Paulée
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA | AUGUST 2024
The Burgundian tradition of Le Paulée is typically held at the end of the harvest season, a communal feast in the fields where winemakers bring their favorite bottles to the table to share in celebration of another year's labor. We hosted this Paulée in partnership with Russian River Valley Wine Weekend at the beginning of harvest season, just feet from vines heavy with fruit at Iron Horse Vineyards, waiting to be picked and turned into sparkling wines for countless celebrations to come.
At the long table set running down the road, guests from 18 states and 14 wineries from throughout the Russian River Valley were present. While seating so many folks all at once became a bit of a chaotic game, once everyone settled in, the bottles started to come out — countless special selections from home cellars to savor and share, library wines from the many guest wineries, a jeroboam from 1982 passed far and wide down the table throughout dinner — everyone took the spirit of celebration to heart and seized the opportunity to show off with some really special bottles. These wines paired with a seasonal celebration cooked over open flame from Chef Kevin O’Connor featuring American Lamb and Sena Seafood.
As the California sunlight thickened into syrupy gold at sunset, the previously bare table gained a truly unique tablescape we could never have outmatched: gorgeous bottles of all shapes and sizes (accompanied by the inevitable drips and red-wine rings that come with such a celebration) became a collaboratively created table runner, their sculptural beauty refracting the sunlight and reflecting a celebration well attended, a portent of the successful harvest about to begin.
WELCOME
We started the sunny afternoon with a wine social in the dappled shade of a tree-ringed horse corral beside the table. Each of the 14 guest winemakers claimed a barrel set around the edge to pour tastes of their favorite wines to kick-off the night. Guest mingled to music from a live Bluegrass band and toured the best of the Russian River Valley without needing to leave the confines of the corral.
A MENU BY CHEF KEVIN O’CONNOR
Chef Kevin O’Connor knows a thing or two about open-fire cooking. The California native is more likely found foraging in the Sierra Foothills or stoking the flames of a Santa Maria than in a restaurant kitchen. With several cast iron grills set up on the roadside, he smoked, slow-roasted, and selected the best ingredients midsummer in California has to offer (what a wealth of selection that was!).
MENU
WELCOME
Compressed Melon preserved lemon, Chilean Merken Olive Oil
Kingfish Crudo nectarine, buttermilk dashi, chervil
Stone Fruit & Lardo pink peppercorn
TO START
Focaccia conserva of summer squash, fresh cheese, fig, lemon leaf
FIRST
Heirloom Tomatoes purslane, elderberry capers, sourdough, marigold, Picual olive oil
SECOND
Smoked Copper River Sockeye Salmon blistered corn, ‘nduja butter, roscaldo torpedo onion, sorghum, basil
MAIN
Slow Roasted American Lamb Leg roasted Jimmy Nardello peppers, charred eggplant, garlic confit, marjoram
Six Hour Cabbage roasted black sesame miso, green allium oil, wild fennel pollen
DESSERT
Berries & Merengue elderberry cream, apple, mint
WINE PAIRINGS
In lieu of formal pairings with each course, we celebrated the Paulée traditon of shared wines and welcomed our many guest winemakers to bring some exclusive selections from their cellars to share. These guest winemakers represented some of the best of California wine country, and it as an honor to welcome them all to the table.
SECRET LOCATION: IRON HORSE VINEYARDS
Iron Horse Vineyards is a family-owned and -run property. While winemaker Rodney Strong planted the original plots of grapes in the early 19070s, the Sterling took over in 1976 and have called the Green Valley their home ever since. Joy, a second-generation Sterling steward of the land, hosted us for our celebration
The rustic redwood cabins and rolling hills of this vineyard property set the stage for our celebration, while the legend of exceptional wines under the Iron Horse name (did you know their sparkling wine has been served in the White House for six consecutive presidents?) gave a gravitas to the soirée.
