Behind the scenes at Spark's Volk Wine Tasting Dinner

The Kenneth Volk Wine Dinner was a success. The kitchen had been bustling all day to prepare and the restaurant smelled delicious. Kenneth Volk was the first to arrive. What a lovely man. He explained that he would like to say a little something to the group and then “table hop” to personally answer any questions the guests may have for him. We were also honored to have Pro Football “Hall of Famer” Eric Dickerson in attendance. The guest slowly trickled in and after enjoying a tasty Malvasia Bianco with a flowery bouquet and clean, dry finish, everyone eventually took their seats.

I said a few words to set the tone for the evening. Smiling faces beamed back at me, many of them familiar from past events, fully expectant of wonderful pairings. As they listened intently to my greeting, I conveyed that in my opinion the actual food and wine tasting are always wonderful, but pale in comparison to the new friendships, the memories that will remain and of course, the few hours of chaste satisfaction derived from escaping the hectic lives we lead. Simple pleasures and quality of life is what I think it’s all about. And with that said, Kenneth Volk welcomed everyone to Spark Woodfire Grill and the servers began to pour Chardonnay for the first course.

The sautéed scallops with grilled cauliflower and spring onion puree combined terrific tastes and textures. The light smokiness of the grilled cauliflower with the sweetness of sautéed scallops and the fresh, mildly sharp spring onion puree paired nicely with the well balanced Volk Chardonnay (Sierra Madre Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley) 2004.

Tables began to merge, a single gentleman joined a table of four and several guests started visiting familiar faces in the room. The servers had some special requests which are difficult to honor when the guests keep moving around the room, but I had encouraged it. Service is key to a smooth event. There is a fine line between professionalism and being overly friendly. I strive to maintain a level of professionalism, combined with a sense of genuine caring and couldn’t have asked for a better crew. Jake (whom I used to work with at Alto Palato), Sara and Lolita were all wonderful, accommodating when necessary, very attentive, super professional and yet, I saw some hugs at the door from their guests at the end of the evening.

The second course paired Volk Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley) 2004 with thin small squares of fresh lasagna sautéed with a Tuscan style rabbit ragu. The pasta had a little bite to it tossed with tender ragu that melted in your mouth. The Pinot Noir possessed a very light smoky finish which paired beautifully with the hint of sweetness from baby carrots in the ragu.

As we replaced silverware, cleared empty glasses and replaced them for the next course, the room was getting progressively louder. A gorgeous night, some people stepped out onto the patio to enjoy a little fresh air, others talked to complete strangers in favor of fresh pasta over dried, Bill Chait (co-owner with Danilo Terribili and Jeff Sladicka) stopped by and I think half of the room was up and milling about. Then we served the lamb paired with Mouvedre (Enz Vineyard, Lime Kiln Valley) 2003 and a hush came over the room. The lamb was butterflied, stuffed with fresh herbs, tied and wood fire rotisseried served with Mouvedre that had an intense, deep, flavor with a black cherry finish. I had a gentleman call me to the table to ask if he could please have a little more because it was the best lamb he had ever tasted. As I recounted this story to our beaming Chef Fredy Escobar and Co Chef for the evening Danilo Terribili, I thought to myself, “This is when you love the restaurant business.”

For dessert, we served a chocolate tart aromatized with black and pink pepper garnished with fresh whipped cream. (Yes, aromatized. In Italian, the word is Aromatizzata and when translated it means “to make aromatic”. I liked it.) The Volk Cabernet Sauvignon (Carmody McKnight Vineyard, Paso Robles) 2003 was smooth, velvety and complimented the extremely subtle spiciness of the black and pink pepper.

After a month of preparation, tastings, menu design, meetings with the Chef, e-marketing, press and finally the actual event, I am exhausted and swear it will be a long time until I help to organize another Wine Dinner. Then I write this article and I slowly realize that I derive great pleasure in producing a successful event, bringing enjoyment to a group of very nice people and maybe in a small way, making a difference in somebody’s life.

Then the phone rings, a conversation begins, they say the event isn’t for a couple of months.

Alright…I’ll do it.