Fraiche Wine Dinner, June 28, 2009

This past Sunday, 6/28, the Vinovents wine crew met up for our first visit to Fraiche in Culver City. Wow, were we ever in for a treat. Up until now, we've been learning about and enjoying Italian wine and food pairings at Fraiche's sister restaurant Riva in Santa Monica. This was our first venture into French grapes.

We sat out on the patio, which on a warm summer evening, couldn't have been more perfect. As we all convened and got to see old faces along with meeting quite a few new ones, the food and wine started to roll out.

They started us off with a crisp and refreshing glass of Picpoul de Pinet, 2007, which is a great find when looking for something light and affordable in the warm summer months.

- Picpoul de Pinet, 2007 -

The wine was served alongside delicious arancini and bruschetta, which was some of the best I've ever sunk my teeth into. Perfectly toasted crostini is key, and the tomatoes tasted like they'd been picked off the vine earlier that day.

- Bruschetta -

- Arancini -

The FIRST COURSE was comprised of two salads, farro and mushroom, which were both amazing. They tasted delicate yet substantial, and the flavors from the fresh ingredients perfectly melded together.

- Mushroom Salad -

- Farro Salad -

The salads were served with the Cotes-du-Rhone , Delas "St. Esprit,' 2006, a smooth blend of whites that paired very nicely with the salads.

- Cotes Du Rhone, Delas St Esprit, 2006 -

Onto the SECOND COURSE, which was comprised of three different entrees served family style. There was the Roasted Half Chicken with sicilian caponata, the Rigatoni lamb bolognese, and my favorite, the Monkfish "Francaise," which was served with spinach, white wine, and potato puree. 

- Roasted Chicken -

- Rigatoni Lamb Bolognese -

- THE Monkfish -

The second-course wine was my favorite: Cahors, St. Didier-Parnac 2006. I love me a nice smooth yet robust wine, and this did the trick for me.

- Cohors, St. Didier-Parnac, 2006 -

The THIRD COURSE, dessert, brought us each a perfectly delectable Torta Della Nonna. These beautiful little tortes had a scrumptious vanilla bean custard inside, 

- Torta Della Nonna -

Dessert was accompanied by a glass of Pineau Des Charentes, Domaine De La Margotterie, a French apertif wine with a blend of unfermented grape must and Cognac brandy. 

This was a HUGE hit with the crowd.

- Pineau Des Charentes, Domaine De La Morgotteria -

All in all, it was another wonderful event. I was so happy to see so many new faces. I love to know that there are so many people like me who want to either learn more about wine or just enjoy it with good food and most importantly, fun people.I couldn't have hoped for a better time!

Happy people!

More happy people!

Our next wine dinner at Riva (we're heading back to Italy) is on the books for Sunday July 12.

See you soon!

Fraiche Wine Dinner, June 28th

Hello there my fellow winos and foodies!

Have I got a treat for you! The people at Fraiche have invited us out for an amazing four-course wine-pairing dinner. If you are either already a fan of Fraiche or have been wanting to check it out, then come join us! If you were lucky enough to make it out to one of our events at Riva, their sister restaurant, then you know they pull out all the stops for these dinners.

I will have the menu available early next week, but in the meantime, mark your calendars for Sunday, June 28!

$40 includes four wine and food pairings, not including tax and gratuity.

Interested in going? Let me know and I'll get you on the list!

Cheers!
Shelley

Good Company and Good Wine...that's what Vinovents is all about!

Hi my friends and fellow winos!

In November of 2008, I started a little wine club as a way to bring fun, like-minded people together to drink wine while checking out some of LA's many wine bars. It turned into something much bigger than I ever expected. Attendance to the events steadily increased, as did the word of mouth. Most importantly, people really seemed to have a great time. Who knew so many people were interested in wine?!

Now please understand that I am by no means what you would consider a wine connoisseur or aficianado. I just love wine. I've been drinking wine, lots of it, from the expensive stuff to great finds under $10, for about a decade now. I was lucky enough to have a dad with very good taste who instilled and honed my love of wine, but let's face it: I can't afford to spend upwards of $50 for a good bottle of vino whenever the mood strikes, and I certainly don't want to stay home and drink my wine alone, and why would I with all these great wine bars popping up in the LA area?!

When I go out, what's most important to me is to not only find a fun place to relax with good friends, but to find somewhere that I can find good wine at a good value. Sometimes it's hit or miss, but exploring and discovering the best (and even the not-so best) joints in town always proves to be fun. I'd hate to do it alone, so I'd love for you to either continue to be a part of or join this journey/trip/scouting mission to find the best wine bars and spots in LA to get our vino on.

Now that I've discovered this passion and knack for what I suppose you could call wino-harnessing, I'd like you to join me on this new adventure into the world of wine and good friends, both old and new. As for what I've got coming for you, stay tuned for upcoming wine events. I'm also going to include reviews of wine bars and other things wine-related, like wine stores, wines, and other things of a random nature.

I've got a lot of great ideas of where this can go, but I want this to be everyone's adventure, so I'm always open to your ideas and suggestions. The sky is the limit, so let me know what you're thinking.

See you soon, my lovely winos!

Shelley