Highlights from the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival

Highlights from the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival

The last weekend of September saw several huge white tents pitched behind Marble House in Newport, which was the scene for the 5th Annual Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. I spent several hours drinking and eating on Saturday, and while there was plenty of good wine and food, these were the absolute standouts of the event.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras Hands down the best food samples of the entire event. Anyone who enjoys foie gras knows how delicious it is whether cooked in a pate or seared on a grill. The Hudson Valley Foie Gras table served it both ways, and it was naturally great, but once I tried the Duck Salami and Duck Prosciutto I knew their table was the best of the best there. The Moulard ducks at Hudson Valley Foie Gras are raised cage free with special care and attention paid to the ducks raised for foie gras. If you're a meat-eater who's still in opposition to that production, you must try their meats and charcuterie. Anyone who asked where was the best food, I sent them straight over to the Hudson Valley Foie Gras table and they always came back to me in agreement. Hudson Valley Foie Gras products are available for purchase online.

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Bodegas Riojanas I always enjoy Spanish wines. There are so many interesting styles and varietals, and the Bodegas Riojanas table seemed to capture them all with a number of excellent wines. I especially enjoyed the Monte Real Reserva from Rioja (primarily Tempranillo) and the Gran Albina Vendimia (a blend of three Rioja grapes). Unfortunately the Bodegas Riojanas manager told me there isn't a local distributor for them yet, but hopefully someone at the Festival tasted these great wines and will bring these wines to Rhode Island soon.

Gloria's Old Vines Turning to something kind of local, Gloria's Old Vines are produced in California, but the final blend of each release is overseen by Bellevue Wine & Spirits owner John Callaghan. Callaghan told me that even when they weren't able to get out to the winery for the recent production, all of the barrel samples were shipped to Rhode Island and were precisely blended at his kitchen table. I enjoyed all four of the Gloria's Old Vines wines that I tasted. The standouts for me were the Caitlin's Cuvee, a Zinfandel, Carignane and Petite Sirah blend, along with the 2006 Zinfandel from Mendocino. Head down to Bellevue Wine & Spirits and give them all a try.

Robert Oatley Vineyards Another table where I enjoyed almost every wine I tasted, and they had a wide selection, was Robert Oatley Vineyards. Their wines from the Mudgee region of Australia (northwest of Sydney) were all beautifully balanced. The Chardonnay, while spending 10 months in French oak barrels, wasn't overly oak-y tasting, the Sauvignon Blanc was very crisp and their Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot blend felt as if it would pair beautifully with a lot of foods. I hadn't had any Oatley Vineyards wines before so it was a great find and they are nicely priced as well.

If I had to make one minor complaint about the selection at the Festival it would be that it was so Italian-heavy. I understand that there are hundreds of varietals made in Italy and that there are hugely popular wine regions in the country, but wow was there a lot of Italian wine under one tent. That being said, one Italian wine that stood out for me was the Fontanafredda Serralunga D'Alba Barolo. As a corollary to this complaint I ask, where were the Rieslings? Rieslings are some of my favorite of all wines and the only ones I tasted were from Hazllitt 1852 Vineyards from the Finger Lakes Region, both of which I enjoyed and I'm glad they were at the Festival.

Back to food before wrapping up. I have to mention Persimmon's Chef Champe Speidel's lamb rillette. It was a delicious bite and perfectly paired with a Perrin & Fils Gigondas La Gille from the Cotes du Rhone. If for some reason you haven't had wines from all along the Cotes du Rhone, I'm not sure what you're waiting for. There's not enough room here for me to go into all the excellent wine from the region, so please start exploring. You should also explore the Boccalone web site and order up a ton of nduja, a spicy spreadable salami, that is made at Chef Chris Cosentino's sausage company in Oakland, California. Cosentino gave a demonstration to a packed tent where he made Calabrian Style Clams & Boccalone Nduja, and here is his recipe.

Calabrian Style Clams & Boccalone Nduja

Ingredients:

4 lbs. clams

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 8 oz. chub of Boccalone nduja

1 red onion, julienned

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 tsp picked thyme

2 cups chickpeas

3 cups fish stock

1 lemon

1 head fennel

1/4 cup parsley leaves

1/4 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup chive batons

Grilled country bread

Procedure:

Wash the clams well with ice and cold water shaking vigorously in a bucket. This keeps them cold and gets the clean at the same time. Strain out the clams and set aside to be ready to be cooked.

In a large saute pan over medium heat add the olive oil, julienned onions, and garlic with the thyme, sweat until translucent & aromatic for 4 minutes then add the Boccalone nduja in chunks and let it melt. Add the clams and chickpeas with the fish stock and cover until all the clams open about 4 minutes. Remove the cover and adjust the broth with olive oil and lemon juice, divide the clams evenly between 6 bowls.

In a mixing bowl shave the fennel 1/4 inch thick with a mandolin or cut by hand, then add herbs. Dress with lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, season with saly and pepper to taste. Finish each bowl of clams with the salad, serve with grilled bread.

Photos David Dadekian