July 16, 2009 The Second Edition of Wine Exploration Dinners at The Turtle Restaurant: Red Caboose

Mark your calendar on July 16, 2009 then climb aboard for the second edition of our Wine Exploration Dinner with Red Caboose Winery and their vintner Evan McKibben. Red Caboose Winery is the newest winery in the Northern Growing Region of Texas and the very first winery in Bosque County. Red Caboose uses the latest energy-saving technology: geothermal cooling and chilling, PV arrays for generating clean electricity and rainwater collection are only a few features that make Red Caboose green.

Evan will be presenting his Cabernet 07, winner of a Grand Star and Gold medals in the 2009 Lone Star International Wine Competition and his Merlot 06, a silver winner at the 2009 Dallas Morning New Wine Competition. Plus, we will be making something desserty with his sweet Blanc du Bois. For reservations go to www.theturtlerestaurant.com and enter July 16, 2009 7:00 pm on the reservation form.

Menu

Panzanella

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass - parpadelle, farm vegetables, lemon, capers

Asian Greens - bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, daiko, pine nuts, sweet sesame vinaigrette

Steak Au Poivre - chateau potatoes, baby carrots

Red Caboose Cheesecake

The first four courses will be served with 2oz tastings of Tempranillo Syrah blend, Viognier, Blanc du Bosque and their gold medal Cabernet Sauvignon.

$65.00 per person additional glasses of wine $10.00 each

Chicken Purses and Hearses Too

On the 21st of June, we hosted Wine Enthusiast writer Lisa Rogak and State of Texas Wine Marketing Director, Bobbie Champion as they toured the Way Out Wineries in our neck of the woods. I suffer a little fear and trepidation when meeting the unknown. I was the kid who worried about flunking out of kindergarten before the first day. I wondered, "will we meet their expectations? Will we be good enough?" We are self conscious knowing we are new at this wine gig. Our wine storage room is unfinished with boxes on the floor and my grandchildrens' toys strewn about. So my staff and I waited anxiously, ready or not, for their arrival.

We laid out a spread from our Enoteca menu on the bar including all of our pizzas, Al Diavalo, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese, Quattro Fromaggi, Mellanzanna, Prosciutto and Rocket, Margarita and held our breath as they tasted each one, chose their wines and declared their favorites. As they explored our food, I tried to explore our guests. Lisa is effervescent, overflowing with ideas and bizarre interests like funerary museums. She is someone who loads her hearse with musical instruments - the accordion and double bass. Michelle, my head waitress, coveted Lisa's rubber chicken purse. This lead to the discovery that Lisa is a fan of the hilarious Wallace and Gromit cartoons, owning a Shaun the Sheep purse as well. We gave Bobbie and Lisa the Grand Tour of the property, I wished we had more time and lived next door.