Watch Tony Coturri Discuss His Grenache at a Recent Winemaker Dinner at Counter Restaurant. COUNTER VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT BLOG & VIDEOBLOG

 

(Counter owner Deborah Gavito with Tony Coturri @ a Winemaker dinner at Counter Restaurant, April 2006)

  Lookin' lush & lovely in the Coturri vineyards.

• WHO: Tony Coturri of Coturri Vineyards
• WHAT: A multi-course Winemaker Tasting Dinner pairing organic wines & specially prepared dishes.
• WHEN: April 18th @ 7:30 at Counter Vegetarian Restaurant and Organic Wine & Martini Bar
• WHERE: 105 First Avenue (between 6th & 7th streets). Call 212.982.5870 or visit CounterNYC.com

Coturri is renowned for his innovative approach & philosophy. This was a rare opportunity to spend a fascinating evening with a working winemaker as you sample delicious Coturri wines paired with dishes specially created by Counter's Executive Chef Shay Gerard Ohana:

• HORS D’OEUVRE Panisse (chic pea fries) & Aioli; Assorted Marinated Olives
• FIRST COURSE Baby Spinach Salad with Maple Pecans, Mango & Fresh Citrus Vinaigrette. Albarello 2004
• SECOND COURSE Spicy Tomato Florentine Soup with Ancho Puree & Fried Spinach. Flounder’s Red (Cabernet Sauvignon & Sangiovese blend) 2000
• THIRD COURSE "Caviar" of Wild Mushrooms Caviar with a Mélange of Herbs. Jewell Vineyards Pinot Noir 2002
• FOURTH COURSE Israeli Couscous  with baby local vegetables. Crane Vineyards Syrah 2003
• DESSERT Traditional Baklava dusted with Pistachio & Orange-Blossom Water. Freiberg Vineyards Zinfandel 2003

What the previous winemaker dinner with Tony was like:

Here's what husband-and-wife team Dottie Gaiter & John Brecher - the Wall Street Journal's beloved columnists - had to say (WSJ, December 17, 2004) about the last winemaker's dinner they attended at Counter Vegetarian Restaurant and Organic Wine & Martini Bar in NYC with Coturri Natural Wines's Tony Coturri (CoturriWinery.com):

"Just the thought of Coturri wines always makes us smile. We had our first in 1987 during a cross-country train trip -- we'd bought the 1983 Zinfandel during a layover -- and it blew us away with its highly personal, rustic and earthy tastes. Over the years, we have always enjoyed Coturri wines even if we didn't like them, because they have never lost their drama and personal flair. In blind tastings for our column, we have enjoyed Coturri's Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Sangiovese, but we always hasten to add that Coturri wines tend to be big and distinctive, so they are not for the squeamish. The chance to meet the winemaker, Tony Coturri, and to see what kind of foods could possibly match these wines was irresistible."

And apparently the food, ambiance & restaurant lived up to par at Counter:

"The restaurant was New York-cool -- it's in the hip East Village -- and the turnout was very good...One of the other great things about the dinners is that the chef is also working hard to impress the diners -- both the winery and restaurant are doing this, at least partly, for marketing purposes, after all -- so the food is usually as interesting as the wine. Not only that, but it's fascinating to see how the chef...and winemaker pair food.  The first course, for instance, was a caramelized onion, sauerkraut and faux-cheese tart with Coturri's Charbono.

The course we mentioned at the beginning of this column [plantain and yucca tamal with a spicy mole negro]-- a spicy dish with a slightly sweet 2001 Zinfandel -- was certainly the most amazing combination of the night, a good example of why we enjoy these so much. Trust us, we never would have dreamed of matching a slightly sweet and earthy Zinfandel -- albeit one with fine fruit and balancing acids -- with spicy mole sauce and, even now, we wouldn't list it as one of the world's classic pairings. But it was pretty darn good, with the mole sauce stripping away some of the wine's sweetness and the wine cooling the sauce's heat. As Mr. Coturri put it, "This is the most controversial pairing. Sort of like discordant sounds, like discordant flavors, working together."

- Lesley Scott

Counter Vegetarian Restaurant and Organic Wine & Martini Bar New York Organic Vegetarian Vegan Tony Coturri Environment & Eco-Friendly, Green Organic Wine Biodynamic Wine Winemaker Wine Tasting Dinner

Comments

[Bryan Shelton]

He looks vastly better than Eddie these days.

http://musicscene.org/photos/random/images/27041/original.aspx

Really looking forward to the dinner!