Cafe Ena

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012  6:30

It is hard to believe we are coming up on five years here @ Cafe Ena!

It seems like just yesterday we were opening our door’s for the first time.

We feel so blessed to be part of such a wonderful neighborhood and community.

To mark this special occasion we thought one of our fantastic wine dinners was in order!

So join us in celebrating tradition while embracing the new!

A side by side comparative tasting of Old World versus New World Wine Styles.

Chef Ruiz has intricately handcrafted a 5 course menu, each course to be paired with a duo of wines.

Joining us once again our dear friend Sommelier Leslee Miller, as she has hand selected wines to pair with every nuance of the menu.

Come relax, enjoy and lavish in this exquisite menu and selection of unique wines.

$75 Per Person not including gratuity

Make your reservation today!

612 824 4441

Written by
Laura Betker
Simply Science

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Many of us tend to drink all of our wine out of the same type of glass. But local sommelier Leslee Miller from Amusee Wine says the glass really does make a difference in how a particular wine tastes. She explained that the shape of the wine glass determines the path the wine takes through your mouth and which taste buds the wine reaches.

Although wine glasses can be traced back to the 1500s, the science of glass shape goes back to the 1950s when the now-popular Riedel family did major research on the palate and how wine was best emphasized. Today, Riedel glasses are sold in shops across the world and they are known as the experts in their field. They found that there are four areas of the tongue that sense the wine: Sweet in the front, acid/salty in the middle, minerality in the back and acidity on the sides.

While Leslee has a countless number of glasses, each awaiting a pour from a specific bottle, there are two main shapes that the average wine drinker should know about. And as I learned, it’s way more than just a red glass and a white glass.

The globe shaped glass that we typically think of for red wines is called a Burgundy and is great for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It directs the wine to a wider path through your mouth, letting it hit the sides of your tongue that sense the wine’s acidity.

But on the other hand, Cabernet, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc should be fully enjoyed from a taller and narrower wine glass – think the typical white wine glass – called a Bordeaux shape. This encourages the wine to take a path straight from the front of your mouth to the back, skipping the more acidic taste buds on the side. It pulls from the sweet taste sensors on the tip of your tongue and then pulls through what Leslee calls the minerality of the wine from the back of your tongue (where the bumpy part is).

Before meeting Leslee, I didn’t know much about how the wine glasses shape affected the taste of the wine. But I first sampled a Cabernet from its correctly shaped glass (tall and narrow) and it tasted great… sweet and smooth. Then I sampled the same wine from a globe shaped glass (the one that takes the wine on a journey to the land of acidity). It tasted horrible compared to the first glass. I would have guessed it was a completely different bottle!

I did the same test with a Pinot Grigio and was equally amazed.

Bottom line: I’m a believer in properly picking the wine glass based on the grape and not the color of the wine. Whether or not a glass has a stem is not important. That’s personal style preference. (I love the stem-less glasses because they give off a much more casual vibe, in my opinion.)

Here’s Leslee’s quick list for pairing wines to their proper glass:

Burgundy glass
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir

Bordeaux glass
Cabernet
Merlot
Petit Verdot
Malbec
Cabernet Franc
Pinot Grigio
Sauvignon Blanc

(Copyright 2012 KARE. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

From delicate Rieslings, round and lushy Pinot Gris(s), to supple, unctuous Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet, Malbec & Petite Verdot – the room had it all.

A few wineries that truly stood out…

Dusted Valley Vintners

Andrew Will

Mark Ryan

Alexandria Nicole

All with wines that spoke with structure, character & length.  Ranging from round whites to big reds, each had their own niche that truly spoke to the state of Washington.

While there, I actually had a minute to catch up with Winegrower/Owner of Dusted Valley Vintners, Corey Braunel, and get his full thoughts on these varietals, with a full lay out of his winery with WI food pairings to boot!  Happy to connect to a fellow Midwesterner, Corey, like myself is a wino born & raised in WI.  Think the subject of Fish Fry doesn’t come up and what wine to pair to it?  Guess you’ll have to watch it and see for yourself! In HD

]]> http://www.amuseewine.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=3163 0 http://www.amuseewine.com/blog/?p=3153 http://www.amuseewine.com/blog/?p=3153#comments Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:46:14 +0000 Leslee http://www.amuseewine.com/blog/?p=3153 Last nite I spent some time with the Minnesota Grape Growers Association at the Cold Climate Grape Conference held at the Crowne Plaza, St Paul.

With over 20+ wineries in attendance, and between the number of fabulous conversations I had with Minnesota wine growers across the board, I had just a small window to taste getting to about 8 of the local wineries featured.  While the varietals and blends ran deep, with each winery hosting over 15+ wines to taste, some of the most important University of Minnesota grape varietals:  Frontenac, Marquette, La Crescent and Frontenac Gris were hi-lited.

As the range of flavors from each grape ranged from very dry to stewy sweet – one of the most important lessons I learned of each, was that each winery worked hard to bring ‘balance’ to a variety of their bottled wines.  Some wineries laid a heavy hand to their barrel regime, while others let the grape varietals speak for themselves.  Some by the use of French oak and most with variations of American oak.  Styles were broad, grape varietals were plenty and blends were of interest, yet one of the most interesting projects I came across was from winery, Millner Heritage.  A Minnesota bubbly, quoted by the winemaker as being produced in a ‘Methode Champenoise’ style.  Sweet, with a foxy backbone, the bubbles seem to be a big hit with the winery booth.

The conversations I shared across the board were heartfelt, spoken from true Minnesotan farmers that were simply there to show their wares.  Some, brand new to the industry and others that had been in the business for over 10+ years, like the owner of the Fieldstone Winery.  All with passion, interest and love for their industry.

I did, at the same time, talk two of the Minnesota Grape Growers Association members into sharing a few live minutes with me about the event, the Cold Climate Conference with some description as to a few of MN’s most known varietals WITH food pairings to boot!  In HD

Pretty in Pink! is the kick off theme to our Wine O’Clock Series.

Definition: Fun filled Happy Hours

Join our first guest speaker, Sommelier Leslee Miller of Amusée, as she kicks off the spring season with a super sipping’ selection of PINKS.  Around the globe in Rosé is the name of the game, as the gals from Kitchen in the Market whip up a few fiesty apps to pair to Leslee’s picks.

Seriously, you’re gonna wanna say ~                                                                  ’You came, you drank and had a blast!’

Don’t be shy.  Come alone, with a pal or a gaggle of peeps ~ we promise to show you a good time!

Sign up today!

Pairing made easy with Chef Mike Shannon, Cicerone Michael Agnew and Sommelier Leslee Miller

Watch as we pair an entire menu of winter warming foods – from salad course all the way through a s’more pot de creme dessert – to all things…

Beer and Wine

You’ll love his charming acoustic sound.

As many of you already know, I write monthly for a number of
publications across the nation. Whether
it be a regular piece recommending wines, or a cameo spot amongst a national
wine or food publication, my work as a writer keeps me quite busy.

Many times, because I write so many of my pieces so far in
advance, I rarely remember what wine I actually recommended for the upcoming
month. So when the publications are
delivered to my own front door, I always find myself flipping through and
hunting down the wines I wrote about.
Surprised with the verbiage I end using to describe my favorite wines, I
always find myself wanting a glass of the selection at that second.

This month when I thumbed through METRO Edina’s February
Issue, I had just that feeling, knowing that I truly recommended one of my
favorite wines of ALL TIME.

Check it out…

DRINK

February is a lovely month to
share a great bottle of wine with someone special, because love is absolutely
in the air. While a number of wines will be recommended for this month
dedicated to L-O-V-E, I’m a much bigger fan of finding a wine that will
electrify the senses and evoke conversation this particular time of year. The
Numanthia Termes (Tempranillo) from the very small region of Toro, Spain, is
just that wine ($35). The nose gives scents of dried violet, dark chocolate,
peppery dried meats, with a hint of candied spice. The mouth is intense with
mouth-watering blackberry, cherry and stewed marionberry fruit combined with
firm, yet velvety tannins. Ridiculously sexy!  If this doesn’t spark a lively
conversation, you may not have the right date.

Crow River Winery, a Minnesota Winery, located just one hour west of the Twin Cities is an outstanding one day get-away tour for those in the metro looking to escape the daily grind of the city. A winery that sits within the Crow River Watershed, an area defined by the 15,000 yr old Des Moines Glacier. Full of glacial til and gravel, the region leaves a well-drained stony, clay soil perfect for growing the region’s most popular grapes:  La Crescent, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac and Marquette.  All grapes from which some of the winery’s flagship wines are made from.

The winery is owned by a very lovely and exceptionally gracious couple, Mike & Val McBrady, both who are local to the region and its people. Although quite new to the wine industry, the duo has managed to gracefully build one of the largest winery spaces the state has known.

The facility, is unlike any other MN winery I’ve visited. With a unique road-side sign (a structure that originally came with the property), the winery and all its grandeur is quite hard to miss. At one point, McBrady tells me, the state actually wanted to charge him for the space of an actual highway billboard due to the size of his facility’s entrance sign. Hard to miss.  When you visit, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Of course, I had done my homework before heading out, yet something told me that the drawn outlines of the winery space online were going to be much more than I had expected. The winery, with plans to host a 400 person event hall equipped with an outdoor amphitheater, fountains, gorgeous outdoor patio for tasting, olive oil/balsamic bar, pizza oven parlor and serpentine shaped tasting bar – all honestly, sounded too good to be true. In Minnesota? Had I just landed in Napa?  I honestly had to give myself a pinch and remind myself that I was, in fact, standing just outside of Hutchinson, Minnesota standing in awe.  A facility, yes, fit for Napa.

The winery space, which opened in August last year, has spent every day since, adding/building and maximizing every square inch that their Minnesota property has given them.  To give you an idea as to just how far this couple has gone to ensure that the proper service expectations and etiquette of their staff match the gorgeous facility that they’ve spent their waking hours building, they hired an insider of the industry to help them shape the knowledge of their crew. With a background in 5 star restaurants and exclusive winery training – I felt privileged to be that person sharing my knowledge and experience with the young staff of this Minnesota built winery as their ‘insider’.

Tasting through the wines just two weeks before gave me a refresher course on Minnesota grown grapes, yet the number of fruit wines that the portfolio produced were all new to me. Ranging from Apricot, Strawberry/Rhubarb, Honey-crisp Apple/Cranberry to more – the couple shared that their award-winning Honey-crisp Apple/Cranberry wine still ranks highest with many who visit the winery.  And, indeed it is a winner. Fresh, with brite notes of honey-crisp apple and yes, cranberry – the wine, I’ve described to many, as an amazing starter to any dinner event.

With a number of varietaly correct Minnesota wines, and a staff just about as ‘Minnesota Nice’ as one can get – I’ll admit, I’m Crow River Winery’s new biggest fan.

It’s not often that wineries, especially in the Midwest, reach out and ask for ‘winery’ training – leaving their departments of customer service, wine service and wine education up to fate. At the same time, it was not surprising the second I walked into the facility and met the owners, that they were striving for ‘best in category’ when it came to all sections of their winery. A couple, whom by day, owns a successful data software company was complete with local history, enthusiasm and professionalism regarding the properties on which they farmed, managed and produced. Committed to sustainability, their industry and obviously, their community, it was clear that Hutchinson was lucky to have the McBradys in their own back yard.  With a portfolio that holds everything from fruit wines, Minnesota grapes, port wines to a selection of garlic cooking wines – they have your beverage selections covered from kitchen prep to dessert course.

My time, needless to say, was an experience that I will tell many about as I am amongst the public. Funny, as it was I, who was hired to drive home the idea of customer ‘experience’ with the staff.  Little did they know that it was them – gifting me with a story that I would later tell others.  After all, isn’t it the ‘experience’ that ends up telling the story of the wine and creates the relationship for many of us?  Think about it.

If wine is 90% experience – who you’re with, how it was served and the story it shared – why wouldn’t every winery strive to give their guest the best experience they could?

So really, don’t you need a day to escape the city life?  Jump in the car, head west one hour on highway 7 and look up just a couple miles east of the city limits of Hutchinson. You’ll see the sign and you’ll certainly see the facility. Walk inside and enjoy a day tasting and enjoying a number of Minnesota wines with the McBradys and their winery family.  The Crow River Winery staff is shiny-faced, enthusiastic and ready to educate, entertain and shower you with 5 star customer service – I can pretty much guarantee it!

By the way, looking for something fun to do on the eve of  Valentine’s Day?  Crow River has a styl-y Valentine’s Day Dinner lined out just for you! Romanticly set up with flowers, candle-lite, delicious food and wine – the gang at the winery still has room with a few more seats for you, a date or a group of pals.

Sign up today!

Thank you to my new friends at Crow River Winery – your hospitality was very much appreciated.