Our first partnership with Green Zebra restaurant, our neighbor on Chicago Avenue, took place last night: a progressive dinner celebrating the imminent coming of the Spring season. We could not have asked for a nicer day! Brisk and bright, with hazy afternoon sun stretching out through the beginning of our meal. We had about 50 people in attendance, streaming into the restaurant at 6:30. Everyone was greeted with a little bubbly as they sat down: the non-vintage Zardetto Brut Cuvee, a blend of prosecco, muscat, and chardonnay from northern Italy. A perfect aperitif.

I made a brief speech introducing myself, LUSH, and thanking everyone for being there on our first joint venture. Then, I tucked myself into a booth up front with my friend Bridget, and we took part in the meal. I needed to see first hand how the pairings went with chef de cuisine Molly’s Harrison’s four course meal. Lest you think otherwise: this was work.

Most of the courses had two separate but complimentary parts, and it was our job at LUSH to find a wine that would work well with both. The first course was heirloom radish and Greek yogurt finger sandwiches, along with roasted beets with olive tapenade and spring mache. This kind of antipasti food screams rosé to me, so we chose the 2008 Franz Karl Schmitt Pinot Meunier Rosé from the Rheinhessen in Germany. Last night this wine was showing a bit of funk on the nose: a little bit meaty and mushroomy. But, its palate of bright berry fruits and cooling minerality was a great counterpart to the salty, earthy flavors of the dish. Overall, an awesome pairing.

For the next course, we had a creamy Vidalia onion soup. Rich, yet still lively and tangy, this soup demanded a wine that had a hint of oak yet still was bright in acid. And something with a funky nutty, mushroomy note wouldn’t hurt either. The 2004 Chateau Rives-Blanques ‘Cuvee Occitania’ from Limoux, France was up to the task. Entirely composed of the almost extinct mauzac, a grape usually used to make sparkling wine in the Languedoc. Aged 10 months in French oak, this wine had a creamy front palate with bright acid on the back. Notes of baked apple, hazelnut, and oatmeal complimented the soup in an unexpected way.

The next course was a true celebration of Spring: grilled asparagus with preserved lemon, black garlic, prairie farms goat cheese, then leek pancakes with pickled quail eggs and baby spring veggies. WOW. This course rocked. But, hard to pair! Asparagus is notoriously difficult with wine. All the tangy notes (pickled eggs, preserved lemon, goat cheese) demanded a bright white with high acid. But, the bitter rustic components (leeks, black garlic, asparagus) would benefit from earthy/herbal flavors. The compromise: the 2008 Quattro Mani ‘Toh-kai’ from Brda, Slovenia. Made from the grape Friulano (formerly known as Tocai Friulano), this is one of those “double take” wines. It’s so surprising and unique that everyone in the room had nose in wineglass for another sniff. Spearmint, white chocolate, pink grapefruit, and green tea on the nose. Dry and herbal on the palate, with bright acid and a vibrant undercurrent of stony minerality. This pairing worked, but in an odd way. Both the dish and the wine had strong flavors and tastes that were able to coexist. It wasn’t one of those pairings that made dish and wine melt into each other, but rather, it seems that they challenged each other and were able to bring out the bold elements in one another.

The fourth course was perhaps my favorite pairing. The dish had two components: a mushroom tortellini with pickled rhubarb next to Anson Mill Grits with confit artichokes. A heavenly dish. Rich and rustic, with bright notes from the rhubarb and frizzled green onions on top of the grits. With it, the 2007 Cottanera ‘Barbazzale Rosso’ from Sicily. Made from a grape called nerello mascalese, grown on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna. Bright red fruit, aromatic, transparent in body, with ashy and savory notes. The pairing worked in the exact opposite way as the one described previously; the wine and the dish really became one, one melting into the other and illuminating new flavors and textures in each. A great conclusion to the first part of our meal!

Next, we all walked the half block down to LUSH on Chicago Avenue, regaining our appetite for the final course: a medley of desserts prepared by Molly at Green Zebra. Everyone filed into our events space, newly decked out with comfy black leather couches, a long communal table, and high bar stools. The spread was awesome: chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and candied carrots, lemon tarts with candied lemon peel, rhubarb and cream tarts, as well as peanut and chocolate brittle. At LUSH, we had two dessert wines waiting: the Lustau East India Solera Sherry and the 2008 Montinore Müller-Thurgau from Willamette Valley, Oregon. The first, a rich Oloroso with a bit of sweet Pedro Ximenez sherry added, went perfectly with the chocolate-based desserts. The Montinore (one of the few examples of varietal Müller-Thurgau made in the US!), a lightly sweet wine, with notes of lavender, pear, and sweet pea, was a great accompaniment to the fruit-based desserts.

Full, content, and thoroughly impressed with Molly and our friends at Green Zebra, I fell into bed happy last night, already thinking about our next collaboration. We hope to have more dinners in the future with Green Zebra, so keep an eye out.

Cheers!

Jane