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If you go to the web site, you can find the guest photos from the Holiday Party at Happy Hollow Club on 12/15/2024. I left the couples and small group photos at full strength in case you want to use them for next year’s Christmas card.
Charles Schurhammer has assembled a 6-minute video of the Rhine Cruise. His idea is to do more of these to promote the IWFS travel destinations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9CrPPJfjOY
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Event Report: Matt Brown Picks Everything
Story by Tom Murnan Photos by Tom Murnan
In the doldrums of winter, with the holidays over and nothing but wintery bleakness to gladden our spirits, and half the Branch on vacation in warmer climes, I thought it would be fun to have a 3rd degree Advanced Sommelier select a great menu and wines that would go with it. I was primarily looking for education. Why was a particular wine picked? What was his thinking process?
I have way too many notes on all the courses and wines for this article, so I just picked the entrée course, which compares a Bordeaux to a Walla Walla Syrah from Washington.
Private Selection Wagyu Striploin, Sunchoke, Butternut Squash, Shredded Brussel Sprout with Brandy Peppercorn Cream sauce with Echolands Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2019 and Château Rouget Pomerol 2017 was our entrée. Morgan Ranch provided the beef, one of the first places in the Midwest raising Wagyu beef, right here in Burwell, Nebraska. “This is their private selection of New York Strip. Alongside we have a sunchoke and rutabaga hash with a butternut squash puree underneath it and a Black Peppercorn cream sauce. The two wines we are comparing are New World Syrah from Echolands 2019.
“Echolands is a fun new project, only about 10 years old, owned by a gentleman named Doug Frost. Doug is from Kansas City, still lives there now, but owns this winery in Walla Walla because he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. They are right on the side of Red Mountain. He is one of only three people in the world to pass both the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine exams. His style leans to a little more balanced. His inspiration is definitely European and leans French. You notice the Syrah has a little bit of black pepper and a balanced tone. We also have Bordeaux, a 2017 Château Rouget from Pomerol. Pomerol is the famous part of the Right Bank in Bordeaux for Merlot, and Cabernet Franc in some cases, Merlot being the star here, but Merlot in a way you don’t usually get to taste it. This producer is classic Pomerol. They have a little more clay influenced soil. You’ll notice a really great structure. The thing I like about both these wines with this food is when you smell it, you can distinctly smell that savory difference: Syrah has the black pepper and the Bordeaux, even though it is just Merlot driven mostly, still has that green pepper tone that you would see in jalapeno or bell pepper. These two wines jump out with distinct aromatics. On the palate though, you can definitely see a difference between these two. It’s up to you to decide which you like better.”
Why did you choose these wines for this course? “I wanted to show two different kinds of savoriness in wine. One was black pepper driven and one was green pepper driven. And two really great producers that people don’t see all the time. Château Rouget is a highly regarded Right Bank Bordeaux and their wines age well. Their 2017 is showing perfect balance of tannin and savory / bitter tones that need the richness of a steak to let the fruit showcase in the wine. On the flip side, the Echolands 2019, is a young, upcoming winery from Walla Walla, but making wines that are definitely focused on elegance and more of that black pepper black olives tones that you typically see in the northern Rhȏne Valley in France but doing it in their own Walla Walla style. It also likes the richness of steaks. The New York Strip from Morgan Ranch makes the Echolands become a totally different thing, coming out the savory side of the wine, where with the Bordeaux, it brings out the fruit of the Bordeaux.”
If you would like the full transcript from the video, let me know and I will email it to you.
Ann Sullivan selfie with the big camera!
2025 UPCOMING OMAHA METRO EVENTS
CIBO VINO
Wine theme: TBD
Event Producer: Tracy Tylkowski
