Please The Palate |

Maude Takes a Modern Twist on Piedmont, Italy

As Maude journeyed to a new wine region in the world for the fourth quarter of 2018, they landed in Piedmont, Italy. The most prestigious wine region in Italy, Piedmont, which means "foot of the mountains", is between the Ligurian coast and the Alps in northwest Italy. Home to Nebbiolo and Barbera, as well as hazelnuts, cheese, chocolate and Alba white truffles, we were in for a treat.

I spent six months living in Piedmont, in the town of Vercelli, the riso (rice) capital of Italy. I was not knowledgeable about wine at the time, nor would I have called myself a foodie. But, I was introduced to the wines and many of the classic dishes and Maude's Piedmont menu was a twist on these memorable dishes.

13 December, 2018

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: A Perfect Pairing of Palmina Nebbiolo and Rock Crab at Maude Restaurant

Sometimes there is perfect synergy in a wine and food pairing. It goes beyond just working well together to actually elevating both the food and the wine, resulting in only one response, "WOW!" These "wow" moments do not happen all the time and I had one this week. This perfect pairing of Palmina 2010 Nebbiolo, Sisquoc, Santa Maria Valley with Rock Crab with a truffle sauce at Maude Restaurant is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

The current regional theme at Maude is the Central Coast. The Central Coast menu was launched in July and I went for the first time in early July. It is a menu comprised of the bounty that the central coast has to offer, from fresh seafood to vegetables. And the wine pairings celebrate the delicious wines coming from Santa Barbara and more. One of my favorite dishes was the Rock Crab, served in the crab shell, and topped with truffles. The Rock Crab was paired with the Palmina 2010 Sisquoc Nebbiolo, Santa Maria Valley.

25 August, 2018

Maude Ventures to the Central Coast

Since Maude changed its format to focusing on wine regions every quarter, they have taken us on journeys to Rioja and Burgundy. For their third featured region, Maude takes us to our own backyard, the Central Coast. From Santa Barbara to Monterey, the Central Coast is a region filled with so much bounty and the Maude team spent a week visiting farmers, purveyors and winemakers to create the menu. The menu generally focuses around the fresh local seafood that we are so fortunate to have access to. Spot prawns, abalone, oysters and uni are just some of the delectable treats we enjoyed. And each dish was paired with wine selections from producers in the Central Coast, from under-the-radar producers to well-known names.

As we arrived to Maude for our reservations, we were escorted upstairs to the wine cellar lounge. This room is now incorporated into the regional tasting menus. For Rioja, we started in the lounge with a glass of Cava and a plate of jamón serrano and cheese. For Burgundy, we ended the evening in the lounge where we enjoyed a cheese and dessert display. And for Central Coast, we again started our meal upstairs where we were greeted with a glass of Broc Cellars, Chenin Blanc, Petillant, Shell Creek Vineyard, Paso Robles 2017. The effervescent wine has a floral honeyed nose with notes of citrus, peach, pineapple and key lime pie, as well as yeasty aromas and was the perfect way to start the evening.

10 July, 2018