Hamming it up with THE Samuel from Redoux at Urbano Cafe

I recently made the acquaintance of Samuel Rickords at Malai Kitchen and was impressed with his wine distributorship portfolio. He and his wife Amanda are the owners of Redoux Wines and they distribute one of my favorite wineries; Sojourn Cellars.

He told me that he was doing a wine tasting with cheese at Urbano Cafe’s new space called “Two Doors Down”.

I have never been to Urbano Cafe, so this was a great opportunity to check it out.

Urbano Cafe is known for their fantastic American/Italian cuisine (reservations are recommended) and their policy of letting diners bring their own bottle for a small corkage fee. They also sell beer and wine by the bottle or glass. Please check the website or call to verify the BYOB policy.

The restaurant is very small and the additional space of “2DD” helps accommodate parties of 6 or more. It also has a bar and on occasion; live music.

The wines that Samuel brought were:

2013 Scarlett Wines, 1070 Green Sauvignon Blanc: white peach, grapefruit, lime, papaya. Very elegant with a mid-palate citrus finish.This wine was blended with a small percent of Semillon which added a soft, round mouth feel. I was so taken with this wine, that I really forgot to analyze it with the cheese choices…I just drank the wine! *I bought a bottle and paired it with a rosemary crusted Asiago cheese and was in heaven!

2013 Sojourn Cellars, Pinot Noir, Sangiacomo Vineyard, Sonoma Coast: very ripe fresh cherries, eucalyptus, a little bit of earth and mushroom. Moderate tannic bite on the finish. It needed to open up a bit. It was fantastic with the aged white cheddar cheese.

2008 Robledo Family Winery, “El Rey” Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Hills Lake County: licorice, dusty cherries, sweet tobacco leaf, with a light smoke and black fruit finish. Not overly oaked and a delight to drink. Really nice with Parmigiano Reggiano.

My cousin, Catherine and I decided that we wanted to eat dinner here; but the restaurant was booked. However, we were told if there was an empty table in the 2 Doors Down space; we could eat in there. So we grabbed a table and bought a bottle of Robledo Cabernet Sauvignon.

We paired it with Steamed Mussels, Beef Tenderloin and Blackened Pork Chop.

Mussels with Robledo Cabernet Sauvignon at Urbano Cafe’s “Two Doors Down”

The Steamed Mussels were in a basil, garlic, chorizo, tomato broth. The wine was perfect with this because the acidity in the wine matched the tomato acidity in the broth. Since the wine was not a “fruit bomb” it did not overpower the mussels.

The Beef Tenderloin was presented over smoked mozzarella grits. This was another stellar pairing. The beef was tender and juicy and the wine help cut the richness a bit as well as the richness of the grits. It really balanced this dish.

The Blackened Pork Chop also had smoked grits but it was the demi-glace that made this dish wonderful with the wine. It added a bit of sweetness and brought out the fruit in the wine.

I’m so glad that Urbano Cafe added Two Doors Down because they need the space to accommodate their loyal diners and newbies like me. Especially, if they have wonderful wines like these to help show off the fantastic food.

Cheers to: “THE” Samuel of Redoux, Urbano Cafe, and of course my fabulous Cousin Catherine; who is always up for a culinary adventure.

Lori – Your Twisted Sommelier