What is better than a food and wine pairing dinner on a Thursday night? Gotham in Red Bank, New Jersey packed the house on September 22nd to serve a delicious four course meal brilliantly paired with Hall and Walt wines from Napa Valley. The lovely Renee Linares, representative of Hall wines for the Northeast, guided us through the wine journey for the night.
Before we get into the wonderful event hosted by Gotham, let’s talk a little background on Kathryn Walt Hall. Kathryn grew up in a family that made wine, but also very much enjoyed it herself. Other than her success with her wineries, Hall was also the United States ambassador to Austria and an attorney. We are so happy she began her wine journey because these wines are amazing. Walt is her maiden name and Hall is her married name, and all the wines are spectacular.
For the first course, Gotham served up a proscuitto wrapped melon, mache greens topped with fresh calabrian chili flakes. The fresh, sweet melon was a great compliment to the natural salt in the proscuitto. The chili flakes added a nice flavor and kick to the light, refreshing first course appetizer. The proscuitto wrapped melon was paired with the Hall sauvignon blanc 2015, Napa bottle. Great bottle with flavors of citrus, melon, and white peach. Wine spectator has given this wine 90 points.
The second course served was the pan seared scallop with autumn squash saute. Scallops were cooked perfectly. I loved the addition of green onions topped on the squash and vegetables. The Walt ‘La Brisa’ Chardonnay 2014 Sonoma was excellent. This chardonnay was not too oaky and was a very pleasant and easy drink. Fresh fruit flavors of apricot, peaches, and honeysuckle fill your mouth. Wine spectator gives this wine 89 points. I love chardonnays that lack the overly oak taste, so this one for me was excellent.
Braised veal with homemade pasta and truffle made its way to us for the third course. Pasta was al dente, and the shredded veal was tasty and tender. Parmesan cheese topped the greens over the pasta which was a nice touch. This third course was paired with the Walt ‘La Brisa’ Pinot Noir 2014 Sonoma. Brilliant bottle with flavors of berries and spicy aromas. This wine was smooth and paired very nicely with the veal course. Wine Spectator rates this wine a well deserved 90 points.
Lastly, saving the best for last, was the sliced skirt steak marinated with seven herbs and served with scalloped potatoes. Steak was served medium rare, and the seven herbs really added a fine, mouthwatering touch. This course was paired with the king of red wines. 
A 2012 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa was served; it was absolutely delicious and smooth. It had flavors of dark berries and aromas of currants, dark chocolate, blackberry, and oak that were all vibrant and strong. This wine is rated 92 points by Wine Spectator and has absolutely become one of my favorite cabernets.
A strawberry dessert was served with wafers and cream to end the night on a sweet note.
Overall, the wines paired with the courses were fantastic and were the highlight of the night. The food was also good and palatable. Based on this, we would return to another Gotham wine dinner. We loved the winery selection. Hall and Walt Wines gets an A+ in our book. A special thank you goes out to Renee Linares for the Hall and Walt education.
