AUGUST GUILD EVENT

Tonight’s Guild event, to be held at Lola on Peachtree, will focus on the white wines of Northern California.

I’m not much of a white wine hound, but the Guild tastings almost always show me a few excellent bottles that I didn’t know about. Plus, I get to hear Denny and Houston Steve have their fun-filled political discourses... always entertaining.

(Update: Alas, no Houston Steve tonight.)

Here da menu:

Speaker’s Wine
Spann “Betsy’s Backacher” Semillon 2007

Assorted hors d’oeuvres, amuse-bouches

First Flight
Selene Sauvignon Blanc “Hyde” 2003
Grgich Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2007

Seared diver scallop, celery root potato puree, fresh herbs

Second Flight
Handley Pinot Gris 2007
Trefethen Dry Riesling 2007
Handley Dry Gewurztraminer 2008

Salmon oreganatta with fresh housemade pasta

Third Flight
Jarvis Chardonnay 2006
Paul Hobbs Chardonnay 2007
Lewis Chardonnay 2007

Roasted bone-in chicken breast with late harvest vegetables and truffle jus

Dessert
Robert Mondavi Muscato de Oro 2006

Chef’s sampling of sweets: tiramisu, almond cake, panna cotta, cheesecake, and fresh berries

Hey, this sounds like it’s worth going to, even if I have to put up with all those white wines just to get to the food.

Update: Excellent food in gorgeous surroundings. As for the wine, it ranged from reasonably good to very good, despite the fact that it was all white wine - not my favorite. The one exception was the Selene Sauvignon Blanc “Hyde” 2003, which was so vile the waiters removed the glasses it had been poured into... after we had dumped the wine out!

Lest you think of this group as a bunch of stuck-up wine snobs, here’s the money quote of the evening: “Best fucking dessert evah!”