Dinner - Palisades (New Zealand)

Every Thursday the Palisades restaurant in Eggleston, VA hosts a wines from around the world dinner where they pair wines and food from different parts of the world.  A few weeks ago they had a New Zealand night that sounded like it would be a lot of fun.  Marie and I decided to hop on over and see what it was all about. 

Image of the Palisades Restaurant when we arrived.

Marie and I set out for Eggleston right after class on Thursday.  We knew it was a small town in the middle of no where but we were not expecting this.  After a few minutes on 460 you turn off onto a curvy side road that seems to twist and turn itself into a knot.  Finally you break out of the trees onto a bridge crossing the New River and see Eggleston on the far bank.  If I hadn't already seen pictures of the town I would have sworn we were in the wrong place to get a great meal. Everything except for the restaurant seemed to be in various states of disrepair which made the Palisades stick out like a gem.  When we first walked in we were astounded by the charm the old general store turned restaurant had.  It was exactly the kind of place that all the restaurants in Georgetown try to be but fall far short of becoming.  

Pita chips, hummus and tomato salad...yum!

We were immediately seated and after we explained we were here for the wines around the world dinner our waiter departed to get us our appetizer.  It was a wonderful plate of pita chips, hummus and a tomato garlic basil salsa type topping.  We had to control ourselves from devouring the plate like animals.

We asked to have the wines brought out with the meal instead of beforehand so we had to wait for a bit but it was enjoyable just looking around at all the old charm the building had to offer and the wide range of people in the restaurant. 

The three wines from left to right with the meal in front:
Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Pinot Noir

Eventually the meal came out, and what a meal it was.  The meal consisted of Lamb with apricot sauce, Tuna with sweet potato cake and mustard butter and a Kiwi/Strawberry Gelee.  These were paired with a sample of Lawson's Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Spy Vallery Riesling 2009 and Ponga Pinot Noir 2010.  

This I was not expecting!  I felt like I could find a plate that looked like this in New York City for 60 bucks and I'm only paying 18 for it!?  Not only that but this is in Eggleston!  Needless to say Marie and I were blown away.  

I sampled each of the wines before I began eating just so that I had a base on which to compare when tried with the food then I dug in.  I tried each of the wines with each of the parts of the meal and definitely found that certain wines pair better with certain parts of the meal.  

The Lawson's Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2011 I found to be quite floral on the nose with tons of tropical fruits.  It felt crisp and clean; very light bodied.  It had a good measure of melon and peach which gave the nose a bit of a sweet component.  On the palate it was actually just a bit frizante to me.  Again, it was light and crisp and remarkably clean with hints of melon and tropical fruits.  With the lamb it took on an almost grapefruit bitterness and became much dryer in my opinion.  The lamb really seemed to take all the sugar out of it.  However, with the tuna I really felt like it remained largely the same but I thought I tasted some kiwi thrown into the mix (this was probably just my imagination playing with me because I had New Zealand on the brain).  

The Spy Valley Riesling 2009 was much dryer.  It had a strong component of a mineral stoniness to it that really over powered the rest of the nose.  There were some light citrus fruits on the nose but like I said they were being overpowered.  The palate, however, was completely different.  It was a strange mixture of sweet and bitter fruits.  Tons of green apple in my opinion and lots of citrus.  It was like a totally different wine from the nose.  I found that the tuna again paired best with this wine.  After having some of the tuna it became much sweeter and smoother.  The body seemed to increase as well and the small amount of alcohol that was present seemed to disappear.  

The Ponga Pinot Noir 2010 was fantastic.  It had a nice medium bodied feel to it on the nose with lots of rich plum and cherry notes.  It was nicely smooth and earthy on the nose with no discernible heat on it.  At least that I could tell.  On the palate it was by no means sweet but the fruits really came through instantly.  It was fairly dry and tannic but worked well with the fruits.  There was a measure of spice and a smokiness as well.  There was a little heat on the end though.  The lamb paired really well with this one.  It brought out the fruits very well and seemed to tame some of the tannins and even smoothed out the alcohol.  It really was the best fit for this wine.  

Marie standing in front of the restaurant as we were leaving.
(we didn't even notice that it had gotten dark)

This meal was a complete surprise in every way.  It was one of the best meals that I have had in a very long time in one of the most uniquely humble restaurants I have been in.  The food and wine separate were great and together amazing and so was this experience.  I couldn't wait to go back again.