Penns Wood Winery Event @ Teikoku Restaurant

I don't normally plug events here at 1WineDude.com, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give some press to this shin-dig, because I am totally into what both this restaurant and this winemaker are doing.

NOTE: The following is a Philly-area event (much apologies to my Left Coast and International readers!).

Teikoku is serving up some of the most killer Asian fusion food in the greater Philadelphia area. And Penns Wood Winery is making some of the most daring wines in all of the East Coast (hello? Sauvignon Blanc, anyone?) - and they now own the old Smithbridge wine property (a stone's throw from Chaddsford), which is capable of producing some of the best grapes in the area.

If you're in the area and can make it, I highly suggest checking it out.

Teikoku restaurant proudly presents
Penn’s Woods Winery dinner
with Chef Takao Iinuma, Winemaker Mr. Gino Razzi
and wine educator John McNulty...

Tuesday June 3, 2008, 6:30 p.m.

Amuse Bouche

Fresh, delicate, mélange of sushi

Pairings: Wakatake Daiginjo Onikoroshi sake and Yamada Pecorino 2006

First course

Alaskan wild king salmon and live scallop in onion soy dressing with a micro herb salad

Pairings: Penn’s Woods Sauvignon Blanc 2006 and Proprietors Reserve White 2006

Second course

Seared Kobe beef tataki in a yellow pepper ceviche served with a Branch Creek micro green salad in a spicy citrus vinaigrette

Pairings: Penn’s Woods Ameritage Reserve 2005 and Penn’s Woods Merlot Reserve 2005

Third course

Poached daikon cup filled with uni (sea urchin), wild mushrooms and baby spinach, in a sauce americaine

Pairings: Penn’s Woods Chardonnay 2007 and Penn’s Woods White Cabernet 2006

Fourth course

Seared Foie gras over French black truffle white asparagus served with shallot demi glace and lotus chips

Pairing: Penn’s Woods White Merlot 2006

Fifth course

Tahitian vanilla bean gelato

Pairing:: Aged (50 year old) balsamic vinegar from Modena, Italy

$95 per person (Does not include tax and gratuity)

Executive Chef Takao Iinuma - Takao is one of the world’s great Japanese chefs. An accomplished student at Japan’s prestigious Hattori Nutrition College, where he learned everything from French technique to traditional Chinese cooking, Iinuma went on to teach there for eight years. His education also included an apprenticeship at the Karin in the Ana Hotel, one of Tokyo’s top restaurants. He has competed in 40 episodes of the popular Iron Chef Japan, winning 75 percent of his match ups. It was during this era that he befriended world famous Chef Masaharu Morimoto, who became his culinary mentor. Chef Iinuma went on to become executive chef at Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and Wasabi by Morimoto in Mumbai, India, where he helped the chef open both locations. He was also appointed corporate chef of Morimoto in Washington, D.C. The Iron Chef still calls upon Iinuma for advice before going into culinary battle.

Winemaker Gino Razzi- The Abruzzi-born Razzi, a well-known wine importer and a maker of highly rated wines in Italy, knows what he's doing around grapes. His "Symposium," a profoundly good montepulciano d'Abruzzo, has won 90 points or better from the Wine Spectator ever since the first vintage (1997) was issued. Penn’s Woods is one of the latest additions to a boom in Pennsylvania wineries, which have nearly tripled since 1999, from 42 to 122 in late 2007. Razzi’s extreme commitment to making only the highest-level wines possible coupled with his superb palate and winemaking instincts, refined by nearly four decades in the importing business is a departure from the approach taken by many of the state's wineries, which feel obliged to create a wider range of styles and prices to appeal to a mass-market audience.