A midsummer’s eve is the perfect time of year to marry The Gables at Chadds Ford’s bursting-from-the-garden freshness with big and bold flavors from Cakebread Cellars’ wines.
Impeccable décor set the mood for a relaxing, informative and—most of all—delicious wine dinner event. Chef David Wenerd presented carefully designed and stunningly plated dishes with an eye to the season and the style of wine. The result? Many happy guests.
Feast your eyes, and then watch for upcoming special events. In the meantime, take advantage of The Gables’ Southern-inspired hospitality during happy hour or $5 Sangria Sunday, by enjoying a prix fixe menu or Wellington Wednesday or by relaxing to soft and sultry piano music.
Amuse Bouche: Pork Belly Planks with Bruléed Peaches
Paired with Cakebread Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2013
This starter bite was anything but light: it was braised overnight, then pressed under a 50-pound weight before it was seared off, resulting in concentrated flavors and a crisp outer crust. The splash of au jus and the quite-sweet peaches accented the savory pork. Summer favorite Sauv Blanc stood up to those complex flavors as this vintage was aged in oak barrels from Cakebread’s Chardonnay program. Its slight minerality cut through the full-fat pork belly; they were made for each other.
First Course: Rooftop Garden Salad
Rainbow chard, tomatoes, baby beets, beet-poached eggs, sheep’s milk feta, smoked pepper vinaigrette
Paired with Cakebread Napa Valley Chardonnay 2013
Every veggie in this bright salad was grown right at The Gables. It was a symphony of colors and textures—crunchy reds, crisp yellows and greens, soft purples and whites. The show-stealer was the smoked pepper vinaigrette, taming even the sharp feta and foretelling that fall is on the way. It gave the dish the muscle to go with Cakebread’s quintessential French oak-aged Chardonnay. The silky, slightly toasty wine both played with the smokiness and honored the refreshing veggies.
Second Course: Pan-Roasted Diver Sea Scallops
Shaved balsamic brussels sprouts, pickled cherries and grapes
Paired with Cakebread Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir 2013
The Gables’ scallop du jour is its most popular item, and this is why: extreme creativity in creating each dish. The mild scallop is a perfect protein, taking on the character of its accompaniments. In this case, crispy sweet-tart balsamic brussels sprouts plus the fruits’ natural sugars made it one sophisticated bite. Pairing with a Pinot Noir was a brave choice, flying in the face of “white with fish or seafood” convention. Cakebread’s classic Pinot is delicate, not too acidic and showed notes of pepper that contrasted nicely with the dish’s sweetness.
Third Course: Hartley Ranch Genuine Angus Dry-Aged Strip
Oregano roasted sunchoke purée, carnival cauliflower, crumbled chorizo béarnaise
Paired with Cakebread Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Black angus is fine dining beef’s gold standard, and 100 percent grass-fed means a more tender and tasty cut of meat. Sit that atop mildly nutty and creamy oregano sunchoke puree and you’ll never miss a potato. Note the pure genius: tying the dish together with a bit of heat and spice from the chorizo béarnaise. This course held its own with Cakebread’s big wine, ripe with black fruits and silky tannins. It hails from Napa Valley’s benchland terroir, the ideal exposure for developing this powerful Cab.
Fourth Course: Chocolate Espresso Cake
With candied plums and homemade raspberry ice cream
Paired with Cakebread Napa Valley Merlot 2012
Co-owner Ann Kolenick’s degree in pastry arts came shining through in this decadent confection. Intense chocolate with touches of coffee took to equally sweet tastes from the plums, ice cream and espresso-caramel sauce. A fitting end to a sumptuous meal, it was just-right rich, a worthy partner for the deep cherry-raspberry-blackberry notes in the Merlot.
This pairing dinner was outstanding not just because of the high-quality food and wine, but also because every tasting note was thought through from the start. Each course boasted complementary flavors, but then there was the happy surprise, a brave contrast on the palate. Sometimes it was the wine, sometimes a menu ingredient. In the end, all were seamlessly orchestrated into one, spectacular culinary experience.
A Note About Cakebread Cellars
This Napa Valley stalwart is a love story: a love for family, a love of wine, a love for working with other winemakers and a deep and abiding love for California winemaking. While shooting photos for Nathan Chroman’s Treasury of American Wines in 1972, the Cakebreads offered to buy the Sturdivant Ranch in Rutherford. That offer was accepted, and the rest is more than four decades of happy history—for the Cakebreads and for consumers of fine wine.
Find The Gables at Chadds Ford at 423 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford; phone: (610) 388-7700.
- Photos: Ed Williams
