7th traditional wine and culinary evening in Portorož

In cooperation with the website Ovinu in October, we organized the 7^th oenological and culinary evening. This time the event took place in Sunset restaurant in Grand Hotel Bernardin and the evening was in the sign of sparkly bubbles and culinary excellence.

The wine duel was between Miran Sirk and Simon Simčič, representatives of two of the most distinguished sparkling wine producers in Slovenia: Bjana and Medot. The culinary creations were entrusted again to our best chef in Portorož, Aleš Grašič.

Next to Medot’s Brut 48 chef Aleš Grašič served smoked trout with goat cheese and figs and marinated fried tuna fish tartare with beetroot purée.

Simon Simčič of Medot gave the participants a bit of insight on the maturation of sparkling wines. “The maturation of sparkling wines is very subjective. The important thig is that the sparkling wine is good, without faults. We have fresh sparkling wines, where primary fruity aromas are more pronounced, and there are maturated sparkling wines, where the secondary and tertiary aromas are more expressed. Our house specialises in maturer sparkling wines. With Brut 48 we brought the Medot world to a wider audience, as the sparkling wine is somewhat less demanding, yet it still maintains its structure and complexity. If we put on the market a sparkling wine with an even shorter maturation period, we would compromise our style.”

In the second cold starter the Adriatic scampi was marinated with lime and other citruses. Persimmon was added as a local ingredient and mango for its tropical aroma. The base was a local rosemary sponge cake with olives. The cherry on top of the cake was definitely the coriander.

When chef Grašič set the plates with scampi ceviche with mango and persimmon and rosemary sponge cake with olives, two rosé wines were on the table. Both wines, Bjana and Medot alike, are very dry (brut) and in both the main grape type is pinot noir.

Bjana is an excellent wine that regularly receives acclaimed prizes for its quality. The most renowned is definitely the prize from the largest and most influential wine competition in the world, Decanter World Wide Awards, which is held in London. The Brut rosé was awarded the platinum medal two times.

Bjana brut is made of ribolla and chardonnay, whereas Medot’s cuvée also contains pinot noir. Simčič explained that the base is the same as for Brut 48, but the first wine is matured on yeasts a year longer. Both wines complemented each other perfectly alongside the risotto with a local touch. The salmon had been marinated overnight in a mix of salt and sugar. Thus it dried a little, which matched perfectly both dry sparkling wines. The risotto was made on a salmon base and chanterelles cream. The white element seen on the photograph is the burrata, which was used instead of butter to bond the risotto and make it creamier. The chanterelles were fresh, sautéed with thyme and rosemary.

For the main dish grilled brill with parsnip was served, combining salty and sweet flavours. The base was morels with lobster velouté. The impeccably set tables were served with Bjana Cuvée prestige extra brut and Medot Cuvée extra-brut. These are extremely dry sparkling wines as the residual sugar in the wine is between three and six grams per litre.

The evening was concluded with a selection of cheeses, which were recommend by the wine producers themselves. For the grand finale we had Bjana’s Brut zero, without added sugar. This sparkling wine is also called brut nature or completely dry. Brut zero is made of chardonnay and ribolla. Medot house offered the crème de la crème from their wine cellars to accompany the cheeses: the sparkling wine millésime 2011, which matured on yeasts for almost eight years. As it is produced with grapes of just one harvest, each millésime sparkling wine vintage is different and unique. The participants of this evening tried the vintage 2011, which contained 40% chardonnay, 40% ribolla and 20% pinot noir.

Another unforgettable oenological and culinary evening was concluded with delightful smiles and new knowledge. Find out more about other gourmet evenings in Bernardin.