The following is a press release from Perfect Wine Company:
EPPING, NH A tasty mix of music and gastronomy is in store at Zampa in Epping, as the popular restaurant welcomes winemakers and musicians Kevin and Barbara Brown on Wednesday, May 20. The Browns, owner-operators of R&B Cellars of California will be on hand to share their fine wines and their prodigious jazz talents, with Kevin on piano and Barbara on vocals.
Zampa owners Cory McPhee and Julie DiTursi will make the festive evening complete with a sumptuous gourmet dinner with courses that harmonize beautifully with each of three R&B Cellars wines.
R&B, of course, stands for rhythm and blues, and the integration of music and wine is obvious in the philosophy of the Browns – that wine should be fun, not pretentious – and in the names they have given their wines.
The dinner will begin with a “down beat” of mesclun greens, spicy sweet pistachios, curry Clementine citronette, and baked Vermont Goat Cheese, paired with Serenade in Blanc, the Browns’ 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, a complex yet elegant wine with an exceptional balance between crisp, exotic tropical citrus flavors of tank fermented wine and the creamy character of barrel fermented wine.
The dinner will then segue into an appetizer course of pan-seared crispy Margret duck breast with a strawberry rhubarb compote, and sweet potato crisp. The accompaniment will be R&B’s 2004 Saxy Syrah, a wine with intense color, aroma, and flavor. The winemaker describes the wine as a “blockbuster of blackberry fruit with exotic spice and the subtle tarry components one expects of a great Syrah.”
The evening will reach a crescendo with an entrée of black pepper braised Northeast Family Farms short ribs with wild mushroom pan sauce, rainbow Swiss chard, and twice baked truffled potato, paired with the R&B 2005 Zinfandel called Swingsville Zin, a lively wine and aroma of fresh strawberry and raspberry with hints of pepper and spice, and flavors of ripe berry with creamy cherries and an elegant spicy aftertaste.
The evening will end with a dessert course coda of almond cheesecake with a pairing of Café Brulot, a treat from the cradle of jazz. The quaff was developed in New Orleans during Prohibition for customers to discreetly enjoy a Cognac laced coffee.
Zampa’s unique four-course tasting dinner with wine and music accompaniment begins at 6:30pm and is prix fixe at $50 per person. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. For reservations, call 603-679-8772. Zampa is located at 8 Exeter Road in Epping.
R&B Cellars wines are distributed in New Hampshire by the Perfecta Wine Company. Sarah MacKinley, Certified Sommelier and Seacoast Sales Representative for Perfecta, assisted in the planning of the event.
