The Last Supper

John on Wine – The Last Supper

This piece ran today, in the Ukiah Daily Journal newspaper, but likely with a few selected photographs. This online archive is richer for the photographic contributions of Bryan Elhardt and Tom Liden; thank you both. -John

The Baby Jesse (photograph provided by his father Bryan Elhardt)

Genesis: In the beginning, April 20, 2013, Chef Jesse Elhardt created a menu to pair with Greg Graziano’s wines for a wine club dinner at Crush Italian Steakhouse; Jesse said, “Let there be food”; and there was food, and Jesse saw that the food was good.

Chef Jesse Elhardt’s last dinner cooking at Crush Ukiah was the Chef’s Winemakers Dinner featuring Graziano Family of Wines (photograph by John Cesano)

From that dinner, the Chef’s Winemaker Dinner series at Crush was born, and begot nights that featured Chef Jesse’s food creations paired with the wines of Saracina (July 2013), Barra of Mendocino and Girasole (August 2013), Bonterra (November 2013), 2010 Coro Mendocino (December 2013), Yorkville Cellars (April 2014), Cesar Toxqui Cellars (November 2014), McFadden Farm (January 2015), 2011 Coro Mendocino (February 2015), and finally ending where he began, with a Chef’s Winemaker Dinner featuring the wines of Graziano Family of Wines on May 20, 2015 and Greg and Trudi Graziano. Chef Jesse also squeezed in a sold out wine club only dinner for McNab Ridge earlier that week.

St. Gregory Sparking Wine for appetizers and Monte Volpe Pinot Grigio for the First Course (photograph by Tom Liden)

The Graziano Family of Wines dinner was the last supper Chef Jesse would cook at Crush in Ukiah. Jesse will continue with Crush, in Chico and San Diego for a short while before embarking on a 2,600 mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Jesse’s parents, Bryan and Lynne Jackson Elhardt, and Crush owners Doug and Debbie Guillon attended this very special wine & food event.

Chef Jesse talks with John Cesano and Graziano manager Mike Williams before dinner (photograph by Bryan Elhardt)

The incredibly fortunate attendees met in the bar area to enjoy winemaker Greg Graziano’s 2010 St. Gregory Cuvee Trudi (named for his wife) Brut Rose, paired with both a wonton cup filled with Prawn & Scallop Ceviche, with saffron, tomato, red onion, jalapeno, cucumber & parsley; and Fried Colossal Olives stuffed with a mixture of cooked Italian sausage, ricotta, and Gorgonzola, soaked in buttermilk then coated with flour, semolina, and ground risotto, which were incredibly delicious, with a meaty, nutty texture, and a brine saltiness that bordered on addictive, and paired brilliantly with Greg’s phenomenally delicious sparkler, my favorite of all he has yet released.

The amazing fried colossal olives and Greg’s equally amazing sparkling brut rose (photograph by John Cesano)

Restaurant manager Kevin Kostoff shepherded the diners into the banquet room to find seats, and then welcomed all assembled to a very special evening, introducing our servers Ben & John, beverage manner Nick Karavas, and owners Doug and Debbie, before turning things over to Jesse, who upon announcing, “this will be my last wine dinner in Ukiah,” was greeted with crying and gnashing of teeth.

Chef Jesse breaks the news that this is his Last Supper at Crush Ukiah (photograph by Tom Liden)

Jesse took bread, gave thanks to Greg and Trudi, and broke the bread, gave it to the patrons, and said, “Take this, all of you, and dip it in Greg’s organic olive oil.”

Winemaker Greg Graziano (photograph by Tom Liden)

The first course paired Crispy Veal Sweetbreads with white bean puree, Neuske Applewood smoke lardon, tempura brownbutter caper berry, and chive stick; Insalata Mista with gem lettuce, arugula, grilled radicchio, marinated heirloom tomato, cucumber, marinated artichoke, and red onion; and Bacala All’Amalfitana four day saffron constantly changed water soak, salt cod mini cakes with Yukon gold, housemade bread crumb, lemon aioli, and parsley oil; with Greg and Trudi’s 2013 Monte Volpe Pinot Grigio from 20 acres of Potter Valley vineyards, 100% fermented in neutral French oak barrels, made in the style of the great wines of Friuli.

Insalata Mista – mixed salad (photograph by Tom Liden)

The second course was where Jesse performed his miracle with the fishes. Roasted Snake River Farms Pork Belly and Pork Shoulder Ragu on top of brown butter and aromatics ‘giant’ gnocchi with a reduced Reggiano cream, fried frico cheese for texture, and micro arugula to pair with Greg’s 2011 Enotria Barbera; and a Cedar Plank Wild Scottish Salmon, four pepper spice crusted, with a Petite Sirah reduction, porcini dust, morel, white asparagus, and hazelnut to pair with Greg’s 2011 Graziano Petite Sirah. Also served were Parslied New Creamer Potatoes with roasted red and yellow peppers, coppa, and baby peeled clip top carrots bathed in butter; and Triple Creamed Corn, of corn stock, corn pudding, corn kernel, chipotle compound butter, and micro cilantro.

Cedar Plank Salmon, served with Petite Sirah; the miracle with the fishes by Chef Jesse (photograph by John Cesano)

Let me draw your attention to the miracle: Jesse paired fish with Petite Sirah, and pulled it of magnificently. Petite Sirah is big red wine. Fish is fish, and easily overpowered by big reds, but Jesse added layers of flavor to his Salmon, cooking it on a cedar plank, crusting it in four crushed peppers, glazed it in a reduction of Greg’s Petite Sirah with a touch of dried porcini mushroom dust, and then adding earthy morel mushrooms. The morels by themselves would have been a dish I would happily have enjoyed, and would order if on the menu; sautéed with white asparagus and toasted hazelnuts in butter, with salt and pepper. Building up the salmon, fortifying it, allowed it to pair brilliantly with Greg’s Petite Sirah.

John Cesano and Trudi Graziano (photograph by Tom Liden)

When supper was ended, before dessert was served, Jesse took a wineglass with 2011 Monte Volpe Tocai Friulano, Late Harvest Dolce Alexandra; again he gave thanks and praise; thanks to winemaker Greg and Greg’s wife Trudi Graziano, his parents Lynne and Bryan, and owners Doug and Debbie; and praise to the entire team of cooks and Crush’s new head chef Steve Lorenz, and then raised his glass, which was met by the crowd in a toast.

When the supper was ended, Jesse took the wine glass, gave thanks and praise (photograph by Tom Liden)

Dessert was Monte Volpe Olive Oil Cake, apricot-currant compote, and a fresh ginger gelato with toasted almond crumb that Jesse said he was, “really excited about.” The cake, made from Greg’s olive oil, helped absorb some of the sweetness of his 43% residual sugar late harvest wine, while the fruit compote helped tie the two together. The gelato was a wonderfully delicious bonus, a last gift from Jesse to the fortunate witnesses to his last supper.

I have been fortunate, and have attended every one of Chef Jesse’s winemaker dinners for the public at Crush in Ukiah. While no one is irreplaceable, Jesse brought a high degree of creativity and passion to each dinner, producing different hand made pasta dishes, making uniquely different but always rich ragu sauces, turning ordinary vegetables into entree worthy dishes, and presenting playful and delicious desserts, always allowing the food to showcase the qualities of the wines they would be paired with. Jesse Elhardt is a talent that Ukiah will miss, but we all wish him the best in his new adventures to come.

 

Spotlight winery: Jeriko Estate

Jeriko Estate is on Highway 101 just one mile north of Hopland. (John Cesano)

John On Wine – Spotlight winery: Jeriko Estate

Originally published in the Ukiah Daily Journal newspaper

In the year 2000, when I worked for the largest publisher of wine books and distributor of wine accessories in the industry, and visited wineries and winery tasting rooms in 42 California counties, I first visited Jeriko Estate on Highway 101 just one mile north of Hopland and I was impressed by the large, gorgeous, Tuscan styled stunner of a property.

I have visited Jeriko Estate many times in the intervening 15 years, most recently to taste through all of the wines with tasting room manager Adam Spencer, on a spectacular summer-like day offered up a full month before the first day of spring.

The estate vineyards and tasting room grounds were breathtakingly beautiful, blue skies painted with wispy white stratus clouds, colorful cover crops of green favas and yellow mustard growing between rows of perfectly pruned vines, gnarled old olive trees, purple flags moving in the light breeze, immaculately trimmed lawns separated by raked crushed stone earthen pathways, the sound of water dripping from a fountain into a circular pool, birds chirping, the red tile roofed and pale sienna colored building, a large patio available for a picnic with a glass or two of wine; Jeriko Estate exists to engage the senses.

The Jeriko Estate fountain and vineyard. (John Cesano)

 

The tasting room is large, with a bar and comfortable backed stools, cushy couches, high tables with stools, fireplace, large screen television for sporting events, an enormous glass wall offering a view of the barrel room, and a stone floor laid by owner Danny Fetzer. Adam shared that Danny also did the welding for the glass wall that separates the tasting and barrel rooms.

I took a seat at the bar, pulled out my notebook, and tasted through all of the current releases with Adam, dressed comfortably in the manner of all of the Hopland area male tasting room managers — I met Adam at an event last fall where we wore identical uniforms for pouring; untucked plaid shirt over cargo shorts with tennis shoes and a ball cap.

•2012 Jeriko Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Musque Clone, Mendocino, Made with Biodynamic Grapes, $28 — nose of white peach, pear, apricot, grass, mint and melon lead to flavors of pear, citrusy grapefruit and a touch of herb.

Danny is a biodynamic farmer, growing organically and bio-diversely, in a land friendly fashion. I prefer organic and biodynamic wines, wine quality being equal, over conventionally grown wines with Monsanto Round Up and other poisons involved.

•2012 Jeriko Estate Chardonnay, Upper Russian River, Mendocino, $25 — nose of cream, light oak, and clove spice give way to a mouth of apple and tropical fruit, lemon zest, and shows light, bright, lively acid.

•2013 Jeriko Estate Chardonnay, Anima Mundi, Mendocino, $30 — Clear light oak, lush bright green apple hard candy, with crisp acidity. Anima Mundi translates “soul of the earth” and will replace both Dijon clone and Pommard clone on Jeriko’s labels, due to a French protest of the use of the names Dijon and Pommard on American wine labels, explained Adam — a ridiculous protest as the reference had been to a particular vine and not the wine’s place of origin.

•2013 Jeriko Estate Pinot Noir Rose, Upper Russian River, $20 — strawberry, rose petal, light dried herb blend; delicate, direct, delightful.

•2012 Jeriko Estate Pinot Noir, Upper Russian River, Mendocino, $30 — Brambly briar, rose petal, and cherry.

•2012 Jeriko Estate Pinot Noir, Anima Mundi, Mendocino, $40 — primarily Pommard clone with a little Dijon clone. Bright candied cherry, cocoa. Lush, layered. love it.

•2011 Jeriko Estate Pinot Noir, Pommard Clone, Mendocino, $64 — Really lovely. Light tight tannin, deep layered, multi noted, great mouth feel, warm cherry, dusty cocoa, currant, light spice, integrated, with a long lingering fruit finish.

•2012 Jeriko Estate Sangiovese, Anima Mundi, Mendocino, $32 — chocolate covered cherry and blackberry. The perfect wine to end this tasting on, and absolute ‘must taste,’ a perfect wine, showing great balance between fruit and acid.

The best way to find out more about Jeriko Estate is to bring a picnic lunch, belly up to the bar for a wine tasting, and buy a glass or bottle of your favorite wine and enjoy it at an outside table with a vineyard view; alternately, you can visit http://www.jerikoestate.com or call (707) 744-1140 for more information.
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Coro Dinner at Crush in Ukiah

On Wednesday, March 18 — that’s next Wednesday, the winemakers of the 2011 vintage of Coro Mendocino, the county’s flagship wine, a red blend leaning heavily on Zinfandel, will pour their wines at a Chef’s Wine Dinner prepared by Chef Jesse Elhardt at Crush Italian Steakhouse in Ukiah.

Producers of 2011 vintage Coro Mendocino wines include Barra of Mendocino, Brutocao Cellars, Clos du Bois Winery, Fetzer Vineyards, Golden Vineyards, McFadden Farm & Vineyard, Parducci Wine Cellars, and Testa Vineyards.

I have written with great enthusiasm about previous Chef’s Winemaker Dinners at Crush, there may be no better way to taste local wines than with great local foods, surrounded by friends, new and old, at a family style sumptuous feast prepared by Crush.

For more information, or to reserve your seats, contact Crush directly at (707) 463-0700.

ADDED FOR ONLINE VERSION: I have to thank Kevin Kostoff, manager of Crush in Ukiah, who could not have been more gracious in securing a seat for me at next Wednesday’s dinner.

My son Charlie will be turning 18 next Wednesday, his birthday the same day as the Crush Coro Dinner, and I chose my son over continuing my unbroken string of Chef’s Wine Dinners.

Kevin reached out to me as tickets were selling quickly, and asked if I would be attending, letting me know he was holding my spot, assuming correctly that I would want to attend.

While I wanted to attend, I let him know about the conflict and that I couldn’t.

Has anyone else ever experienced the phenomenon where an older teen would rather spend time with friends than parents? Yeah, me too. Told of a birthday party being put together by his friends, I headed to Crush only to find the dinner was sold out, but was offered the first spot on the wait list.

Within two days, Kevin let me know – incredibly kindly – that there is always a spot for me. I went in and and paid for my ticket right away.

While there, I saw Chef Jesse, and he gave me an advance copy of the menu – which looks great!

I wrote this piece weeks ago, and although it ran in today’s paper, tickets are pretty much sold out now. Still, call and ask, because cancellations happen, and getting on the wait list and crossing your fingers is a good idea.

The other thing I’ll note: the folks at Crush did an amazing job for McFadden when they featured our wines in January during the county’s Crab, Wine & Beer Fest, but this will be so much more enjoyable because there is no real work aspect for this dinner; I just get to show up and enjoy great food and wine with friends.

Thank you to everyone at Crush for being so terrific. Cheers!