I think that it's safe to say that everyone had a great time tonight at Raphael as we kicked off the inaugural TasteCamp EAST in style with a tasting and dinner sponsored by the Long Island Merlot Alliance and Raphael.
With so many, and so many great, wines poured, it's difficult to pick a favorite, but the Wollfer Estate 1998 Estate Selection Merlot was singled out by several people as their wine of the night. Hard for me to argue. Personally, I liked the Pellegrini Vineyards 1997 Vinters Pride Encore (a red blend), which showed very very nice tonight.
The food, prepared by Raphael's resident chef, was outstanding. The foie gras with roasted pear and cinnamon-raisin French toaste course, pictured at right, was a great way to kick off the meal and the Raphael 2006 Sauvignon Blanc was a unique, but well-conceived pairing for it.
It's difficult for me to pick a favorite course though, but it may have been the open beef short rip ravioli. The best wine on our table for it was the 2005 Merliance, a co-produced wine that is made with wine from each of the Long Island Merlot Alliance members.
It's well after midnight now and we have a long day of tasting ahead tomorrow. Goodnight all and thanks again to Raphael and the Long Island Merlot Alliance for hosting us. And thanks for supporting TasteCamp.
Everything was fabulous...I am so honored and proud of you.
Posted by: Nena | May 02, 2009 at 09:56 PM
I drove past Raphael yesterday on the way home from my mom's house and was wondering what the heck was going on over there. Have fun!
Posted by: Bill | May 03, 2009 at 09:39 AM
There is a group of bloggers, discussing, among other things, blogging, and no one is actually blogging about the weekend! No pics! No trip reports! What is going on?
Posted by: Evan Dawson | May 03, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Our fav was the 97 Pellegrini also. A great night Lenn.
Thanks!
B
Posted by: Taster B | May 03, 2009 at 05:12 PM