Yes, you read that correctly, Tavern Part 2! While LCC Mom and I were indulging in Tavern Part 1 (err I mean Spring break part 1) we realized that Tavern runs a wine and meal pairing event on the first and third Monday of every month. Lucky for us yesterday was the third Monday and they had two seats left.

For new readers: Tavern is a restaurant in Brentwood. My friend Jill spotted Alice Water’s eating there last summer and the rest is history. I went there for my birthday, and am fully obsessed with their salted caramel macaroons. If I could ONLY eat Tavern, I would.

Twice a month the wine club takes over the Larder (where the salted caramel macaroons live). There is a general theme for the night, and last night the theme was Italian wines from the la spinetta vineyard. There were four wines and each wine had a pairing, which was developed by the Tavern chefs to compliment the flavors in the wine. I loved all the wine and the pairings were phenomenal. I had a few old favorites (I see you prosciutto) and new cheese I’ve never tried before, like challerhocker.

The wines were marked with these stamps. I love the style! The tasting was also hosted by Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne (the co owners) which is pretty damn cool if you ask me. They gave a little speech about each wine and the food that they paired it with.

First up, 2009 la spinetta, vermentino

This was the only white of the night. Even though I tend to be more of a red lover I liked this wine. The wine was light and crisp with notes of grapefruit rind, stone fruits and ripe pears. This would be a great wine to sip outside on a warm summer night.

This wine was paired with grilled asparagus with prosciutto and whole grain crème fraiche mustard…

Holy amazing! We got a little tutorial in prosciutto last night. Did you know that this prosciutto was aged for 16 months? It was crazy delicious. The crème fraiche mustard was fantastic and we know how much I love asparagus. Lucky for me, it’s coming into season! I love my seasonal FM eats!

The second wine was 2007 casanova della spinetta, “il nero” sangiovese

This wine is full bodied with a core of plump red fruit, flowers, tobacco, and sweet herbs. Overall, I really liked this red, but it wasn’t my favorite red.

The wine was paired with challerhocker with baguette and walnuts.

Challerhocker is a Swiss cheese that I hadn’t even heard of before last night. Challerhocker means, literally, to sit in the cellar. The cheese is earthy. What goes better with wine than cheese? The walnuts were an interesting contrast with the wine. Delicious!

The third wine was 2007 la spinetta, langhe nebbiolo

This wine was one of my favorites of the night. It was medium bodied with a rose and anise scent and flavors of cherry, orange peel, and subtle green herbs. The wine was paired with an Italian cheese, tallegio fonduta, with grilled bread and arugula salad with apple. The cheese was super melty, like a fondue. The bread was perfectly grilled (did I sense butter?) is there anything in life better than melted cheese on arugula and apples paired with wine? I don’t think so.

The final wine was a 2007 la spinetta, barbera d’asti

This wine has a little bit more acidity and was compared to a pinot noir. Clearly, I was a fan of this wine. This barbera is medium bodied and has rich fruit tones. It was paired with my favorite dish of the night.

Behold: baked torchio with beef ragu and parmesan. This should be on the menu at Tavern. I literally wanted to lick the dish. It was the perfect balance of baked pasta, a delicious sauce, high quality beef and the perfect amount of parmesan. Such a perfect way to end a delicious evening at Tavern!

Overall, I would totally recommend the Tavern Wine and Cheese club. The total cost for the night is only $29, which in my opinion is totally affordable and worth it for what you get. The wine pours were very generous and the mini dishes pretty much evened out to a whole meal. LCCMom enjoyed herself too. I will be going back and if you want to join my tasting table you are more than welcome!

Have you ever been in a wine club? I haven’t been, but I think it would be a fun activity. Maybe I should form one 🙂