CIA Dinner with Cereghino Smith Wines

Last Thursday was the 2012 kick off dinner of the Culinary Institute of America's Winter Dining Series and the wines featured were from Cereghino Smith Winery in the Hudson Valley.  I will go into the wines in more detail in another post.

We began the tasting in the Danny Kaye Theatre with 6 of their wines, 2 whites and 4 reds.  After the seminar we strolled across the courtyard to the American Bounty Restaurant where 5 of their wines were paired with 4 courses.

The first course was Dry-aged Beef Carpaccio, Watercress, Anchovy Pine Nut Dressing paired with 2010 Eaten by Bears which is a Meritage blend of California and New York Grapes.  The wine went very well with the beef.

There were two wines paired with the next course.  2009 NY Chardonnay from Keuka Lake and 2010 Tarragona which is a Mourvedre from Lodi California.  The Chardonnay went beautifully with this course.  The Duck brings out the oakiness in the wine and mellows it out.  It was smooth flowing and the pairing mellowed out the strong butterscotch finish that was present prior to the Ducks influence.  The Tarragona was not that favorable.  The pairing neutralized  the wine.  Brings out some hints of woody cherry.

The main course was Roast Dry-aged Strip Loin, Veal Essence, Butternut Squash Gratin served with 2010 Petite Sirah from Lodi, California.  The wine paired very well with the beef.

For dessert we had Warm Gingerbread Caramelized Apples, Creme Fraiche paired with 2009 Bianca from California. This was a great pairing.  The Bianca was a semi-dry and acidic with hints of soft bubbles.  The sweetness of the dessert combats the acidity of the wine very well.  The fruitiness in the wine adds to the gingerbread.

The dinner was lovely and I paid for it the next day with a nice food hangover.  Not use to eating so much.

CIA Winter Dining Series Features Hudson Valley's Cereghino Smith Winery

Every winter for at least 14 years or so the Culinary Institute of America hosts a Winter Dining Series January through March.  They have probably have had this program longer, but they hide it quite well.  I came across it one year many years ago, signed up for their mailing list and never heard about it again. I know the program gets announced in December, so this year, I had to send a tweet to the CIA looking for information on the series because I couldn't find it on their website.

The Winter Dining Series offers lunch and dinner themed fixed priced dining.  The majority of the dinners are wine themed and offers a chance to meet winemakers of various regions throughout the world and learn about wine and terrior.  This year they have a Beer dinner featuring Dogfish that should be good.

I was REALLY excited this year to see that they are offering a dinner featuring Hudson Valley's own Cereghino Smith Winery. AND it's the first dinner of the series, January 12!  I've gotten to know Fred & Paula the past few years and their grapes are sourced from small growers in both California and New York and handcrafted in their Bloomington NY winery.  While they don't have a tasting room, you can find them at all the local wine festivals.

Every winery has a story.  Cereghino Smith is no different.  Paula's grandfather Joseph Cereghino was a winemaker in Washington State, but it's Fred whose rock and roll past can been seen on the labels and he keeps very quiet about his music life.  Fred was the bassist and one of the original members of the music group Blondie and then with the group Television.

I am really looking forward to this dinner and sitting down and enjoying their wine.  Unfortunately, and I hate to say it, but when I see Fred and Paula it's usually at a wine festival and I don't have time to really taste and take notes to blog because I am working in some capacity.  I am excited about exploring their wine at this dinner.

If you want to sign up for the Cereghino Smith dinner or any of the Winter Dining Series, click here  for the listing of events and just click through to sign up.

A Winter Dining Series note:  Attend the dinners with the lectures before hand at the Danny Kaye Theatre.  These are the most informative dinners where you learn about the wine, terror, winery and have the opportunity to ask questions and meet the winemaker along with wine tasting.  The dinners that begin in the dining rooms, are just that, dinner with wine and no education.