The Omaha
Event Report:
Burgundy vs. Pinot Noir at Au Courant
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Burgundy
Burgundy is the spiritual home of Pinot Noir. Known as the Côte d’Or, or Golden Slope, the best wine comes from this strip. Only 2 miles wide and 40 miles long, it is special because of the spiciness given to the wine by the limestone and marl soil when the area was at the bottom of an ancient sea bed 200 million years ago. Côte means slope in French, so the region has hills and plains, but the best wine comes from the hill slopes. Depending on the slope’s orientation to the sun and the amount of minerals available for the vines, these factors determine the quality of the vineyard. There are many microclimates. Only Pinot Noir and Aligoté grapes are grown for red wine, and Chardonnay for white wine. It is divided into two sections. The northern half is called the Côte de Nuits. Here nuits refers not to night (nuit is French for night) but to nuts. It is covered in Hazelnut and Walnut trees. Most of the highest classification wine of Grand Cru ‘climats’ or named vineyards are the this section, 24 in all. If a Burgundy has a climate named on the label, you know it is a premier cru or a grand cru. Premier Cru vineyards have a less favorable orientation to the sun or less minerals in the soil, than the Grand Crus. The southern half is larger and is called the Côte de Beaune, named after the largest city in the area, Beaune. All of the white wine Grand Crus except one (Musigny blanc) are grown in the Côte de Beaune, whose soils are more favorable to Chardonnay than the Côte de Nuits. Ordinary wines are known as village wines, and use the name of the village they are near on their label, such as Côte de Nuits Villages or Côte de Beaune Villages. The lowest labeling is generic, or pan-regional. You will see the word Bourgogne rather than a village, or climate name. The AOCs of Chablis (Côte d’Auxerre), Mâconnaise, and Côte Chalonnaise round out the area. Beaujolais, which used to be part of Burgundy, grows Gamay as its red grape, is now considered its own area.
Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974
“The surest way to catch a waiter’s eye is by owning the restaurant.”
Burgundy vs. Pinot Noir at Au Courant
Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan & Ron Policky
I always enjoy going to Au Courant Regional Restaurant. I give them my list of wines and they build a menu around them. Executive Chef Ben Maides still consults on building New European styled dishes using fresh ingredients to give us a true gourmet experience. In 2020, Ben was a Semi-Finalist in the James Beard Best Chef contest. Chef Anthony “Chovy” Caniglia does the day to day cooking. This was a joint event with the Metro Branch.
After quaffing and sampling delicacies on the 5 foot Charcuterie plank, we sat down for a blind tasting. All red wines were double decanted 24 hours before the event, and the tasting wines were done a second time the next morning. This procedure awakens the wines so they are at their best when drunk. All the wines were Pinot Noir based half coming from Burgundy and half from Oregon. Everyone knew what wines they were, but not the order of serving. Our job was to identify which wines were from Burgundy and which from the USA. Out of 39 people (I excluded myself), only two of the ladies had perfect answers for all 4 wines. They even knew the names of the wines. Kudos to the Glorious Winners: Stacie Matz and Patti Hipple!
After the tasting, we began to enjoy the savory creativity of the Au Courant culinary team. We started with a Sourdough Blini of Trout Roe and Rillettes. Rillettes is a preservation method similar to confit where meat is seasoned then submerged in fat and cooked slowly over the course of several hours. The meat is shredded and packed into sterile containers covered in fat. Our First Course was Chovy’s Egg, a staple of Au Courant, but there’s always a variant on what surrounds the perfectly cooked yolk which is not runny but also not hard. This time it was a slice of Brioche bread and Parmesan cheese. This was accompanied by a Roland Lavantureux Chablis 2022 from Omaha Wine Company. The Second Course was my favorite of the evening, Pork Pastrami, Giardiniera, Mustard Aioli and house made Potato Chip. Giardiniera is a medley of chopped vegetables, pickled, then marinated in olive oil. This was a surprisingly good match with the Joseph Phelps Freestone Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2019. The earthiness of the pork and saltiness of the chip was a triumph. The Third Course was another fabulous and imaginative course: Chinese Five Spice was added to a Chicken Ravioli and Ricotta cheese. Paired with a Burgundy Côte de Nuits Louis Latour Gevrey Chambertin 2012 and a Daniel Rion Aux Vignes Rondes 2017 it was heavenly. One perceptive diner, Joe Kafka, who just returned from Burgundy, pointed out that the Rion was not a Premier cru but a simple village wine, a “Bourgogne.” Yes, we had a mis-marked wine in the inventory.
We still had three more courses to go. Personally, I thought all the courses were just the right amount of food. I was stuffed at the end. Fourth Course found us with Halibut with Golden Raisin, Bok Choy and Capers, which needed salt and was almost cooked too much. The Brocard Montée de Tonnerre Chablis 1er Cru 2020 from the Rare Wine Co. was a spot on match. Fifth was a Short Rib Dukkah, Smoked Beet and Pomegranate sauce. Dukka is chopped toasted nuts, sesame seeds, and ground cumin & coriander. This topped the beef. Another creative course, but not so spicy and pungent as to destroy the two wines, a Beaux Frères Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2018 and Henri Gouges Nuites-St-Georges 2021. Dessert was Tarte Tatin with Apple, Pear and Caramel. A Château Doisy Verdrines Sauternes matched the sweetness and acidity of the apples to a “t”.
Many thanks to Chef ‘Chovy’ Caniglia and his culinary team, Sam Bloomer our Manager, and the wait staff who kept us right on time with spotless and attentive service.
2024 UPCOMING OMAHA BRANCH EVENTS
AUG 2024
There will be NO EVENT due to the large number of members attending the IWFS Swiss Alps, Palaces, Castles, and Custom Wine Tours (Rhine River Cruise) event.
SEP 21
BRUNCH
Talus Spirits & Sustenance 10914 Cumberland Dr, Papillion, NE 68046
Joint Couples event with for the Omaha and Omaha Metro Branches
Producer: Mike & Rhonda Wilke