Last week we had another wine dinner at Ursula's Wine Bar and Cafe in beautiful downtown White Bear Lake (did I mention I owned it) with Fred Peterson of Peterson Winery in the Dry Creek Valley of Northern Sonoma County. Fred is one of the good guys in the wine business, he's gracious, knowledgeable, fun and makes great wine. We started the evening with his Zero Manipulation which is mostly carignane, it was a bit tart at the start but with food it shaped up nicely. The first course was a roasted mushroom and housemade boursin tart, a lovely way to start the evening and it was paired with Peterson Sangiovese. The combination was stellar with the mushroom and the sangiovese complementing each other perfectly. Grilled peach and bleu cheese with strawberry balsamic paired with Fred's Tradizionale Zinfandel came next and the peach, blue cheese and zin was a delightful flavor combination. The Dry Creek Zinfandel was served with reddened catfish, lime and watercress. The pairing worked beautifully, the zin did not overpower the catfish and the catfish stood up to the zin. We finished with smoked venison tenderloin, wild rice-apple salsa and micro herbs and a glass of Peterson Cabernet Sauvignon. The cab was outstanding, soft and luscious, dark cherry flavors and a satisfying finish. The venison was perfect, nice and tender and the salsa and herbs was a winning dish. Fred is such a nice man and his wines are great, add a little food and what could be better.
