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by Debra C. Argen
Roy’s New York and Bonny Doon Vineyard’s Wine Dinner
Special dinners require special wines, making wine pairing dinners between restaurants and vineyards perfect companions. Roy’s New York, (www.roysrestaurant.com) 130 Washington Street, New York teamed up with Bonny Doon Vineyard of California (www.bonnydoonvineyard.com) on May 14, 2004, to provide a 4-course menu with wine pairings.
 After becoming enamored of Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurants, Roy’s on Oahu and Maui, we were especially eager to try Roy’s New York. Although Barbara could not join us, Ed, Manos and I were able to attend this special Wine Pairing Dinner. After being tempted with Roy’s cocktails by Carla, our fabulous server, we started our evening with Hawaiian martinis, (think coconut, pineapple, rum), and a frozen coconut rum daiquiri, which were a refreshing way to relax at the end of a long day.
The dinner began with a Dungeness Crab Salad with Osetra Caviar, Coriander Gribiche, and Meyer Lemon that was paired with a 2002 Bonny Doon Vineyard “Pacific Rim” Dry Riesling. The wine had flavors of citrus, apple and pear with very little oak, and provided a nice compliment to the crab.
Our next course was a Paella Risotto, with scallops, langoustine, clams, mussels and chorizo, paired with a 2001 Ca’ del Sol “Il Fiasco” Sangiovese. The risotto was tender and creamy, and the scallops were absolutely tasty and fabulous, not the usual undercooked scallops found in many restaurants these days. The wine was really excellent and provided a nice foil to the risotto.
We took a short break between courses to converse with Mark Giordano of Bonny Doon Vineyard and Ann Marie Suveges of Lauber Imports, (www.lauberimports.com) who provided a bit of background on the wines and vineyard. It should be noted that although various vineyards have started to abandon traditional corks for screwtops, we were a bit skeptical about this, which for me, conjures up images of low-caliber wines. Mark told us that many vineyards are now using screw tops, since vineyards were losing 5 – 10% due to cork mold, which was unacceptable. Fine, but how would the wines taste with screw tops? The 2002 Bonny Doon Vineyard “Pacific Rim” Dry Riesling that we tasted had a screw top, so that answered that question! Ed was wondering though, why is it that just as the price of the “rabbit” wine opener has come down in price, screw tops should suddenly appear?
For our third course, Ed and Manos had the Niman Ranch Ribeye Negamaki Style, with Mataki Mushroom Duxelle and Japanese Potato Puree, paired with a 2001 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant, which also incidentally has a screw top. I had the Pan Roasted Chatham Bay Cod with Mushroom Consommé and Spring Vegetable Ragout with morel mushrooms, yellow peppers and sugar snap peas. The 2001 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant really held its own against the steak  with its rich, red wine sauce and garlic mashed potatoes, with good body and balanced acidity, and yet also worked nicely with my cod.
Our final course for the evening was the Hot Chocolate Soufflé served with Tahitian Vanilla Gelato and paired with a N/V Framboise. I am still remembering the rich, warm chocolate complimented with raspberry liqueur, absolute perfection! So much for dieting!
Roy’s New York
130 Washington Street between Albany & Carlisle Streets
New York, New York 10006
212-266-6262
www.roysrestaurant.com
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