Whole Foods and Bordeaux
October 27, 2009 by vegasrenie
Our own Fritz!
Our own Fritz Reese presented a class on the Wines of Bordeaux Sunday evening at the Whole Foods on Las Vegas Boulevard in the new Town Square shopping complex. Our friend Kenny, an alumni of Khoury’s, did the cooking honors, basing his carefully paired dishes from Julia Child’s cookbook. Julia, who wrote The French Chef for an American audience, would, of course, be the perfect person to supply recipes for this evening.
So what was special about this Bordeaux and food pairing? The wines collectively were less than $25.00 a bottle, with most of them being $15.00 or less. And this is from Whole Foods! Great deal!
Fritz, a quasi-native of Las Vegas (over 30 years), works the “day job” at Clark County. His love and passion are wines, particularly French wines. He’s a member of the Society of Wine Educators as well as being a sommelier in his own right. Who better to teach us about wines?
There were five wines and Kenny did a phenomenal job of not only cooking, but also pairing the wines because he did it all! Fritz gave a wonderful presentation on the wines while Kenny cooked.
Here are the wines and the foods that Kenny paired with them:
The first was a white Bordeaux, a Sauvignon Blanc and Sèmillon blend. The 2007 Château Ferrande was paired with Butternut Squash soup that had been slowly roasted, seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, and topped with a date/walnut butter for added mouthfeel and incredible flavor.
The second wine was a 2005 Château La Grange Clinet, which is a Cabernet based Bordeaux, that is about $15.00. Yes, you read that correctly. A 2005 Bordeaux for less than $20.00. It was paired with Goose Paté on toast crisps, drizzled with a sauce of reduced Port simmered with dried cranberries, It was then sprinkled with chopped dried cranberries and Fleur de Sel.
The third wine was 2005 Château Tour Prignac, another Cab-based Bordeaux. Because of the wonderful nature of this wine, Kenny paired it with pan-seared Swordfish, that was accompanied by tomatoes, garlic, and fines herbes.
Fourth was the 2005 Château du Bousquet, served with pan-seared (in butter) Duck Breast, sliced over mild Italian sausage and Granny Smith apples sauteed in brown sage butter. By the look of the class whose eyes collectively rolled in ecstasy, I’d say that this was
For dessert there was a 2004 Madame Fleur Sauternes served with Crêpes stuffed with almond mascarpone and drizzled with reduced strawberry champagne and topped with whipped cream and sliced almonds.
The newest local Whole Foods has regular events, including Tuesday night cooking classes. And I don’t have to tell you that the store is pretty spectacular.
Whole Foods is located at 6689 Las Vegas Boulevard South in Town Square. It’s a fun store!
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Hello,
My name is Jenny Wagner and I am the LV Metro Marketing Supervisor for Whole Foods Market. I wanted to thank you for the lovely coverage of the Bordeaux event at our Las Vegas Blvd. store. I was wondering if I could get a name and email contact info for Vegas Wineaux’s to keep in my media contacts list for all the events going on in our stores around Vegas! In the meantime, here is mine: jenny.wagner@wholefoods.com / 702-673-7578.
And lastly, please read below for our latest media alert – we are having a Quickfire Challenge and free wine tasting on November 7th at our Henderson store! Read below for the details. Thanks again and I wish you a wonderful Halloween weekend!
First Annual “Whole Foods Market Quickfire Challenge” Featuring
Executive Chef Cook-Off, Local Celebrity Judges Panel, and Customer Wine Tasting
Saturday, November 7, 12pm – 2pm customers can watch the action unfold and get the first taste of the Quickfire Cabernet and Chardonnay – wines featured on this season of Top Chef
WHAT: Whole Foods Market, Henderson is holding a Quickfire Challenge in true Top Chef style! Celebrating the launch of Quickfire wines sold at Whole Foods Market, Henderson, and featured on this season of Top Chef – Las Vegas, five executive chefs will be competing to be named the First Annual Whole Foods Market Quickfire Champion.
Public is invited for a FREE wine tasting and to observe the Chefs in action. They will be delivered a Quickfire challenge and must create a dish for the judging panel within one hour. Sure to be an exciting competition!
WHO: Competing Chefs:
- Jet Tila – Wazuzu, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas
- Rene Lenger – Switch, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas
- Jean Paul Labadie – Marché Bacchus
- Kuldeep Singh – Origin India Restaurant and Bar
- Bianca Freeny – Whole Foods Market
Celebrity Judges Panel:
- Carrot Top
- Denise Valdez – KLAS News Anchor
- John Curtas – KNPR Food Critic
- Chef Rick Moonen – RM Seafood and Top Chef Masters ‘cheftestant’
WHEN: Saturday, November 7
12pm – 2pm
FREE event
WHERE: Whole Foods Market, Henderson (Inside The District)
100 S Green Valley Pkwy
702-361-8183
###
About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market, a leader in the natural and organic foods industry and America’s first national certified organic grocer, was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” in 2008 by Health magazine. The Whole Foods Market motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures the company’s mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to its 53,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 11 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2008, the company had sales of $8 billion and currently has more than 275 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Fresh & WildTM, and Harry’s Farmers Market® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Wild Oats® and Capers Community MarketTM are trademarks owned by Wild Marks, Inc. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com
About Quickfire wines
Wine is food and should be treated as another flavor. The Terlato Family brings their commitment and passion to crafting world-class wine, handcrafting wines that are authentic expressions of their region. Quickfire wines achieve this family commitment merging the best attributes of their Napa Valley appellation into well balanced and structured wines. The Terlato Family has brought some of the world’s finest wines to American tables for more than half a century. Top Chef asked the Terlatos’ to craft an elegant wine that is balanced, food friendly, and compliments a wide range of food styles. http://www.quickfirewines.com