Tom Bender
Gourmet Food, Exquisite Wines and History Lessons at City Hotel in Columbia
Photo from City Hotel website
Background
Columbia State Historic Park in lower Sierra Foothills near Sonora, California owns this historic gold rush settlement, and the restaurant is run by a cooperative organization. The building was opened by George Morgan in 1856. The restaurant has a rich history in providing traditional cuisine and showcasing locally sourced produce. Without going into too much history, in 1947 the State of California purchased the building, and a local gem and mineral society used the adjoining bar, What Cheer, to display various gems. In 1974 the building was restored and opened as the City Hotel under operation by the Columbia City Hotel Cooperative Corporation.
Over the various years many food and wine events have been held at the restaurant. Today it is a unique patron-owned Cooperative with 310 stakeholders.
The Event
This evening had two noted and well-respected people conducting the wine and food pairing. Noted wine historian/wine judge/wine writer Mike Dunne recounted the development of the wine industry in the Sierra foothills. Mike traced back the history to John Sutter, Marshall’s employer, who used wild grapes growing along and about the American River to make brandy and wine, an experiment that lasted just a few years. Marshall, who helped build Sutter’s sawmill at what now is Coloma along the American River, was the first to spot the flakes that triggered the Gold Rush in 1848. Marshall didn’t have much luck prospecting, and in the long run became celebrated for his grape growing and winemaking on the slopes just above the sawmill.
A brief background on Mike, he started writing about wine in 1971 and continues to do so without wavering. Two years ago he published “The Signature Wines of Superior California: 50 Wines That Define the Sierra Foothills, the Delta, Yolo and the Delta” (shameless plug available on Amazon).
Picture of Martha and Mike Dunne Photo ©Michael Kelly
Tom Bender, local writer/college professor/wine judge and former manager of the City Hotel, curated and coordinated with the staff to prepare the five-course meal and coordinated securing the wines for the dinner.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Food and Wine Menu
One of my favorite quotes and used often is “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” by Andre Simon. This evening that quote fitted perfectly as the meal and wine were conjoined as living partners!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Approximately fifty food and wine aficionados gathered for this event. First dish for the evening was Ahi tuna in dill cone with garlic aioli, capers, shallots and avocado. This was paired with Noceto Amador Rosado d Sangiovese. Mike mentioned that this Rosé produced by Noceto is only one of ten Sangiovese wines produced yearly.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next up was a surprisingly delicious heirloom tomato and cucumber Gazpacho with crème Fraiche and chives paired with Hovey Calaveras Chardonnay. The chives came out of Tom & Wendy Benders herb garden and made this spectacular. Mike explained the detailed history of Chuck Hovey and his quest to make Chardonnay in Calaveras County, not known for Chardonnay. He called it “Duende” meaning powerful & emotional. A very good pairing.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
All the dishes this evening were beautifully prepared, presented and tasted wonderful. This next dish was one of the best standalone and with the wine exquisite. This was potato gnocchi with white corn, roasted red peppers, parmesan and basil cream. Paired with Runquist Wines “Cooper Vineyard” Amador Barbera. The dish was sensational and with the wine transformed it into being heavenly sent. Mike explained that when Dick Cooper planted his 40-acre estate he wanted to challenge the preconceived notion that only Zinfandel should be the dominant varietal for Amador County. While Barbera grapes coming out of northern Italy are high in acidity, Amador “terroir” provided fragrant and elegant aromas and taste. One sniff and we were all captivated by this wine.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
We finally arrived at the entrée for the evening: seared rack of lamb with fig chutney, goat cheese espuma and fondant potato and haricot verts. This was served perfectly cooked and served with two wines: Scott Harvey “1869” Amador Zinfandel and Milliaire Calaveras Syrah. Both wines were exceptionally good. A show of hands was taken to see which the attendees favorited with the food pairing. By a large percentage the Syrah was preferred with the rack of lamb.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
If this wasn’t already enough food and wine to enjoy, we concluded with dessert being profiterole filled with peach jam, chocolate ganache and crumbled pistachio. This was paired with Shenandoah Vineyards Amador Vintage Port made from Zinfandel grapes. While adjusting the belt on my pants, this was a perfect conclusion to the evening.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Mike provided some additional insight as to why El Dorado, Amador and Calaveras counties rose to be the premier counties with a rich history in grape growing. This was primarily due to factors, the first being European immigrants coming from Spain, Italy, Germany, etc., in search of gold. The second reason was transportation of the railroad system which also allowed grapes to be shipped back to East Coast. Conversely, Tuolumne County had more Mexican and Chinese immigrants and the railroad system did not come until much later.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
A great anecdotal story was told by Mike about wines being shipped to the miners in Nevada. In history books, one was called Toe Wine produced by Italian miners who stomped the grapes with their feet. The other was called Jackass Brandy. This was aptly named as the brandy was carried in wooden 10-gallon barrels. Local donkeys were fitted with a metal frame to carry one on each side of the animals.
Truly an educational and fun evening with food and wine for all to enjoy. As a side benefit met many new like-minded food & wine folks who we will most certainly see again! The City Hotel holds several events during the year including their well-known yearly Victorian Christmas Feast.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly