Oh là là! Café Margaux plans French wine dinners
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Lucky are the friends of Jason Steele and Lori Halbert. They get invited to parties in Cahors, France, where the Melbourne couple own a 12th Century former monastery as their vacation home.
As part of the festivities for what must have been an epic birthday party for Jason back in 2018, the couple took their friends on a tour of local vineyards. Chateau Chambert proved a favorite, but, alas, the wine was not being distributed back in the States so it could be enjoyed once the gang got back home.
Halbert and Steele decided to remedy that situation by starting their own importing company, JLJ Importing.
The pair are on a crusade to raise awareness of Cahors’ winey wonders, and have helped to orchestrate three special wine events this month at Café Margaux in Cocoa Village.
The first dinner, geared towards wine enthusiasts eager to take home wine they will not find in a regular wine shop, is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5. A three-course dinner will be paired with Cerisiers, Petite Maison and Le Puits, all 100 percent Cahors malbecs from Chateau Chambert.
“There are only about 600 bottles of these wines made, so we’re very excited to be able to receive an allotment for the dinner,” said Halbert. “They showcase the grape exquisitely.”
Winery ambassador Manon Serres is flying in from France for the event.
The menu begins with a luxury cassoulet with bacon, tiger shrimp and monkfish, followed by a quail gumbo of whole quail stuffed with oysters, Andouille sausage and rice, a tea-smoked duck breast. Cost is $95 per guest.
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Malbec is the wine for Cahors, and although the Bordeaux and Burgundy wine regions may get more press these days, Cahors and its wine once reigned supreme.
“Cahors was the most popular wine during the Middle Ages,” noted Lin Liu, master of wine at Chateau Chambert. “Half of the French wine sold at the time was produced in Cahors. Pope, queens and kings were drinking Cahors. This piece of history gives us strong confidence to its terroirs to produce top quality wines."
Chateau Chambert has plenty of style along with environmental acumen. The story of the vineyards of Chambert, in existence since the 10th Century, entered a new chapter when Philippe Lejeune purchased the property in 2007. Never once did he consider any route but the organic and biodynamic.
“We practiced organic and biodynamic viticulture from Day 1, when it was very much a pioneering mentality at the time,” added Liu.
Organic viticulture has become a trend in the industry in the last couple of years.
Biodynamic viticulture grows grapes without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, but goes above and beyond by uniting plants, animals and soil through conscious relationships that create balance.
Local wine fans will have opportunity to test the taste difference, since the Chateau Chambert “fest” at Cafe Margaux continues with a duo of wine dinners at 6:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday, April 13 and 14. A variety of the vineyard’s wines will be paired with a six-course menu of sweet potato soup with spiced yogurt; fennel, tomato and feta salad with capers, lemon zest and olive oil; seared sea bass with cilantro risotto; Lamb Bolognese with okra paccheri pasta; Jacobs & Brichford Ameribella artisan cheese and dessert of Crostana Sambuco Lamponi multi-grain tart with elderberry and raspberry marmalade.
Cost for these wine events is $145 per guest. For reservations, call 321-639-8343. Café Margaux is at 220 Brevard Ave., Cocoa Village. For full menus, visit margaux.com.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Café Margaux plans wine dinners featuring French Cahors wines
