Hess Dinner at Luigi's Tuscan Grill on Las Olas with Special Guest Matt Green

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 - 06:30 PM

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"A man cannot make him laugh - but that's no marvel; he drinks no wine."
SHAKESPEARE  Henry IV Part 2

 

Still a few great events to finish off the month of March like our Grace Family Cabernet Sauvignon vertical tasting on Thursday Night March 30th here at the store. 

The next evening Mr. Jean Charles Boisset and to start off April a vertical tasting of Rinaldi Barolo back to the 1994 vintage on Saturday night!  Check out the calendar of events we have wine tastings posted all the way through May! 

 

This is the first event we have hosted with Luigi’s Tuscan Grill and the menu at this Las Olas hot spot looks great but I know the wines of Hess Winery on Mount Veeder will be great.  Check out all the wines available from one of Napa Valley’s elite producers.

Donald Hess is one of the pioneers of Napa Valley, first acquiring land up on Mount Veeder in 1978 and continuing to acquire vineyards in Napa Valley throughout the 1980’s purchasing properties at Mount LaSalle originally built by another winemaking pioneer Theodore Gler in 1903. This property has under went a complete renovation and the new winery and art gallery was opened in 1989 at the beginning of the current renaissance of Napa Valley. After 40+ years in the Napa Valley we feel that the Hess Collection Winery is one of the best kept secrets in California wine. 

 

Join us as we check out some of the new releases along with a special five course tasting menus at one of the hottest spots on Las Olas Luigi’s Tuscan Grill.  The price of this dinner is $85.00 + tax + gratuity.  Limited seating available so please RSVP early to 954-766-8700.

 

 

Image result for Luigi's Tuscan BarImage result for hess winery

Hess Wine Dinner at Luigi's Tuscan Bar and Grill on Las Olas
Tuesday, April 4th
6:30 pm

 

Appetizers at the Bar

Image result for Hess Select Sauvignon Blanc North Coast

Hess Select Sauvignon Blanc North Coast
Price: $12.75   Sale $11.22     Case $131

California’s North Coast unique growing region offers a relatively mild Mediterranean climate allowing our new world Sauvignon Blanc to offer a nod to New Zealand with grassy aromas with plenty of citrus and tropical fruit flavors alongside a crisp, bright freshness and a full, rich mouth-feel.

 

Antipasti

Zucchini Blossom stuffed with Goat Cheese and Arugula

 

Image result for Hess Collection Chardonnay Su'skol Vineyard Napa Valley

 

Hess Collection Chardonnay Su'skol Vineyard Napa Valley
Price: $19.75   Sale $17.38     Case $202

The Su’skol Vineyard benefits from its proximity to the San Pablo and San Francisco Bays. The vineyard is named for the native Su’skol people who used the site as a meeting place and valued the nearby sources of fish and game.

 

Pasta

Duck Ravioli over Red Sweet Bell Pepper sauce

Image result for Hess Collection 19 Block Cuvee Mt. Veeder Napa Valley

 

Hess Collection 19 Block Cuvee Mt. Veeder Napa Valley
Price: $32.25   Sale $28.38     Case $329

Our Mountain Cuvée is crafted with Malbec, Syrah and some of our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon blocks, resulting in a singular, distinctive expression of Mount Veeder. This wine can be enjoyed right now or a bit further down the road as it gains even greater complexity.

 

Secondi

Braised Short Ribs with crispy Porcini Polenta and
Sautéed Escarole

 

Image result for Hess Lion Tamer Red Napa Valley

Hess Lion Tamer Red Napa Valley
Price: $42.75   Sale $37.62     Case $437

The name “Lion Tamer” has become a nickname for Malbec because we use it as our tannin tamer. Much like a Lion Tamer who uses a deft hand to soothe powerful, instinctive animals, Winemaker Dave Guffy uses Malbec to soothe powerful tannins. This red blend brings all the roar of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah, and when blended with Malbec, produces a big, lush wine that finishes with smooth and tamed round tannins.

 

Dolci

Poached Pear served with Rice Pudding

 

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Hess Treo Red Blend California
Price: $16.50   Sale $14.52     Case $169

The Hess Select Treo is a blend of several red varietals sourced from select vineyards in Northern California that produce flavorful ripe fruit, juicy rounds flavors, agreeable acids and balanced tannins meant for easy drinking.

 

The price of this dinner is $85.00 + tax + gratuity.
Limited seating available so please RSVP early to 954-766-8700.

 

 

A bit about the Hess Winery:

 

The Hess Collection Winery has been one of the best kept secrets in the Napa Valley.  For almost forty years, Hess Vineyards on Mt. Veeder has concentrated on quietly establishing itself as an exceptional producer of premium cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay grapes.  All the while, small experimental lots of wine were being made to define the estate's own style and winemaking concepts, which are now realized in The Hess Collection wines.  The Hess story began when Swiss entrepreneur Donald Hess visited the Napa Valley.  In the course of his stay, an associate suggested that they share a bottle of wine from a prominent Napa Valley winery.  The wine was stunning, and Mr. Hess was drawn immediately to the prospect of being part of this beautiful valley's burgeoning reputation as a world-class wine region.  After considerable reflection and personally conducted research, Donald Hess found himself on the steep slopes of Mt. Veeder - the southernmost mountain in the Mayacamas Range that forms the western rim of the Napa Valley.  There he observed a small group of viticulturists struggling to establish mountain vineyards on this difficult terrain.  He realized that their efforts were driven by a dedication to the quality of grapes from Mt. Veeder.

 

Understanding that exceptional wines can come only from the highest quality wine grapes, Hess has focused on establishing vineyards that provide permanent continuity in producing such grapes.  This has been the cornerstone philosophy of the Hess vineyard and winery operations since their inception in 1978.  To date, approximately 285 acres have been planted on the mountainsides of Mt. Veeder.  These plantings are divided between chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, together with smaller lots of related red varietals - cabernet franc and merlot. During its first years of operation, Hess sold its grapes to highly regarded premium wineries that included Duckhorn, Beaulieu, and St. Clement while reserving a portion of each harvest for its own winemaking research.  Such experimentation has been essential to achieving a consistently high level of wine quality, due to the diverse viticultural conditions within the mountain vineyard terrain.  The three estate vineyards are composed of 95 blocks, or small vineyards, each with differing combinations of sunlight exposure, planted varietals, soil types and other viticultural factors.

 

In 1989 Hess opened its completely renovated, turn-of-the century winery.  The original building and property (purchased in 1986) dates back to 1903, when award-winning wines were made there by Theodore Gier.  In the early part of the century the old building had been the first Napa Valley winery of the Christian Brothers - it was then known as Mt. La Salle.  Several blocks of old cabernet vineyards have been retained from these bygone days: one which Brother Timothy (retired winemaker for Christian Brothers) attributes to a 1939 origin and the other, a piece on the upper slopes which dates back to Theodore Gier in 1903!

 

A portion of the original ivy-covered stone structure has been set aside to house owner Donald Hess' distinguished collection of paintings and sculptures by contemporary European and American artists.  The permanent exhibit represents a major portion of the artwork he has acquired over the past twenty years.  In putting his collection together, Mr. Hess has relied upon close personal contacts with the artists, rather than forays into the auction room.  Available for public viewing by visitors to the winery, it features a collection of celebrated artists.  Among the best known are Morris Louis, Robert Motherwell, and Frank Stella in the United States; Francis Bacon in England; the late Henri Michaux in Paris; Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter in Germany; Per Kirkeby in Denmark; Emilio Vedova in Italy; Arnulf Rainer in Austria; and a group of Swiss abstract artists, headed by Max Bill and Richard Paul Lohse.  Most striking perhaps is the work of American sculptor Bruce Robbins, whose lean, elegantly simulated ladders - made of oil paint, aluminum, wood, canvas, wire mesh, plaster or all of the above - stand at a slight angle to the wall and challenge us not to see them as an intelligent contribution to sculpture.

 

Randle Johnson, the winemaker, has worked with Mt. Veeder grapes since 1977, when he was with the Mayacamas Winery.  The first of The Hess Collection vintages (1983) were released in 1987 and 1988.  However, the first truly great Hess wine was the 1984 Hess Collection Reserve - the winery produced only 250 cases (all the rest of its fruit was sold to other wineries).  In 1985 Hess made no reserve, but the regular bottling was produced and turned out to be one of the stunning values of that great vintage.  Beginning in 1986 Hess seemed to arrive at a formula to which it has adhered since.  From the estate Hess produces about 18,000 cases of The Hess Collection Cabernet - the very best barrels are reserved for a minuscule amount of The Hess Collection Reserve.  The latter wine would have to be regarded as one of the most sought-after and prized Cabernets in the State of California.  Because of the incredible demand, it is now sold only at the winery. The winery's approach to its estate Chardonnay tends to go in a different direction than the overly big and buttery wines so much in vogue elsewhere in California.  The philosophy at Hess is that Chardonnay should be a wine to be enjoyed with food.  Complexity and richness are desirable, but there must be good balance and a palate-cleansing tartness in the finish.  The white wines are crisp in style with sound structure and balance and exemplify the tightly-reined style we have often found with Chardonnays grown in the Mt. Veeder area.  Both red and white wines are aged in small French barrels - the white for ten months and the reds at least twenty-two months.  Frequent tastings ensure that the wines do not pick up too much oak flavor.  Although we have not yet tasted a Hess Chardonnay that would make our Top Ten List, we are confident that the vineyards, money, and talent are there and will eventually "gel" to produce whites as equally as good as the reds.  Not to be confused with the winery's estate wines known as The Hess Collection are the wines made from purchased grapes under the Hess "Select" brand.  The Hess "Select" wines sport green, red, and blue labels for the Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Pinot Noir respectively.  Over the years they have garnered a reputation for excellent value.

 

In May of 1995 we participated in a unique vertical tasting of every Hess Collection Cabernet produced from 1983 to 1992.  We were awestruck by the remarkably high quality and beautifully balanced fruit.  Beginning with the 1990 vintage, the regular bottlings also seemed to step up several notches in quality.  The 1992 Hess Collection Cabernet set a new benchmark of quality for this winery.  Not only is it the best regular bottling ever produced at Hess, we also selected it as the 1995 Wine of the Year in The Wine News.  The objective for The Hess Collection's Cabernet Sauvignons is to achieve elegance and drinkability in wines that will also age well for an extended time.  The challenge has been to mold the powerful, concentrated flavors and aromas that are characteristic of mountain grapes into wines that have finesse as well as depth.  Selective lots of merlot and cabernet franc are blended with the base cabernet for additional breadth of character.  In 1989 author James Laube, who classified Hess a "second growth" in his California's Great Cabernets, described the Hess style as one of "richness, concentration, power and finesse."  Without question Hess has surpassed this exalted praise with its 1992 Hess Collection Cabernet.

 

In 1999, Donald Hess hired Guffy as Director of Winemaking for The Hess Collection after a successful stint at a Central Coast winery. “I have a strong belief in making wine in the vineyard, working each site to absolutely maximize flavors,” says Guffy. “My goal is to make ripe fruit forward California style wines with both power and elegance.”

A California native, Guffy spent many summers with his grandparents on their 500-acre Kansas farm. To this day, Guffy is fascinated by the agricultural elements of winemaking. “The farming aspect of wine has a primal challenge about it, and the same with winemaking,” says Guffy. “You can never know everything. Every year the challenge is to do it better than the year before.”

“I learned very early that I have to walk the vines year-round. During harvest, I continually taste grapes to keep an eye on the maturity of flavors and tannins to ensure the best expression of a particular vineyard. As a student I loved Cabernet, especially from Napa Valley, and it inspired me to pursue winemaking. Now, I’m literally on top of Napa, making mountain Cabernets. Mountain fruit is different from valley floor fruit — and so are the wines. They are structured, complex, rich wines, with distinctive tannins, age ability and concentrated fruit.”

 

Other wines available from Hess Winery:

 

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Hess The Lion Napa 2013
Price: $187.50 Sale $165.00   Case $1913

For nine generations The Lion has symbolized the Hess family’s approach to life and accomplishments, supporting the notion that one should “Live Each Day With The Heart And Courage of A Lion.” The Lion well represents the bold and courageous spirit that brought Donald Hess to Mount Veeder nearly four decades ago, with a vision that the rugged terroir of Mount Veeder could produce wines equal to the world’s finest.

“Opaque and concentrated at first glance, this wine is dense and rather forthcoming with aromas of cassis, blackberries and a sense of juiciness one can almost smell. All this concentrated fruit is wrapped in a veritable “pie crust” of fine and exotic aromas derived from new French oak barrels such as cedar, chocolate, mulling spices and sandalwood. The textural harmonies pull at your palate with sweet, ultra-ripe fruit, while notable tannins provide the supporting structure to all this opulence. While wines of this style are traditionally aged many years, it would be a shame not to enjoy this wonderfully ripe, young wine in the near term before putting some away for the long haul.” – Dave Guffy, Director of Winemaking

 

Image result for Hess Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2014

 

Hess Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2014
Price: $30.00   Sale $26.40     Case $306

”The Allomi vineyard lies in the rolling hills of northeastern Napa Valley, where the combination of long, warm growing seasons with well-drained soils create the optimal ripening conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. The 210-acre vineyard is focused into 35 unique growing blocks with six different Cabernet clones that add diversity of flavors and complexity to the wine. Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon offers distinct notes of vanilla and oak spice with red fruit flavors set off by flavors of currant and blackberry with integrated tannins and a round, plush mouthfeel.” – Dave Guffy, Director of Winemaking

 

 

Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder Napa
Price: $64.50   Sale $56.76     Case $658

“Our replanting program on Mount Veeder offered exceptional fruit for our blend of mountain Cabernet and Malbec.  The traditional red fruit aromas and flavors of the dominant Cabernet Sauvignon are led by bright cherry and wild mountain raspberry. The addition of our Malbec offers blueberry joined by notes of vanilla, cassis, creamy chocolate caramel and oak spice.” ─ Dave Guffy, Director of Winemaking

 

Image result for Hess Collection Small Block Malbec Mount Veeder Napa

 

Hess Collection Small Block Malbec Mount Veeder Napa
Price: $66.50   Sale $58.52     Case $679

“Let’s face it, we really like Malbec. We have more Malbec planted on Mount Veeder than any other winery in Napa and this vintage proves why. The wine produces big aromas of chocolate, blueberry and rich Aussie black licorice, followed up by rich vanilla bean. Supple and sensuous, the tannins are plush and the wine lingers with flavors of blackberries and dark fruits, a touch of jam and peppery spice” -Dave Guffy, Director of Winemaking


Image result for Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast

 

Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast
Price: $16.50   Sale $14.52     Case $169

“Our Hess Select Cabernet features grapes from some of the best vineyards in Napa and Lake county. The wine showcases a ruby color with aromas red raspberry and dark cherry. Flavors of red raspberry, black cherry follow with spicy notes of currants, anise, cloves, cedar and a touch of vanilla. This soft, round, medium-bodied wine tastes like Cabernet should. Our Cabernet is perfect with an informal BBQ straight through to Saturday night.” -Dave Guffy, Winemaker

Image result for Hess Select Chardonnay Monterey

 

Hess Select Chardonnay Monterey
Price: $12.75   Sale $11.22     Case $131

“We’re on to something with our Hess Select Chardonnay. It’s a new take on the most popular wine around, tasting good on its own, paired with appetizers, a variety of meals prepared at home or out for date night. Crisp and clean with bright wonderfully balanced acidity, the signature lemon-lime and a touch of apple flavors of Monterey shine through. ” – Dave Guffy, Director of Winemaking

Image result for Hess Select Malbec Salta

 

Hess Select Malbec Salta
Price: $16.50   Sale $14.52     Case $169

This fruit-forward Malbec is garnet red with a violet hue and has pleasant aromas of raspberry, cherry and pomegranate. Supple and smooth, the dominant flavors of cherries, Red Delicious apples and crabapple are accented with cassis, nutmeg and allspice. A long lingering finish highlights a light touch of oak.

 

Image result for Hess Select Pinot Noir Central Coast

 

Hess Select Pinot Noir Central Coast
Price: $18.00   Sale $15.84     Case $184

“Everyone has a favorite growing region in California for Pinot Noir. Our favorite focuses on the distinctive fruit that comes from the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey. Earthy aromas tinged with white pepper set the stage for aromas and flavors of sour bing cherry, rhubarb and Pomegranate. ” -Dave Guffy, Director of Winemaking