Archive for the ‘Wine’ Category
Valentine’s Day
Thursday, January 21st, 2010It’s that time again, the time when we here at Devotay begin our annual betting pool on how many guys (and yes it’s only guys) will call the afternoon of Valentine’s Day looking for a table for 2 at 7pm. And every year we a e forced to turn away the poor young suitors because we’d been booked solid a couple of weeks in advance.
Valentine’s at Devotay has seen 6 wedding proposals accepted since we started doing our special dinner here each Feb. 14, and it’s easy to see why: Cozy, romantic, specal atmosphere combined with great food served by the best crew in town (and yes we suppose perhaps who is doing the proposing might make a difference too).
As in the past, we’ll serve our full regular menu as usual, but in addition, we’ll be featuring this special menu, available a la carte or pris fixe with special wine parings (TBA). reserve now @ 319.354.1001 so you don’t end up a hash mark in our betting pool. To help with that, we’ll also serve our special Valentine’s menu on Saturday the 13th, so there are twice as many chances to get a table.
Devotay Valentine’s Day Dinner
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Amuse Bouche: Oyster Kilpatrick, fennel mousse – 5
Tapa: Bocadillos of shrimp with piparade – 8
Soup: Roasted beet borscht, tarragon crème fraîche – 6.5
Salad: Sourdough bread, jicama, sun-dried tomatoes, sherry-thyme vinaigrette – 6.5
Entrée: Martini trout, artichokes, spinach, Champagne cous cous – 25
OR
Stuffed Gianini Farms pheasant breast, brie, walnuts, prosciutto, mushroom wild rice, broccolini -29
Dessert: Mascarpone cheesecake, brandied cherries – 8
A la Carte as priced or pris fixe $58, $72 with paired wines to be announced. Tax and gratuity in addition
Devotay eNews – January 2010 – Vol. XV, Iss. 1
Friday, January 8th, 2010Click here to view this email in a browser -or- Forward this message to a friend
“Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.” -Michael Pollan from his new book, Food Rules |
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Wednesday Forkcast: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
Thursday, January 7th, 2010Everybody who grew up in and around my generation remembers the old TV commercials that told us “Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day!“ My mom used to take that to heart, and Wednesday night we always got spaghetti and meatballs. I don’t know whether she used Prince brand spaghetti, but such things are of no matter to 9-year-old boys.
Perhaps I’m getting nostalgic in my dotage, but we’ve decided to revive the tradition, and make it a heckuva bargain for you as well. We’ve harvested our spaghetti (in the Swiss tradition), so here’s the deal:
Every Wednesday night (we’re open 5-9p) we will feature Spaghetti Marinara, with or without meatballs (your choice of course), with Asiago cheese, fresh copped herbs, bread, salad with our signature balsamic vinaigrette and one glass of wine selected by our sommelier Morgan Weiss – all for $15. Even at Olive Garden that would cost you $0.45 more, and I personally guarantee ours is better. Our wine pours are bigger too.
New Year’s Eve
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009Click to view this email in a browser -Forward this message to a friend
 A New Year’s Eve Celebration
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Half-Price Wine
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
All of Devotay’s excellent wine list is half price all day every Tuesday.
Every glass, every bottle, every Tuesday (Yep, even the Sangria).
So now you can enjoy a glass with lunch. Now you can get that nice bottle at dinner. Stop in and see us this Tuesday.
The Devotay Monday Night Wine Tasting Series
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
The longest-running continuous wine tasting series in Iowa rolls on this Monday December 7th with Portuguese wines.
And it’s not just Porto! Here’s what you’ll be tasting when you make your reservation at 319.354.1001 and come to Devotay at 6:30 that night:
Quinta Aveleda Vinho Verde
J Portugal Ramos Loios Red – (Alentigo Region)
Dows Vale do Bonfim Douro Reserva
Sandeman Founders Rsv Ruby Port
Delaforce His Eminence Tawny Port 10
Caveats & Fine Print:
For those who are unfamiliar with how we do things at these tastings, it’s really quite simple, and a whole lot of fun.
One Monday a month we set aside a portion of the restaurant for those who want to revel in the glory of the grape with others of their own ilk. It’s just $20 this year, and for that paltry sum you get tastes (roughly 2-3 ounce pours) of 4 different wines in some sort of cohesive theme (this year it’s varietals), as well as a tapa or two to match and some sparkling conversation with winemakers, wine sellers, fellow wine lovers and of course Kim and Yours Truly.
All are welcome, from the novice to the bonafide sommelier. All you need is an interest in wine and the ability to bend your elbow. Actually, not even that – we have straws if you need’em.
Slow Food members get $2.00 off, and everyone who sticks around for a full dinner afterward can enjoy 25% off any bottle on our list.
Benefit Sundays Kicks Off with Art Show and Sale
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Our new series, Benefit Sundays, kicks off this week (12/6) with a holiday art show and sale. Our resident potter (that’s Kim) will be joined by several other artists to show not only pottery but also fiber art, painting, photography, florals and children’s items.
The show runs from 12-4 pm, and all are welcome. There will also be a tasting of tapas and wine for a requested donation of $10. Proceeds benefit Arts Iowa City.
In addition, if you mention Arts Iowa City when you make your reservation for that evening, Devotay will donate a percentage of your bill to the cause. It’s a sliding scale, so the more who call, reserve and dine with us, the more we’ll donate. Call 319.354.1001 for a reservation for Sunday dinner today
Featured Artists
Jeff Allen (painting)
Shirley Benson (fiber)
Chris Burd (pottery)
Kim Friese (pottery)
Kurt Friese (photography)
Taylor Friese (fiber)
Betty Shreeves (fiber)
Beppie Weiss (children’s gifts and florals)
Shirley Benson (fiber)
Chris Burd (pottery)
Kim Friese (pottery)
Kurt Friese (photography)
Taylor Friese (fiber)
Betty Shreeves (fiber)
Beppie Weiss (children’s gifts and florals)
Ridge lets its wine make itself | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009Hands off.
That is the crux of the system at Ridge, one of California’s most respected wineries. Known primarily for their Zinfandel, the winemakers at Ridge have a preference for letting nature take its course. As the great wine historian Hugh Johnson once said, “Wine is a very simple food. Simpler in fact than bread. For bread you need a recipe — wine can make itself.”
And that is what Ridge does. They select the best grapes they can find, and then intrude upon the process as little as possible, allowing the natural terroir to shine through. It’s a method that has suited them well since they began in the early 1960s. It also has kept them from following the trend — now hopefully subsiding somewhat — of creating enormously “hot” wines; that is to say, wines with very high alcohol content (sometimes upwards of 16 percent). This trend, along with the popularity of aggressive, jammy, fruit-forward reds was popularized by renowned wine writer Robert Parker, whose influence on winemaking worldwide cannot be understated despite some of that influence being detrimental, at least to my palate anyway.
Read The rest of the story and a great recipe for a grilled bison salad.
Ardales is organic but still affordable | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen
Thursday, September 24th, 2009It is often assumed that “organic” equals “expensive.” This is not always the case. Take for example the Ardales wines of Bodegas Arúspide. They make a red from Tempranillo and a white from Airén that are certified organic and retail for about $12 a bottle; $130 a case. Not bad considering it has to be shipped across an ocean.
Bodegas Arúspide is in Valdepeñas, in the southern part of the massive wine region known as Castilla La Mancha, home of the legendary knight Hidalgo Don Quixote. It is 120 miles due south of Madrid, at about the halfway point between the capital city and the Mediterranean port of Málaga.
All their wines are fermented using a method called carbonic maceration. Unlike the conventional methods, familiar to most through old “I Love Lucy” reruns, the grapes are not crushed before fermentation but rather are stored in a cool, carbon dioxide-rich environment where the juice ferments inside the grape without using added yeasts as a catalyst. The result is fruit-forward, friendly, approachable wines that are best drunk young. The most familiar wine that utilizes this method is the oft-overhyped Beaujolais Nouveau.
Arúspide is organic but still affordable | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen.
Macabeo makes soft, fresh wine | Table Wine
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Next up in our occasional series on lesser-known grapes we have Macabeo.
Like many of the others we’ve discussed in this space, this one has about 14 other names. I’ll spare you most of them to avoid unnecessary confusion, but you should know that it also is commonly called Viura.
While it is grown in some parts of southern France, notably in Languedoc where it is primarily a blending grape, its primary home stretches from Barcelona, west by northwest through Cariñena and onward into Rioja.
via Macabeo makes soft, fresh wine | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen.