Swedish blood flows in the veins of both Chefs Ben and Tony, so the Scandinavian Wine Tasting Dinner on January 31 was a family affair. The five course dinner carried all the trappings of a Nordic feast – fish, cardamom, sausage and dried fruit – but not necessarily served in the traditional manner. Instead, the men riffed on the themes, causing some diners to declare they can never go back to their old recipes.

Maybe in a few years, when global warming has made a bigger impact, we’ll actually get to sample Swedish grown wine (don’t laugh, it could happen! About 1,000 years ago, the Vikings built vineyards in Greenland during a long stretch of warm weather). In the meantime, we’ll stick with California vintages.

Sorry, no food pictures this month. We were too busy enjoying our meal!

Tonya Dunn from wine distributors Griggs Cooper & Co. introduced us to the wines of J. Lohr from the Central Coast area. With vineyards in both hot and cool locations, this company is able to make a wide array of wines.

We started the night off with a smoky Riverstone Chardonnay. It paired nicely with the Crispy Salmon Egg Rolls with Caramelized Fennel and an Orange Glaze. Chef Tony said they smoked the salmon themselves, and it was lusciously warm. It matched very well with the fennel, too, which had traded its raw licorice flavor for a robust sweetness from the caramelization.

The second course was so perfectly balanced I wanted to scoop it up all at once and make it into a sandwich. The Cardamom Grilled Quail was left to marinate in the spice overnight, and its sweetness merged well with a side of Whipped Goat Cheese, Arugula, Roasted Figs and Syrup. It was very rustic.

Dunn decided to expand our palate by pairing this course with a Wildflower Valdiguie wine. Until recently, this grape was thought to be a Beaujolais varietal. Studies conducted at University of California Davis, however, have determined it is its own strain. Nevertheless, like Beaujolais, it has a lot of cherry in it. This helped bring out the many layers of flavor in the quail.

Just like how almost everything tastes better fried, anything braised in beer is going to be taken to another level. Chef Tony revealed that the Swedish Sausage had been provided by his relatives who run Forester’s Meat Markets. The sliced links were rich and flavorful because of the beer, and also because they were stacked on top of a Cabbage Confit made with cubes of thick-cut bacon. In comparison, the rye toast base was the lightest flavor on the plate, but took on a New York City deli persona when swiped through the Honey and Cracked Mustard Vinaigrette.

To counter this multi-faceted taste experience, we were served a Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon. It was ruby red and smelled like the comfy leather chair my grandfather owned (my mother later pointed out that the 31^st would have been his 100^th birthday, so I found this course very fitting). Its robust palate made me think of fresh pipe tobacco.

Once thought to be just another Beaujolais grape, it has since been discovered that the Valdiguie is its own varietal.

Chef Ben introduced the fourth course by saying Cod is his new favorite fish. This offering was a bit of a departure from the flavor aesthetic normally promoted at Ingredients. Rather than meld the Horseradish-crusted Cod with the Curried Cauliflower and Carrot Crème Fraiche Jus into one huge harmonized flavor, Chef Tony said they wanted the pieces to stand on their own.

The purity of flavor made us concentrate on what actually happens when a food is cooked in a certain way. This style of cuisine is popular in Nordic countries, where they have access to so many foods gathered from the wild.

The most remarkable component was the cod encrusted with raw horseradish. At first glance, it looked, for all the world, like those popular coconut shrimp served at many restaurants. Upon tasting it, though, all similarities faded away. The horseradish had lost its fire when the fish was cooked, leaving behind an almost wasabi-like crispness. It made the cod very savory, and there was no need for a lemon or other enhancement.

The Southridge Syrah poured to accompany this dish was tart, but made the food taste creamier, somehow.  

For the finale, we had a lovely cold Fruktsoppa. This fruit soup was made with various dried fruits and spices, which made it taste like a wine itself. Alongside was a Star Anise Ice Cream in an Almond Tuille cookie cup that was docked to the plate with stiff whipped cream.

A mouth puckering White Riesling set off the sweetness of the dessert, making us move back and forth from a sip of wine to a nibble of dessert.

Next month, look for our wine dinner on Tuesday, February 28.