Sunday, August 7, 2011

Dinner with an Old Friend(s)

This past weekend my good friend and Manhattanite, Wendy, made the big trek across the river to join my monthly dinner club get together.  This month we chose Giotto because Jeff, one of the club members had never been, which the rest of us felt was just wrong for someone who has lived in Montclair for over a year. 

Giotto, like most places we choose, is a BYO so Wendy and I took a quick tour of my wine refrigerator.  As we were deciding which bottles of wine to bring to dinner, Wendy commented that she was a big fan of Merry Edwards pinot noir - one of the many things we agree upon.  Merry Edwards is one of my absolute favorite pinot noir makers and you don't have to do much arm twisting to convince me to crack open a bottle of her wine.  I grabbed a bottle of Merry Edwards 2006 Flax Vineyard pinot noir that I picked up on my last trip to Sonoma.

The wine was as good as I remembered.  Medium bodied, but with rich, yet soft tannins and a lot of great cherry and blackberry fruit.  It's a great wine for a variety of foods, which made it a natural choice for a restaurant where we'd be having everything from salads to scallops to rich meaty red sauces.  Most importantly, it was a big hit and enjoyed by all (or so my friends told me).  I sometimes wonder if they just tell me they like what I pick to prop up my wine-ego!

Regardless, it was a great dinner.  AND, unlike previous experiences at Giotto, the service was as good as the wine.  Maybe they finally recognized that at least a few of us are there somewhat regularly?!?  Either way, it was great that the quality of the service finally matched the food. 

And what's more - we actually agreed to venture out of Montclair for our next dinner club.  With an upcoming trips to Blue Hill at Stone Barns and the Willamette Valley, I'll definitely be posting before then!

Until the next sniff, sip, quaff, or venture out of Montclair,

Cheers,

Alli M.

14 comments:

elliej said...

I love Merry Edwards pinot noir,too, but I thought it was one of the vineyards we visited in the Willamette Valley. My senior moment -- about the location of the vineyard, not the wine.

Chris said...

I'm having all kinds of 'senior moments' lately. If I remember correctly.

I'm going to try (something) from Merry Edwards next week. What's your favorite pairing with any of them?

Alli M. said...

Sorry for the delayed response, Chris. Merry Edwards' pinot noir tends to have a lot of cherry notes, which is typical of pinot noir. But she has a lighter touch than many CA producers so you don't want to go too hearty. I'd stick with a nice piece of meat or a lean cut of pork (if it's prepared with some sort of a cherry sauce or glaze, even better!). Enjoy.

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