As a concept, I love wine dinners. Whether they feature a single wine maker with food pairings or are built around several winemakers in a region, it’s an exciting opportunity to check out the wines, see how they interact with foods the winemaker has deemed good matches, and interact with friends around the wine.
When this dinner popped up in my feed, I jumped on the chance. The Clifton Inn is right around the corner, and despite its stellar reputation, we haven’t eaten out there yet. Faithful readers know that I am a huge fan of Ankida Ridge– their wine and their people. They make consistently fantastic wine and everyone from the owners to the tasting bar team to the other guests are generally fantastic, fun, and warm. With this being a Guaranteed Good Time, we were certain to grab some friends and go!
When the menu was announced I got very excited:
- Canapés — paired with Ankida Ridge Sparkling Brut
- Shrimp & Grits — paired with Ankida Ridge Verday
- Trout, summer vegetables — paired with Ankida Ridge Chardonnay
- Steak au Poivre, potatoes, greens — paired with Ankida Ridge Pinot Noir
- Strawberry Rhubarb Tart — paired with Ankida Ridge Rosé of Pinot Noir
It was kind of hard to believe that this would be a five course dinner – so much amazing food. These are some of my favorite examples of each wine variety too, so anticipation started building the moment I saw the menu.
The night of the dinner came surprisingly fast, so we gathered our crew and headed to the Clifton. If you’re not familiar with this place, it has a rich history- the property is well over 200 years old – the restaurant is named 1799 because that’s they year original construction began on the property. It’s set beautifully along the Rivanna River with gorgeous views of the mountains, even over to Monticello.
We were greeted with bubbles, including Ankida Brut, champagne and other bubbles as we waited for the program to start. We took the time to take a look around the property, but since I was exhausted from my workday and focused on the wine dinner, I failed to photograph amazing spaces like some of the small dining areas and the wine cellar. Thanks Kathy for letting me steal some of your great photos! Trust me, this is a place to host a special dinner or gathering – so many intimate spots to bring people together for food and conversation.
The sold-out dinner began with all 50 guests at a long table in the Veranda room. The Clifton team was super efficient, bringing our our Greyere Gourgeres and pouring us each some Ankida Brut.
Ankida’s bubbles are honestly the best I’ve had from Virginia fruit – lovely acid, big,bright burst in the mouth and lovely green apply to them. This was joyous with the canape. The Clifton wowed me with this dish, unexpected flavors from a glaze with thyme and apricot and a little bit of caviar on top. This was a wonderful start to the dinner.
The second course was Shrimp & Grits. Verday was poured to accompany this – this is a higher acid, lower alcohol wine that is intensely refreshing, and I found it went very well with the wonderful garlic flavors in the shrimp. After I got past my moment of eek with the heads on the shrimp, this was an amazing twist on a dish I love.
The brand new release of 2024 Chardonnay was poured with the Trout and vegetables course. It seems my beloved 2023 vintage is out (don’t worry, I know there are three bottles downstairs in my house right now), but this will satisfy your need for Chardonnay. The 2023 is ranking as my favorite Chardonnay right now, and the 2024 really comes in second – it doesn’t show me quite the same bright feeling, but this is a solid wine, and I will be thrilled to add it to my collection. I was also thrilled with the trout with vegetables. The sauce on this dish was exquisite.
Our piece de resistance of course was the 2022 Pinot Noir with Steak Au Poivre. The Pinot Noir gets better every time I sip it. It’s getting deeper now – an earthier element is showing up in this wine, and it’s not what I typically expect from Pinot Noir, and I love it. There is plenty of gorgeous fruit in this wine. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the 2023 vintage too. At this point, although I adored the steak, I had eaten so much food it was tough to finish, and I ended up not eating it all. This was not a reflection on the steak.
Dessert! Paired with Rosé of Pinot Noir, the Strawberry Rhubarb Tart was amazing. Despite feeling full, I did eat it all. Hubby had his fill of the wine at this point, and gave me his (and I thank him for that!). This Rosé really is a favorite of mine, and is a great summer porch refresher. The tart was the perfect ending to the evening, and with strawberry AND rhubarb in it, you know it was healthy for you. Clearly two servings of fruit and vegetables here.
I really enjoyed the structure of the evening. Between every course Christine shared something about Ankida and the wine. Most guests were quite familiar with Ankida, and all still learned something new about the winery, its history, and the Vroomans. We learned more about the Maremma puppies (I really tried to get hubby to get one for us), the planting and first vintage of Ankida Pinot Noir and Jancis Robinson’s comments on it (it is embryonic!), and the expansion of the vineyard plantings bringing Ankida to the current production capacity. Nick from the Clifton also shared some history of the Clifton and information about our dinner.
Some good friends were there too, with Kathy and Rich down the table near the Vroomans, and Melinda and Emily from the winery enjoying the dinner too. We’re lucky to live five minutes from the Clifton, and were quickly back home.
Have you been to a wine dinner like this? I love the pairings, but especially enjoy hearing from the winemakers and owners about the wines, their perspectives, and what they want to achieve. This did not disappoint!
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