Dominique’s Kitchen modest mission is being a “casual neighborhood hangout serving reasonably priced Euro-French cuisine.” The evidence of their success is the number of cars in their parking lot each evening. I recently received notice that they will host a winemaker dinner featuring Calluna Vineyards on March 27.
Calluna Vineyards is in the Chalk Hill American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Sonoma. The boundaries of the wine appellation cover the northeast corner of the Russian River Valley AVA. The name Chalk Hill comes from the unique volcanic soil of chalky white ash which has shown itself to perform well with the planting of white wine varietals like Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc.
Their winemaker, David A Jeffrey attended Fresno State’s top Viticulture and Enology school. As part of this education, he worked in Bordeaux with Dr. Alain Raynaud at Chateau Quinault l’Enclos. Dr. Raynaud is an acclaimed winemaker and is featured in Robert Parker’s book, Bordeaux: A Consumer’s Guide to the World’s Finest Wines.
I have been to a few of these winemaker dinners and Dominique’s Kitchen makes it fun and informative. I like the fact that their winemaker dinners open with a celebratory feel. Co-owner Liza Theval greets her guests with a nice bubbly like Kir Royale or a Prosecco. That evening, they will start the evening with a pink Prosecco.
The rest of the menu follows:
Blue crab and baby calamari, champagne and creamy risotto
2016 Calluna Estate Blanc
French country pate with black truffle
2014 Calluna Vineyards Cuvée
Braised short ribs Provencal with creamy goat cheese and saffron polenta
2014 Calluna Estate
Petit Basque with dried fruits and nuts
Calluna 2015 Malbec
Coffee and French macarons
Photos courtesy of Dominique’s Kitchen
Chef Dominique’s risotto is both creamy and delicious. His short ribs are extremely tender and are full of flavor. The Calluna 2014 Calluna Vineyards Cuvée Red received 92 points from Wine Enthusiast and their Calluna Estate is a Bordeaux blend from their best lots and received 92 Points from Wine Spectator and 95 Points from Wine Enthusiast. Since Calluna Vineyards’ wines are not available from BevMo or Total Wine, this is a great opportunity!
Price per person is $99.99.
Date: March 27, 2018
Time: 7 p.m.
Dominique’s Kitchen, 522 S. Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA 90277; 424-247-9054
http://dominiqueskitchen.com/
Calluna Vineyards
https://www.callunavineyards.com/