Had a wonderful dinner with my friend, Tom Holton’s wine group last night at Elephant Tree Pop-Up! Dinner was held under a tent at Monteverde at Oldstone in Cortlandt Manor, NY with beautiful views of the Hudson River. Chef Eric Korn served up a delicious five-course meal and each dish had such unique touches that we were always asking “I wonder what he did here?” and “How did he come up with that?” Really fun. ⁣
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Tom chose an Oregon theme for the wines and each was perfectly paired with its dish. Oregon wines are typically lush and packed with flavor but the cooler temperatures at night help retain acidity. So I was really looking forward to what he picked out. The standout for me was the 2014 Syrah Brittan Vineyards from the Willamette Valley. Owner Robert Brittan worked as winemaker and estate manager for Stags' Leap Winery for 16 years before going out on his own. ⁣
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The Syrah had layers of blueberry, black olive, dried roses and violets. Medium acid and mellow tannins carried out long enough to withstand the duck dish I had with it. The entire group loved this bottle! We all fought for another taste as it was passed around. It was excellent.⁣
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It was such a fun evening with my friends and we can’t wait to do it again!⁣