Cooking Class at Jar

We periodically host a cooking class at Jar on Saturday mornings. Twelve lucky souls are ushered into the underbelly of Jar's kitchen to watch Chef Suzanne Tracht demonstrate how to make some of Jar's most popular dishes. I also get to make some guest appearances to showcase some fun wines to match the dishes being prepared. For the guests, it is a unique experience to have a personal chef and sommelier serving them for lunch.

The menu for this most recent class included our Little Gem Caesar Salad, Braised Lamb Shank with Sauteed Baby Broccoli, and finished off with Sandra's Chocolate Decadence.

I always start the class out with some kind of sparkling wine as an aperitif. We enjoyed a glass of Ca' del Roro Prosecco Brut NV this week. Notes of honey, lemon and green apple, dry on the palate and imminently drinkable. As I said to the class, "what else do you want to drink at 11am...?!"

To match the Caesar Salad, I poured a new wine that we've discovered at Jar and are currently pouring by the glass: The Paring "The Point" Chardonnay 2009. This is something of a second label for newcomers Jonata. These wines are meant to be food-friendly and easy to drink. The Chardonnay fits the bill perfectly! The classic green apple and pear flavors are there, but much crisper and cleaner. There is a salinity to the wine and a green edge that shows like a fresh parsley. Unoaked, no malo, and delicious.

Matching the Lamb Shank, I poured Scholium Project's 'Babylon' Petite Syrah 2005. This is a monster of a wine! Dark wild berry fruit with firm structure, licorice, baking spices and a soft herbaceousness. This producer is very unique and some of the efforts they are making with their wine production is very impressive. This is my favorite bottling from them. And it worked great with the lamb shank, playing off the star anise Suze uses in the braise.

The group had a wonderful time, as always. As challenging as it is to get up so early on a Saturday morning after a Friday night service, I always have a great time myself. It's exciting to have a captive audience and the opportunity to pull out some of the overlooked wines from Jar's list.