It was a night to call me a wine geek.
Dutch & Co. had posted a link to a New York Times article about Vin Jaune - yellow wine- made with the savignan grape and the vinous pride of the Jura region of France.
Like any self-respecting oenophile, I'd read the article and been thrilled at Dutch's status. "Beyond excited to pour this unique wine by the glass. Arbois Vin Jaune 2005."
One of the rarest of French wines with a taste influenced by the unusual production method being poured at a nearby restaurant?
I was so there.
Once hospitably greeted at the door, I took a seat at the bar and told one of the owners that I was on a Vin Jaune mission. She told me it was a polarizing wine, with some people "getting" it and others downright hating it.
She recommended it as a light, palate-cleansing wine but one she hadn't yet tried with food.
The NYT piece had made it clear that while it might not impress alone, it was killer with certain foods like Comte, for instance
Dutch & Co. had no Comte but did offer several worthy pairings, so I trusted them on this.
They are the pros, after all. Just ask the Washington Post.
Meanwhile, I spotted a favorite server who waved and blew me a kiss across the bar before coming over to say hello.
When I told her I was on a mission to experience vin jaune, she laughed and said, "You're so cute."
Am I? Or am I just a wine geek eager to learn while sipping?
The chef was recommending sweetbreads with the Arbois Vin Jaune 2005 and I took his word for it, savoring crispy fried sweetbreads over black bean puree with fall root vegetables to go with the sherry-like wine.
He nailed it, the flavors of the sweetbreads marrying beautifully with the vin jaune.
The bartender and I were busy talking to a couple at the end of the bar who lived in Powhatan. Seems she was interested in moving in to the city, setting off a discussion of neighborhoods, crime rates and walkability.
They even inquired about the apartment over Dutch & Co, which was happily taken and nothing like available. You can be sure I was singing the praises of my beloved Jackson Ward.
Back to my yellow wine fact-finding mission, I also ordered cotechino made with fall spices over celery slaw with persimmon ketchup, a terrific earthy sausage that stood up to the vin jaune and then some.
I heard the bartender offer a guy more Billy bread, their current substitute for SubRosa's bread, with which he was obviously unfamiliar because he began mocking him, saying, "Sure thing, I want more Biiiilllly bread," as if it were a joke.
With my elegant yet powerful vin jaune to sip on, he could have been tying cherry stems in a knot with his tongue for all I cared.
Give me an opportunity to taste something completely different with a couple of top-notch pairings and I don't care what the people around me do or say.
That said, on the way out, a sever complimented my tights, telling me how nice I always look, a lovely thing to hear.
My dear, one simply doesn't dress shabbily when experiencing yellow wine for the first time.
Especially when one has a date just afterwards.
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