Patz & Hall Wine Dinner at the Grateful Palate

In King Tut’s Egypt (around 1300 BC), the commoners drank beer and the upper class drank wine.

You have read your calendar correctly- we have two events on the same night!  Well it is hard to say no to one of my favorite wine producers like Donald Patz from Patz N Hall winery.  I will be conducting a seminar about pairing wine an chocolate at the Sub-zero Showroom in Hollywood at 6:30pm and then I will make it just in time for the main course to the Grateful Palate on 17th Street Causeway in Fort Lauderdale to have dinner with Donald Hall.  I know what your thinking, but don't worry I am a trained professional.

This is the first dinner that we will be doing with the Grateful Palate, a yacht provisioning company, on 17th Street Causeway which began focusing on their foodservice at dinner time.  They have hired a good friend of Wine Watch Cindy Woodman to run the restaurant and we have agreed to help Cindy promote her wine events.  The Grateful Palate uses the exclusive ingredients that are offered to private yachts to create the extraordinary dishes that you can enjoy in our contemporary restaurant.

Their culinary team has developed a wine friendly dining menu described as contemporary American, with global influences, that inevitably leads to a memorable food and wine experience.

The wine bar features a large selection of boutique wines, produced by small, family-owned wineries from around the world. Our ever evolving wine list offers 40 wines by the glass, and 300 additional selections by the bottle, enabling their sommelier and wine team to cater to the wine aficionado, or to the novice in an unpretentious environment.

Patz & Hall Wine Dinner at the Grateful Palate
Thursday February 11th
7:00 pm

Reception with Pass rounds

Mini Beef Wellingtons
Vichysoise Espresso
Roasted Fingerling Potato, Smoked Salmon, Chive Crème Fraiche
Egg cups & Caviar

Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2008
Price: $39         Sale $33.15

 

First Course

Confit Salmon, Cucumber Ceviche, Fennel Gastrique

Patz & Hall Hudson Chardonnay Carneros 2007
Price: $58.50    Sale $51.48

A true reflection of the stellar 2007 growing season, we think this is the best Hudson Vineyard - Carneros Chardonnay we have ever produced. Beautiful acidity lends a balancing freshness and lithe minerality to vibrant, juicy fruit elements of citrus peal, grapefruit,peaches and lightly poached pears. Fully integrated oak contributes a textural foundation and hints of clove that support this complex, multi-layered wine.

 

Second Course

Terrine de Fois Gras & Braised Rabbit, Crème Fraiche Crisps, Cherry Ginger
Compote, Micro Golden Pea Tendril Garnish

Patz & Hall Dutton Chardonnay 2007
Price: $37.50    Sale $33           Case $383

With perfect weather and significantly smaller crops than the previous vintage, 2007 was a standout year for Chardonnay, and the 2007 DUTTON RANCH - Russian River Valley Chardonnay is no exception. Seamlessly combining both high tone and bass notes, this wine begins with lovely tropical aromas of mango and pineapple accented by subtle Muscat and white flower notes. On the palate, the wine is flowing and gracious, echoing the tropical fruit of the nose and combining it with layers of nut crust, graham cracker and crème brûlée. Though bone dry, it hints at sweetness, and concludes with an appealingly full and broad-textured finish.

 

Third Course

Venison Tataki, Wild Winter Mushroom Ratatouille, Sunchoke Puree, Natural
Consomme

Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir  2007
Price: $37.50    Sale $33           Case $383

The 2007 growing season was a top-notch vintage, with a cool summer and slow, even ripening. Reflecting its Sonoma Coast origins and near-perfect growing  conditions, the 2007 SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR offers a beautiful expression of the varietal, with bright red fruit aromatics of cranberry and pomegranate, accentuated by seductive layers of Chambord, butter and cinnamon spice. Crisp, structured and with a lifted, mouthwatering finish, this wine seamlessly balances pure cranberry and cherry notes with classic acidity.

Fourth Course

Trio of Chocolate with Fromage Blanc, Sorbet, Honey Comb Garnish

Patz & Hall Jenkins Ranch Pinot Noir  2007
Price: $60         Sale $52.80      Case $612

This is a supple and satisfying wine with an elegant texture that balances lushness with a certain demure quality. Walnut spice bread aromatics mingle with layers of clove, cinnamon spice and mulled cherry cider. On the palate, it is smooth and creamy, with an easy-drinking charm that highlights raspberry, cherry and pomegranate flavors, seamless tannins and a soft, lingering finish.

 

Dinner is $95 plus tax and gratuity for reservations call (954) 467-1998

 

A bit about Patz N Hall Winery:

The seeds for Patz & Hall were planted in the 1980s when assistant winemaker James Hall and national sales manager Donald Patz struck up a close friendship while working together at Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards.  The two discovered a mutual enthusiasm for a rich and compelling style of wine made by applying traditional winemaking techniques to fruit from elite, small vineyards.  Inspired to combine their winemaking and sales talents, James and Donald joined with partners Anne Moses and Heather Patz, to establish Patz & Hall in 1988.

To achieve their goal of crafting exceptional limited-production wines, the four founders have each focused their specialized knowledge, expertise and daily attention to different areas of the winery's operations.  This integrated, hands-on approach, along with a commitment to developing close personal relationships with a handful of California 's finest growers, has become the cornerstone of the winery's success-allowing Patz & Hall to continually realize the highest levels of quality and consistency.
As national sales director, and one of four founding partners, Donald Patz has spent nearly 20 years building Patz & Hall's reputation for quality, consistency and excellence. A dedicated and visionary individual, Donald brings a comprehensive understanding of Patz & Hall to his role, having gained extensive hands-on expertise in every aspect of the winery's operations. This depth of knowledge, coupled with Donald's belief in developing long-term, mutually rewarding relationships, has helped to earn a place for Patz & Hall on many of the world's great wine lists.

Donald first discovered his passion for wine when he stumbled upon a copy of Hugh Johnson's "World Atlas of Wine," while earning a degree in biology at the University of Oregon in Eugene in the late 1970s.  Fascinated by the book's central idea that wine is intrinsically tied to individual regions and vineyards, Donald began actively exploring different wines from around the world.  A regular face at local wine shops, Donald was soon asked to become the director of the local Les Amis du Vin wine group, setting up tastings and winemaker dinners.  Eager to immerse himself in California's emerging wine scene, Donald moved to Santa Rosa in 1983 and spent two years as a sales manager for a large wine wholesaler, handling key restaurant accounts throughout Northern California.

For two decades, founder and winemaker James Hall has guided the Patz & Hall winemaking program, instilling it with his own boldness, imagination and trademark perfectionism. Combining a belief in great viticulture, traditional winemaking practices, and the judicious use of innovative techniques, James has earned a reputation for crafting dramatic benchmark Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs that balance vibrant power with vineyard-inspired depth and sophistication.

The son of an English professor, who was also a wine enthusiast, James developed an early appreciation for fine wine during travels with his family to Europe in the late 1960s. While studying liberal arts at the University of California, Santa Cruz, James met Anne Moses, and together the two began exploring their shared interest in wine.  Although it was not part of his curriculum, James started studying winemaking textbooks in his spare time.  Inspired, he transferred to the University of California, Davis, to study viticulture and enology.  Eager to experience the hands-on work of winemaking, James took his first winery job at Felton-Empire in 1981, where he was able to learn from renowned winemakers Leo McCloskey and Patrick Mahaney. "Leo was the scientist, obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of wine, Pat was the craftsman, meticulously working with the raw materials.  It was a remarkable experience learning these complementary approaches."

In 1983, James joined Napa Valley's Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards as assistant winemaker.  There, he spent four years developing his expertise crafting barrel-fermented, small-lot Chardonnays.  While at Flora Springs, James struck up a close friendship with sales manager Donald Patz, and the two soon discovered that they shared a similar philosophical approach to wine and winemaking.  In the spring of 1988, while working as the winemaker and estate manager for Honig Winery, James teamed up with Donald and Heather Patz, and Anne Moses to make and release Patz & Hall's inaugural Napa Valley Chardonnay.
As Patz & Hall's winemaker for nearly 20 years, James has built lasting relationships with such renowned growers as Larry Hyde, Charlie and Bud Chenoweth, Gary Pisoni and Lee Martinelli to create an acclaimed portfolio of single-vineyard wines.  At the same time, he has designed and implemented cutting-edge equipment and procedures, including a custom punch-over device, in an effort to constantly enhance quality.  A master of his craft, and a widely respected veteran winemaker, James is regularly asked to speak about artisan winemaking.

The message about the wines of Patz & Hall is resounding, the quality of the wines lies in the dirt where the grapes are grown and that is what they hand their hats on at Patz & Hall winery.  One of our favorite vineyard sites in California and one of the best wines of the year for 2008 comes from one of the most unique growers in all of the world, one of the leading Pinot Noir vineyard of the central coast area Pisoni Vineyard. 

One of Patz & Hall’s finest Napa Valley bottlings ever, the 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay reveals a bouquet that combines tropical fruit and spice elements from Hudson Vineyard in Carneros with fresh citrus layers from Atlas Peak’s Antinori Vineyard, and apple pie, cinnamon and clove elements from Oakville’s Garvey Vineyard. On the palate, bright flavors of green apple, pear, lychee and white flowers coalesce in a richly textured and elegantly balanced wine that concludes with a long, satisfying finish.
A favorite variety of many winemakers, Chardonnay allows the characteristics of the vineyard and vintage to be fully articulated through the craft of winemaking. From intriguing mineral flavors and wet stone aromas to lush, tropical fruit tastes, Chardonnay has a tremendous range of expression. A hallmark of the Patz & Hall winemaking program is the distinctive character of each of  their Chardonnays, each beautifully rendered.

Their grapes are hand-harvested in the cool of the early morning and immediately sorted in the field. Leaves, imperfect fruit and under-ripe clusters are discarded. These hand-harvested and selected grapes are taken to the winery, where they are meticulously sorted again. The remaining fruit is immediately "whole cluster" pressed. This process produces juice containing very little tannin and preserves the delicate aromatics and full flavors of the Chardonnay fruit. While they end up with less wine this way, the quality and age-worthiness make it worth it.

After pressing, the juice, with all of the lees, is racked into 100 percent French oak barrels, where, after several days, it begins to ferment. The barrel fermentations typically progress very slowly, often finishing in early winter. This extended fermentation gives rise to wines with great depth of flavor and roundness. During this period, the wines are stirred weekly to extract the toasty, roasted aromas from the grape solids and yeast remaining in the barrel. At the same time, they top the barrels weekly to protect the wines from oxidation. All Patz & Hall Chardonnays undergo malo-lactic fermentation and then develop in barrel for eleven months before being bottled without filtration. The yeast particles that remain further guard the wines from oxidation, so they continue to age favorably in bottle. Gently transferred from barrel to bottle, unfiltered wines do not undergo "bottle shock," consequently, Patz & Hall Chardonnays are delicious upon release and continue to evolve in bottle over time.

 

A few things in the store from Patz & Hall Winery:

2007 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard
Price: $61.50    Sale $54.12
Quantity in Stock: 1

Wine Watch Review: Lemon drop candy white flowers and vanilla and cinnamon spice Asian pear and lightly buttered toast. Excellent concentration and depth of flavors with a good hand of underlying minerality with notes of cinnamon spice and lightly toasted oak. Finish 45+ Most Excellent

2007 Patz & Hall Chardonnay Dutton Ranch Vineyard (375ml)
Price: $21.50    Sale $18.92
Quantity in Stock: 5

With perfect weather and significantly smaller crops than the previous vintage, 2007 was a standout year for Chardonnay, and the 2007 DUTTON RANCH - Russian River Valley Chardonnay is no exception. Seamlessly combining both high tone and bass notes, this wine begins with lovely tropical aromas of mango and pineapple accented by subtle Muscat and white flower notes. On the palate, the wine is flowing and gracious, echoing the tropical fruit of the nose and combining it with layers of nut crust, graham cracker and crème brûlée. Though bone dry, it hints at sweetness, and concludes with an appealingly full and broad-textured finish.

2006 Patz N Hall Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands
Price: $89.25    Sale $78.54
Quantity in Stock: 8

Wine Watch Review: Lots of candied cherry berry fruit on the nose sweet and exotic liqueur like fruit toasty oak spice caramel very decadent oak spice, smokey bacon fat notes. Wow a real knockout with smooth and silky velvety texture with so much of everything I would say over the top but everything is in proportion here, a real blockbuster. Finish 50+ KILLER

2007 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir Hyde Vineyard Carneros Magnum
Price: $156.00  Sale $137.28
Quantity in Stock: 3

From its startling blue-garnet hue onwards, this is a singular and profound expression of Pinot Noir that embodies all the reasons why Hyde has earned its reputation as one of California’s grand cru vineyards. Bringing together concentration and graceful complexity, the 2007 vintage is big and rich with a palate of soft, coating tannins, while still displaying elegant acid balance, a core of minerality and a lithe, vibrant charm. Seductive aromas of cherry, kirsch and bittersweet chocolate, segue to red fruit flavors of raspberry, cranberry and framboise, with hints of char and cocoa.