Celebrating Fall in Savory Style

“There’s a lot of snobbery in wine, but it shouldn’t be about that — it should be about bringing people together.”

Such was the sentiment expressed a thousand times over during the first annual Autumn Harvest Dinner held by Gainey Vineyard earlier this month, a celebration of great food, great company, and, of course, great wines. Prepared by Jake Francis of Les Fête Catering, the food was everything one would want to kick off the coziness of autumn, and the event as a whole, beautifully presented by Gainey Vineyard, was magical from the very beginning.

Guests were greeted with glasses of Gainey’s 2024 Limited Edition sauvignon blanc, a cool and crisp wine to enjoy with the unseasonably warm weather, and were invited to begin the evening by mingling and relaxing in the courtyard under gorgeous olive trees and cozy string lights. Appetizers — gougères with chicken liver paté and chive, and marinated beets with goat fromage blanc and endive — set the stage for what was sure to be an incredible dinner. The valley seemed to be enjoying an Indian summer over the weekend, and the warmth of the evening air combined with the chirping of crickets from the nearby vines immediately put me in a relaxed mood.

Before the dinner began, however, guests were given an unexpected treat: a stunning a cappella performance by the S.B. Master Chorale, who returned a few times throughout the dinner to grace the evening with their amazing voices.

After we all took our seats around stunningly decorated tables, lit warmly with flickering candles, and put on our berets — there was one on every chair, which made for a fun icebreaker — the first course was served, with two wines to pair with it. I much appreciated this going forward; rather than only one wine per course, guests were given the opportunity to explore and hone their own preferences of which wines they preferred and which food pairings they enjoyed best. For example, the first course, curried kabocha squash soup with koji yuzu, brown butter, and Dungeness crab, was everything you want once the weather turns to soup season: warm, buttery, and comforting, with a tangy bitterness from the yuzu to keep things balanced. The two wines paired for this course, two Gainey Evan’s Ranch chardonnays, from different years, each offered their own way to complement the soup. The 2024 Evan’s Ranch Caitlin’s Chardonnay was much crisper and airier, and it cut straight through the soup’s buttery quality, while the 2017 Evan’s Ranch La Marina Caitlin’s Chardonnay, though only aged seven more years than the 2024, had a more mature golden color along with a much smoother mouthfeel and taste that melded harmoniously with the earthy flavors of the soup. One course down, and I was already immensely enjoying myself, excited for more.

The second and third courses — Toulouse garlic sausage with cassoulet beans with pancetta, duck confit, and crispy breadcrumbs; and boneless braised short ribs with parsnip cauliflower potato purée, Alfredo-Dijon sauce, and herbed watercress salad — each served up autumn on a plate, with earthy spices and comfortingly rich flavors. Though my vegetarianism precluded me from the meat, the powers that be at Gainey were immensely kind in offering me modified vegetarian versions of each dish (zucchini instead of sausage; seasoned sweet potatoes instead of ribs) that I found just as delightful as my tablemates found their meals.

The two-wines-per-course formula continued to dazzle me, particularly with one of the selections for course two: the 2020 Evan’s Ranch Lone Oak Pinot Noir, which, as explained by winemaker Jeff LeBard, is unique in that the grapes are allowed to get a little riper on the vine, pushing the boundaries of what is normally standard to make pinot noir — and it pays off. This pinot has an almost peppery scent that immediately drew me in, and its tart, darkly fruity flavors were the perfect complement to the savoriness of the cassoulet.

Another standout for me was the 2022 Gainey INÉS Red Blend, a combination of mostly cabernet sauvignon blended with merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot that has a very aromatic, almost herbal taste with velvety hints of berry that keeps it feeling balanced. My friend Leila preferred the other wine paired with course three: the 2022 Gainey Patrick’s Vineyard Selection, a Bordeaux-style cuvée. The 2022 vintage marks a special year for the Patrick’s wine, as it is the first to introduce cabernet franc into the blend alongside the cab sauv, merlot, and petit verdot. Though the Patrick’s and INÉS blends share the same types of grapes, each of them is beautifully unique, with Patrick’s featuring a more toasty quality and hints of tobacco to meld with the fruit, which made it a wonderful complement to the earthiness of the potatoes and spices.

We moved on to the cheese course, which featured Alp Blossom from Allgäu, Germany, and Morbier Lait Cru from Jura, France, accompanied by slices of fresh pear and pickled grapes sprinkled with candied ginger to pair. The Alp Blossom, while a little funky for my taste on its own, sparkled when paired with the sweetness of the pear and the spice of the ginger. The Morbier Lait Cru was creamy and gorgeous all on its own, and I enjoyed it on a slice of fresh bread. A light but decadent dessert followed in the form of tiny chocolate truffles from Jessica Foster Confections: milk chocolate truffles with Gainey syrah and salt and pepper, and dark chocolate truffles with Gainey cab franc and garam marsala.

However, what stole the show for me was the last wine on the list. I’ve never been a fan of dessert wine; it tends to be far too syrupy for my taste. However, that night I learned that I just had never tasted the right one. Everyone was poured a glass of Gainey Late Harvest Viognier — from the year 2006. Its lovely pink sunrise color immediately took me by surprise, and I momentarily wondered if it had been intentionally enhanced with berry flavoring or something like that — nope, just wine magic. Incredibly sweet yet never bordering on saccharine, this wine graces the tongue with hints of strawberry and brings to mind a picnic under the valley oak trees on a hot summer day.

Wine truly has the power to bring people together, especially over a meal, and it was beautifully exemplified at Gainey’s Autumn Harvest Dinner. I had the pleasure of being seated next to Jeff LeBard, who kept me laughing with his friendly commentary on the proceedings and was happy to share behind-the-scenes information and answer questions from anyone in the room. Estate Director Stephen Janes set everyone at ease with a welcoming air and rallied the room with a silly French-inspired (I think) cheer that banished the last of my nervousness that I always seem to get in fancy settings. Truly, Gainey walks the walk when it comes to serving incredible wine and showstopping food — but leave any snobbery at the door, wear your beret with pride, and soak up the chance to bond with kind people over a stunning meal and a glass of wine.

See gaineyvineyard.com.