This was served with W . Dreams from the Jermann winery in northern Italy ’ s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region . Founded in 1881 , they make many fabulous wines . A few years back Marchesi Antinori bought a majority stake in the winery . The W . Dreams wine is actually dedicated to U2 ' s " The Joshua Tree " album ( 1987 ) and specifically to the song " Where the streets have no name ". For its first nine years it was called " Where the Dreams have no end ..." but , finally after other subtle name changes , in 2003 became simply " W … Dreams …..”. The wine is made predominantly from Chardonnay grapes ( 97 %). It is a full bodied , rich wine with aromas of exotic fruits , citrus and vanilla . On the palate lots of ripe fruit too , but with a subtle sweetness and long finish . It has been said that this wine is “ comparable to savouring a secret dream ”!
SIXTH COURSE Wood pigeon , pearl barley and pickled blackberry sabayon
This was served with Mountain Select Cabernet Sauvignon [ 2019 ] from Antinori ’ s Antica winery in the Napa Valley . So , again , we were taken back across the Atlantic to California . It was in 1993 that the Antinori family decided to invest in this project and took over the vineyards and the operations at the winery . The estate encompasses 220 hectares ( 500 acres ) of planted vineyards . The wine is a blend of 95 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 5 % Cabernet Franc . A fragrant and lush wine with oodles of black currant . A touch of spice and perhaps a hint of chocolate too . Luscious .
SEVENTH COURSE Blue stilton , fruit loaf and honey
This was served with Albis [ 2020 ] from Antinori ’ s Haras De Pirque winery in the northern part of the Maipo Province in central Chile . We are now in South America and in an area well known for its production of high quality wines . The vineyards are surrounded by the estate ’ s thoroughbred racetrack and breeding farm and the state-of-the-art horseshoe shaped winery . This wine was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère . Lots of black fruit in here …… blackberries and blackcurrants . Perhaps a hint of chocolate too . This was a rich , full bodied , yet elegant wine . Plenty of time for this wine to evolve , but clearly very approachable now on this tasting .
EIGHTH COURSE Rose , beetroot , white chocolate and hibiscus
This was served with Bocca di Lupo ’ s Kolaro Moscato Di Trani . This wine comes from the tiny DOC of Moscato di Trani , in the far south of Italy . It is made from grapes which are dried for approximately seven days to concentrate the flavours and sugars . As dessert / sweet wines go this was very much on the lighter side . Orange blossom , peach and citrus . At only 11.5 % alcohol , this was a soft and refreshing wine to finish the evening with . Fresh and balanced . A perfect finish to a perfect evening .
CONCLUSION
Fantastic food , fantastic wine and a showcase of a very welcome relationship between The Hillbark Hotel and Spa and the Antinori wine stable .
The winemaker ’ s dinner , to which I was gratefully invited , was special . Yet it wasn ’ t , and it isn ’ t , a one off . Periodically The Hillbark Hotel and Spa hosts dining experiences with a wine theme . Search them out , and go , because they are truly exceptional experiences that you won ’ t find in many other places in the area that we live in . I am aware that , starting towards the end of this year and then running through 2025 , there are going to be a number of wine themed events which will be held under the generic banner of ‘ The Hillbark Judgments ’. These events will compare wines from different countries . As such , for example , they will involve comparing wines made from the same grape or grapes , but which come from different countries around the world . I am told that the first of these will likely be based around the Judgment of Paris ( the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 ). This was a wine competition in which French experts blind tasted and compared the finest red Bordeaux wines from France with Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California and the finest white wines from Burgundy with Chardonnay wines from California . If interested … keep an eye out for these . If you are , either phone the hotel or keep visiting their website for information .
So what should you take from all this ? Three things . Firstly , in my humble view , we are fairly poorly served on the Wirral , by fine dining . Of course there are a number of very decent restaurants around … but fine dining is , in my view , in short supply . If you want fine dining , then give either of Hillbark ’ s restaurants a go . Secondly , if you ever come across a wine from the Antinori stable ….. also give it a go . You are most unlikely to be disappointed . They are all wonderful , beautifully crafted , wines . Thirdly …. as I say , keep an eye out for wine makers , or wine themed , dinners at the Hillbark Hotel and Spa . They are not only wonderful dining experiences , but also in many ways they are educational too . I am a big fan and , along with Paul Askew and the Art School in Liverpool , we should be grateful that we have two establishments in our area that are providing us with these opportunities …… indeed one on either side of the River Mersey .
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