Hi there,

Yesterday I had a chance to attend the Marqués de Riscal Mediterranean Wine Dinner at Rossini’s, the Italian restaurant at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. Normally Rossini’s focus is on Italian cuisine, but yesterday’s dinner was focused on Mediterranean cuisine to match the Spanish wines from Marqués de Riscal.

If you’ve been to Spain or seen any guidebook, I am sure you’ve seen the architecturally stunning Hotel Marqués de Riscal, designed by the famed Frank O. Gehry.  The beautiful hotel is situated in the iconic winery of this iconic Riojan producer (which has recently band one of the oldest wineries in Spain.

Despite being a famed producer in the DOC Rioja, in the early 70s, the winery decided to add a white wine to its product range, and the Rueda region, which was more famous for its sherry-style amontillados and olorosos back then, was the chosen to great success. After other bodegas joined in on the bandwagon, the appellation of the D.O Rueda was set up in 1983.

(Source: http://www.marquesderiscal.com/storyeng.php?id=27)

The evening started off with an insightful introduction  from Mr. Jose Luis Mugiro, a member of the owning family, and progressed nicely into the 5-course dinner.

The first course was scallop and chorizo in caldo verde soup paired with Marqués de Riscal rueda 2011.

Caldo verde is a Portugese style green soup with potato, chorizo, and what I believe was kale, olive oil, and in this case, a piece of scallop. The dish paired well with the light and delicate wine with aromatic bouquet made from verdejo grape.

The second course was Rossini’s version of the classic paella paired with Marqués de Riscal reserve doc rioja 2006

This wine was my favorite of the night. I am extremely bad at explaining wines, despite taking many classes, so I will resort to the tasting notes from http://www.decantalo.com

“Complex aromas in which the balsamic notes stand out along with a touch of ripe fruit and spices and a hint of chocolate with a fresh and light attack, with soft and round tannins. Lingering finish with some hints of toasted oak. Tasty, with hints of spicy and a soft bitterness. It has a pleasant mid palate that turns it into an easy drinking, fresh and elegant wine.”

Since the seafood note of the paella isn’t prominent it paired well with the wine since it’s not a overly fruity , heavy, or tannic red.

The third course was the one I was the most excited for – roasted iberico with mushroom ragout paired with Marqués de Riscal gran reserva doc rioja 2001

The wine was produced for Marqués de Riscal 150th Anniversary and has a dark-cherry coloured. This was actually my first time trying a thick piece of iberico. At first, I was a little taken aback by its saltiness, but after trying it with the wine that has hints of berries and spices and  was bold enough to hold its own, I actually quite enjoyed it.

The next course was the slow-cooked rack of lamb with baked eggplant and roasted potatoes paired with Marqués de Riscal baron de chirel doc rioja 2005.

Despite my corrupted accent, I am still a lamb-lover-British-boarding-school-girl at heart. The lamb was nicely cooked with no hint of strong smell and went really well with the  aromatic wine that is heavy on the dark fruits with hint of smokiness.

Last but not least, dessert – peaches, yogurt mousse, and citrus sherbet paired with umani ronchi maximo dessert wine.

I loved this course, it was light, it was simple, it was refreshing. My favorite was the yogurt mousse which had the perfect amount of tang. I am a sugarholic, so no surprise that dessert was my favorite course, right? And, of course, I also love dessert wines, as deadly it is for my ability to walk straight; again, no surprise here!

If you are a wine lover, maybe you would like to visit Rossini’s for their monthly wine dinner. The restaurants works with their four suppliers to provide top shelf wines at cellar prices through a concept that they call ‘primoVino by Rossini’s, (of course, bare in mind that it is for a hotel restaurant’s standard,) with wine by the glass starting at 200 baht.

Last month, michelin stared Chef Alfredo Russo returned to work closely with Rossini’s culinary team to create an innovative modern Italian menu. You can check out their menu HERE.

Bon Appétit!