wheel. His "Woodland" Alabama cuisine paired beautifully with the inspired wines of Plumpjack. The reds for the event were opened four hours prior to the event and were well worth the wait. The estate cabernet was humming by the time it hit the first glass. Syrah has always been one of my favorite grapes and Plumpjack's was no exception, it was smokey, meaty and delicious. Chef Hastings' passion for food translates beautifully to a plate. The spring onion spoon bread served with the roasted duck brought me back to Birmingham and the amazing meal that I enjoyed at Hot and Hot Fish Club.  

We laughed, cried and drank moonshine, not necessarily in that order.

Last week's Domaine Serene Dinner was all that I wanted it to be and just a bit more. Guest Chef Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston and our Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert out did themselves reinventing family recipes to take our guests on a stroll down memory lane. The evening started with Sean Brock's take on PB & J, Foie Gras with Peanut Butter and fresh strawberries. We then moved onto Rabbit Meatloaf and settled in with a decadent Chicken & Dumplin's wrapped in pork belly. All these wonderous foods were paired with the ethereal wines of Domaine Serene including the spellbinding 2005 Monogram.

The last magical part of the evening was a special treat that Sean brought with him. It was a big ol Mason Jar full of Moonshine infused with Damson Plums from West Virginia also known as trouble with a capital T that rhymes with P that stands for Moonshine.

We are prepping for our Domaine Serene Dinner with Grace Evenstad and Guest Chef Sean Brock of McCrady's in Charleston, SC. Sean is still sizzling from his win yesterday at COCHON 555 US TOUR in Atlanta so we may see a little pig on the menu. We are serving reinvented recipes from yesteryear paired with the alluring wines of Domaine Serene. Don't miss our "Pantry Dinner", only a few spots remain!!!

Part deux of day two started with a to-go sandwich in the small town of Occidental. We then traveled to the coast to dine where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean which was breathtaking. My picture cannot capture the beauty but attention still must be paid. 

After lunch we traveled through the twists and turns of the Sonoma Coast roads and above the cloud line to Hirsch Vineyards. The saying "as the crow flies" has never meant more to me; a five minute flight easily equals an hour drive. On a side note, as the crow flies, was the most commonly spoken phrase on our trip. It is a common descriptor of distance in California and appropriately so because you can see for miles but nothing is that easy for those of us traveling by foot or car. 

 At Hirsch we were greeted by David Hirsch who founded and planted the vineyard in 1980 to premium pinot noir. His background was in clothing sales but you would never know that today because there is no doubt that he is a farmer. David attributes the multiple terroirs of his vineyards to the grinding and gradual movement of the North American and Pacific Plates and the San Andreas Fault which lies beneath the vineyards. Each vineyard block has a different soil content which adds a very distinctive quality to the wines. The soils are a mixture of sandstone, heavy clay, sandy loam and clay loam that are scattered with a panoply of rocks varying in origin from igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary shale. The Hirsch website is a great source of information about their terroir and the Sonoma Coast.

We proceeded to the barrel room and tasted from fourteen different barrels of pinot noir. The 2008 vintage was smoky due to the fires in California. The barrels flavors ranged from smoked bacon to the beautiful clean fruit of a Chambolle Musigny. After tasting I selected four different blends based on the barrels we tasted. I wanted to create a wine that was predominately bright gorgeous fruit but still had a little of that vintage specific smoke. I have a feeling that regardless of my choice the wine still would have been kickin' good due to the quality of their juice. After tasting through all of the blends the one that appealed to me most was a blend of two barrels. There was a sweetness to the fruit, a silky-sexy texture and a little earthy smoke on the finish. After blending and bottling there will be fifty cases of Palmetto Bluff's first pinot noir called "Legacy".

A special thanks to David, Jasmine and Tess at Hirsch.

Last night was the final dinner of The Lowcountry Culinary Heritage Celebration hosted by David Adelsheim, it was something to write home about. Kirk Gilbert, our Executive Chef, inspired us with a true fusion of multiple generations of Southern cooking. The highlight of the evening for me was the 1990 Adelsheim, "Seven Springs Vineyard", Pinot Noir paired with a Flat Iron Steak with fork mashed sweet potatoes. The wine showed age but in a wonderful way. The color was pale with a stunning coral hue around the rim. The bouquet had notes of cherry and cranberry but was overwhelmingly earthy in it's fragrance. Alluring notes of smoked meat, pipe tobacco and a touch of petro seduced me into taking a sip. I was surprised by the lively and fresh feel of the the wine. I tasted fruit flavors but more profound were the licorice, violet and smoke notes. Over time the wine evolved in the glass and opened to orange, red cherry and apple skin. It reminded me of a modern styled Barolo.

We ate, we drank and we maybe even learned a little something.