Living in Temecula allows me to celebrate various occasions and holidays in the midst of some beautiful vineyard countrysides. This year’s Valentine’s Day I was able to celebrate at a Wine and Food paring at The Doffo Winery. I can always count on them to put on a great event. The wine served tonight was paired perfectly with the food which was catered by Chef Dylan Soros from Soros Mediterranean Grill in Old Town Temecula with the help of Chef Mario. Chef Dylan mentioned that there will be more collaborations with Chef Mario in the future and if this dinner was any indication of what’s to come, I will certainly be in line to be there! (PS: If you happened to be at the Super Bowl and ate at the Wolfgang Puck VIP area, you probably saw Chef Dylan and Chef Mario working their tails off helping to provide food to all the VIPs.)
What Was on the Menu Tonight?
Nancy went vegetarian tonight and of course, I didn’t! Don’t get me wrong … I do enjoy vegetarian dishes but if you follow my blog at all you know I am a confirmed carnivore. Chef Dylan and Chef Mario put together a great menu. For the majority of tonight’s patrons, we started off with Foie Gras topped with a BlackBerry Gelée and some Yuzu Caviar Pearls, some Toast Points with a BlackBerry Jam. I am a big foie gras fan and the blackberry with the hint of the yuzu juice (the little caviar-like spheres made from the citrusy Yuzu fruit) to offset the richness of the foie gras was a great combination of flavors.
The vegetarian first dish was a Roasted Beet Salad, Vegan Labneh over some arugula, with a little granola. For those of you not familiar with labneh, it is a little bit thicker, tangier, and creamier than Greek yogurt. Even though I was happy with my foie gras, the beet salad was very tasty and a great starter.
The Short Rib Agnolotti pasta was light almost like a dumpling. Another great dish!
The vegetarian dish was a Garbanzo Penne Puttanesca with Tomato, Vegan Parmesan, and Capers.
The Lamb “Prime Rib” dish was very interesting. The lamb was sous vide for 24 hours to help tenderize the meat. The lamb really doesn’t have a prime rib, but was prepared and sliced from the leg to be presented as a slice of prime rib. It was very tender, seasoned well, and served with a mint chimichurri. (Check here if you would like to view some thoughts of mine on the sous vide process!)
The next vegan dish was a Cannellini Ragu with Broccolini, Heirloom Tomato, and Vegan Bacon
The final dish of the night was a Salted Caramel Flan, Dulce de Leche, Crunchy Chocolate Cake, and Crushed Espresso Beans. The flan had a nice silky texture. However, the highlight for me that made the dessert was the crunchy chocolate cake. I am not much of a sweets eater, but I could be tempted by desserts like a chocolate souffle or mousse, or custards like flan or creme Brulee. The combination of the crunchy cake, the caramel, and the flan was too good not to have another bite or two. Ok, Ok…I ate the whole damn thing!
Overall the dinner was pretty damn good and matched well with the wine served. Considering that the Chef was cooking for a large group, each dish was flavorful and different from the typical food found at many of these types of events.
What About the Wine?
Tonight the Doffo Family Vineyards introduced us all to their newest release of Don Armando which is a proprietary blend. If I was to guess at the blend, (and I am no expert that’s for damn sure) I was getting some Syrah and maybe some Malbec. I could be 100% wrong which would not surprise me. This wine was definitely dry and full-bodied with fruit-forward and a little bit of tannin on the end like you might expect from a Syrah Blend. It matched well with the lamb that was served with the main course.
This 2017 Don Armando ‘Eterno’ was named after Marcelo’s father, Armando Doffo. Armando was born on February 14, 1915, and lived to be 100 years old. So it definitely was appropriate to honor the original patriarch of the family on Valentine’s Day! It is obvious that this family-run winery is so successful due to the hard work by all the family members; Damian, Samantha, and Brigitte.
Let me know your favorite wineries in the comments below and as always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!
