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"Critter Wines" Vegetarian Food Wine Dinner

"Critter Wines" is a fairly new classification in the wine industry that, for the first time, creates a wine category solely by the label on the bottle instead of by region or by varietal. A critter label is any label that features an animal, from a hippo to a frog to a penguin. According to ACNielsen438 viable table-wine brands were introduced from 2003-2006, and nearly 20% of them featured an animal on the label.

According to the New York Times, the critter craze is a subset of the epidemic of clever or gimmicky packaging. Critter wines are generally considered a derogatory category amongst the wine savvy.

But what about the wines that feature animals on the labels or in the names that are actually quite good? Most have been around for more years than a length of a yellow-wallaby hop.

We are please to present Jeff Graff of Vintner Select, and a specially paired, critter-free (vegetarian) menu from Grovewood's award-winning kitchen. All wines will be available to add to your collection at State Minimum Retail Pricing, with case discounts available.



Wine

Food Course

Helix Aspersa (Columbia Valley, Washington) 2007
71% Chardonnay, 29% Viognier. Extremely limited production with only 418 cases produced! 100% stainless steel fermented.

Chervil'd Corn Chowder with mini-brie crouton.

Monkey Business Merlot (California) 2006
Complex layers of ripe berries. The "burst of fruit that is like a three ring circus in your mouth." The peppery nose and spicy notes make it an unique wine sure to bring out the monkey in us all.

Edamame-Risotto Ball with roasted yellow pepper romesco.

Altos las Hormigas Malbec, (Mendoza, Argentina) 2008
Deep purple red color, with bright hues. A nose of crushed cherries, raspberries, and dried violet petals, hints of nutmeg. Powerful mouth feel, ample and structured and sustained with a long finish. Past vintages score consistently in the very high 80s/low 90s by major wine reviewers. Wall Street Journal picked the 2007 Altos Las Hormigas as their favorite Malbec bargain.

Exotic Mushroom-Gruyere Tart with balsamic & truffle oil-dressed mesclun greens.

Rabbit Ridge Syrah, (Paso Robles, California) 2006
Highly extracted, dark, fruity wine with a bold, round finish. Hints of blackcurrant, raspberries and spices. Very limited production of only 1,200 cases. Silver Medal, May 2009, Riverside International Wine Competition; Silver Medal, April 2009 Pacific Rim International Wine Competition.

Swiss Chard Roulade, stuffed with barley, pine nuts and dried currants with peppered black raspberry Syrah cream sauce.

La Spinetta Barbera d'Alba "Gallina," (Piedmont, Italy) 2005
Solid ruby red color. On the nose, concentrated, with scents of ripe red fruit and peppery black cherry and chocolate. The palate is intense, feminine and full bodied, yet with great acidity. 91 points Wine Spectator; 90 points Robert Parker.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Black Pepper Pasta Ravioli from Ohio City Pasta with arugula and fire-roasted tomato beurre rouge.

Coffee or Tea

Ohio Strawberry Tiramisu.


Monday, June 15, 2009
6:30 p.m.
$54 per person
(tax and gratuity will be added to final bill)

By Reservation Only
(216) 531-4900


Fellow food tourists, our next wine dinner will be a lot of fun and quite tasty. We have a lot of different animal wines, and, we promise-NO SKUNKS!