I spent this past weekend in Kansas City, MO with my wonderful friend Lauren and her family. It was a last minute much needed break planned on a Tuesday with a departure on Thursday.
These days when I visit Lauren my trip is always planned around the broader family and kids, which I love, but having alone time with my closest friend in the world felt like a rare treat for me. I wanted to chat, unload my woes of work and love life and she gave me just the right platform to get it out it of the way before the rest of the weekend. I truly thank her dearly for this.
When in KC we always find the newest and most talked about restaurants to visit, however, this time was a little different and we headed to Capital Grille on The Plaza for what was supposed to be a post airport pick up quick bite in the bar area. Not quite the case as we were treated to an evening of wine tasting, which I had so wished I learned about much earlier this summer.
Capital Grille has created an annual event called The Generous Pour, where you can enjoy a tasting of wines from featured Women in Wine. They work with the wineries on what the wine will be based on the woman from Drew Barrymore, The Enthusiast, to Julia Jackson, daughter of famed winemaker Jess Jackson, The Visionary to Christina Werner, The Scholar to name a few.
The Generous Pour – Stonestreet “Bearpoint” Chardonnay
At first we didn’t really understand the concept. We ordered what sounded like one of the most intriguing wines on the list of eight ‘remarkable’ wines, which was a Stonestreet “Bear Point” Chardonnay from Alexander Valley. Our host poured a small amount into a glass bearing the signature “The Generous Pour”, allowed us to comment and then walked away. At first we were thinking “what on earth that is not a generous pour for $28.” In fact, far from it so I felt compelled to ask what the deal was. Obviously, we didn’t read the print clearly on the iPad menu. After being handed paper menus (much better for us), our host explained that you can enjoy a tasting of all eight wines for $28 with your meal. Well, that is generous. We felt a bit like buffoons not fully understanding, but certainly took part in the event from that point on.
After the delightful tasting of the 95 point awarded Chardonnay from winemaker, Lisa Valtenbergs, which has beautiful floral aromas and a glorious oaky and creamy taste, which sits on your tongue for an age, we moved onto tasting two other whites.
The first, Drew Barrymore’s debut wine, Barrymore Pinot Grigio, a surprisingly charming and highly drinkable, smooth and fresh wine. Definitely one for an evening with friends on the deck and at $13/bottle even more of a reason to keep one or four on hand.
Lollipop Lamb Chops with Green Bean and Tomatoes – paired fantastically well with the Kinton Syrah
We also enjoyed the Galerie “Naissance” Sauvignon Blanc from winemaker Laura Diaz Muñoz, a light and citrusy, sharp unoaked Sauvignon Blanc, which we paired with the insanely good Lobster Mac N Cheese.
After our flight of whites, we asked our host to pick her three favorite reds for us to taste. We enjoyed two cabs. The first a Mt. Brave, Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon from Laura Diaz Muñoz, a vibrant, spicy cab a little on fruitier side. The second an Arrowood Reserve Speciale Cabernet Sauvignon from winemaker Kristina Werner. I loved this cab with its deep intense aroma and dark chocolate and blackberry taste.
Red Wine Flight
Our final red was the hosts highly raved about, Kinton Syrah, Santa Barbara from wine visionary, Julia Jackson, which we paired with the Lollipop Lamb Chops with a side of green beans and tomatoes (a recommended pairing). This Syrah was by far my favorite of our reds. A deep, smoky, smooth wine with a hint of spice and a long, beautiful finish. And, per the recommendation it paired fantastically well with the lamb chops cooked in an herb oil with a balsamic dressing.
The Syrah also paired well with the Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake
We asked to end our evening with the Stonestreet Chardonnay we started with. This was the favorite of the evening for both myself and Lauren with the Syrah a very close second.
Our evening was an absolute delight and what a treat to have been able to taste these wonderful wines from extraordinary women in the wine world.
The Generous Pour runs through August 30 so there are still a few weeks left to enjoy this super event and at $28 for the tasting, a “generous” event. I will be heading to the Capital Grille in Boston perhaps more than once before the month is over.
My rating for this event…
