by contributor Donna Shor
Photo credit: Dominique Otterbeck
Sophie Comes To Washington.
Inspiration was the word when Sophie Meunier-Confuron and her talented vintner husband Alain Meunier arrived from France to present their wines at Todd Gray’s Equinox restaurant for a special wine dinner.
The excellent bottles they brought from their Burgundy vineyards paired with Gray’s innovative dishes to create a memorable event.
Sophie, an easy-going, quick-to-laugh woman obviously loves her work, though she didn’t seek it. “How did I become a winemaker? I was twenty-one and my sister and I were the only ones left to continue the traditions of Jean-Jacques Confuron, our family’s fourth generation wine-making house,” she explained. “My sister was busy with college and not interested, so it was up to me to carry on.” Sitting beside her and listening as she spoke of their wines, I realized that the role circumstances forced on her had become a driving passion.
Sophie et Alain Meunier
“In Burgundy, you know, we have no grand chateaux as they do in Bordeaux. Our properties are small farms, and we are farmers. I get out and work with everyone else, in the field and in the wine cellar.”
Quite true, unlike Bordeaux, there are no vast seas of grapevines spreading out from a regal chateau. The vineyards are postage stamp-sized by comparison, and even these are often split between several owners, each having a parcel of the whole. Production is never large, which made these wines even more of a treat at the Equinox dinner.
Vintner Alain Meunier had to learn the craft of winemaking, which neither he nor Sophie knew, becoming an acknowledged authority who now lectures to vintner groups. He has furthered the traditions of the Jean-Jacques Confuron dynasty, advancing them by his advocacy of organic and biodynamic growing and winemaking methods to produce vibrant wines with a depth of flavor. Biodynamic methods encompass, for just two examples, a respect for the soil and the vine, and avoidance of chemicals in the winemaking.
The evening was organized by McLean Virginia’s JAO Imports, whose owners are John Otterbeck and his French wife, Dominique whom he met in London and who is a ringer for Michelle Pfeiffer. During a period of working in Europe, John became deeply interested in wine, and his company reflects this. Shunning the mass-produced, he imports a wide spectrum of wines from select, smaller growers. The Meunier’s wines are an excellent example of his choices.
The bottles Sophie and Alain brought for the guests were from the Côte de Nuits section of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or―the Golden Slope― “golden” because of the great wines produced here from Pinot Noir, Burgundy’s signature red wine grape. The Meunier’s are based in Premeaux-Prissey, have holdings in several of the greatest Burgundy vineyards, and are known as serious winemakers.
Dinner got underway with imaginative hors d’oeuvres: Truffled Risotto Fritters with preserved lemon crème fraiche, and Tuna Tartare with crispy nori, chives and spicy mayo, accompanied by a Crémant de Bourgogne, the sparkling wine of Burgundy.
The first course was a creamy, unexpected combination, and a fine example of Todd Gray’s carefully constructed dishes. The pasta used was orecchiette, whose “little ear-shaped” cups captured the sauce perfectly. Early autumn squash with braised prosciutto and tomato shallot butter was set off by Tuscan kale. This dark Italian variety from the Tuscany region, also known as dinosaur kale, is a hard-to-find green, but Gray knew exactly what he was doing, as the rather fleshy but delicate-flavored leaves, much more subtle in flavor than the usual supermarket kale, blended to perfection…
Pairing with it was a fine Chardonnay, a pale gold Côte de Nuits village La Montagne Blanc 2010. A distinctive wine with a slightly flowery nose, and hints of apple on the palate, it was rich enough to match the dish, and the long aromatic finish was a delight.
The grapes for the La Montagne came from a mountain site, as the name implies, a higher planted vineyard than is usual in Burgundy. Sophie also said that when they re-planted it, they had made an unusual decision to double-plant in both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which is normally not done here. We all felt lucky they shared it with us, as they had made only 1,800 bottles in that vintage.
Next, a perfectly done, red wine-marinated Pennsylvania duck breast appeared, dressed with preserved grapes, and nested on a bed of quinoa (that ancient grain of the Incas) with a Saba beet vinaigrette. Saba. the syrupy vinegar of concentrated, cooked down grape juice, nicely balanced the richness of the duck. Gray is a mindful chef.
Their Côte de Nuits village, “Les Vignottes” 2009 was the paired wine, with a fine berry fragrance, that segued into varying berry flavors in the mouth and in the finish of this beautifully balanced wine.
“Wow” was the only word for the next wine, which made its appearance with dessert. One whiff , then the big, velvety mouthful made me blurt out “This is a cheese wine!” and Sophie immediately agreed. It was a Nuits St. Georges “Les Chaboeufs” 2004 Premier Cru, or first growth. Sophie explained there were no Grand Cru wines in that area, so the Premier Cru was the highest rating reached. It was a marvel, with round tannins, great fruit and an appealing, slightly woodsy element that came through especially on the long, satisfying finish.
Chef Karen Nicholas and pastry chef Brandi Edinger: Photo courtesy of Equinox
Brandi Edinger, the pastry chef, produced an intriguing dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse, with salted peanut shortbread and toasted sesame crisp accompanying a flavorful Concord grape sorbet.
Brandi and chef Karen Nicholas joined Equinox during the last year. Karen who has been given the title “Executive Chef” by Gray, marking the first time he has ever done this, has been profiled by Food and Wine magazine.as 2012 Best New Chef of the year.
Nicolas has said that she was delighted to find she shared the same cooking theories as Todd Gray. He is famed for fine meals of seasonal, local foods in a cuisine based on solid classic techniques. His hallmark is punctuating the dishes with sought-out innovative ingredients that deftly set them off.
Photo courtesy of Equinox
Gray and his wife and Equinox co-owner, Ellen Kassoff Gray are locals; she is from Maryland, where she graduated from the University of Maryland, and he from Fredericksburg, Virginia. Todd was an art student at the University of Richmond, but the art of the table vanquished the art of canvas and oils, and he followed culinary studies instead. As an acclaimed, award-winning chef he has been named by the Department of State Department and endorsed by the White House as a “Culinary Diplomat” to spread knowledger of America and her cuisine abroad.
Todd and Ellen Gray: Photo courtesy of Equinox
Ellen, who is the restaurant’s busy general manager, is also a marketing expert with an imaginative mind that originates many of the restaurant’s innovations. They both have written a cookbook with David Hagedorn, “The New Jewish Table: Modern Seasonal Dishes,” to be published in early 2013. Ellen is an active philanthropist who endorses and works for causes here and abroad, has sponsored ecological movements and through her humane treatment of animals crusade, works to end suffering of the finny, furry or feathered beings that will end up on our table.
With all this, she also is raising their thirteen-year-old son, Harrison, who is rumored already interested in cooking, so perhaps still another dynasty will continue.
