Someone I got to know somehow through work was hosting a Calera wine dinner, so I went along. Calera is the pricey wine people call the Romanée-Conti of California -_-. Apparently the winery’s owner trained at Romanée-Conti or something like that.. I’d only ever heard the name, so finally getting a chance to drink it was a real treat for me.
The food was a buffet
They’d clearly put some thought into choosing the ingredients. Buffet or not, there was plenty to go with the wine.
Tomato starter
Salad, fried rice and so on..
And here come the Calera wines at last
Three came out: RYAN, MILLS and JENSEN. Those in the know will know that JENSEN is the priciest of the lot, so the moment I saw it I made it my prime target.. This is exactly when all that wine knowledge I’ve been building up pays off. Felt kind of proud of myself.. I hovered nearby and got a glass the second it was opened, and the flavour of a top-end Burgundy really came rushing through. Fresh berry aromas and an elegant finish. It just doesn’t taste like a California wine. Honestly, at the same price Burgundy is naturally the better buy, so I figured I’d never drink Calera in my life, but getting the chance and tasting it like this made me rethink the potential of California wine..
For the record, Ryan and Mills are well-regarded vineyards too. They’re cheaper than the Jensen, but they’re still pricey wines at over 6,000 yen, so they taste pretty good.
The other wines
With only three bottles of Calera, these were put out in case people ran short.. I didn’t so much as glance at them..
Calera’s Chardonnay
The Chardonnay was fruity yet delicately made as well. Again, it’s a bit pricier than other wines in its class (around 3,000 yen?), so outside an occasion like this I’d never pay for it myself. This tasting left me with the impression that Calera is a winery that would rather make delicious wine than cheap wine. I think it’d make a better gift than something to drink myself.
This is the host.
A seriously capable person.. Huge thanks..
Chilled roasted chestnuts for dessert
Easy to peel and a real treat. Who knew you could eat chestnuts this way..
And to finish, umeshu…
It looks seriously impressive.. but the taste was just so-so..
If I ever make a lot of money, I’d love to host a great wine dinner like this too.. Do it with wines that are poor value, the kind nobody buys for themselves, and I bet it’d be a huge hit ^_^