DMV Luxury Wine Dinners

Dominus Dominus (Christian Moueix) | Vivino US

We will be served a three-course meal that will look something like:

### FIRSTS (Pick One)

• Roasted Cauliflower Arancini
  With parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and fontina.
• Grilled Mushroom Panzanella
  With sautéed onions, celery leaf vinegar, and thyme.
• Meadow Creek Dairy Cheese Plate
  With apple mostarda and grilled baguette.
• Radicchio Salad
  With beets, mandarin, chives, and tahini dressing.
• Salted Halibut Brandade
  With chives and semolina sourdough.
• Grilled Cabbage alla Romana
  With breadcrumbs, Grana Padano, and chives.

***

### SECONDS (Pick One)

• Fazzoletti
  With fennel roasted pork, smoked collards, parmesan, and spicy breadcrumbs.
• Cappelletti
  With ricotta and pine nut-basil pesto.
• Cavatelli alla Vodka
  With semisecchi tomatoes, parmesan, and Etesia vodka.
• Chitarra
  With braised lamb, olives, and pecorino.
• Pork Milanese
  With Meyer lemon aioli, pearl onion agrodolce, and arugula.
  Make it vegetarian by asking for smoked eggplant Milanese.

***

### DESSERT (Pick One)

• Amaro Budino
  With cranberry jam and brown butter crumble.
• Olive Oil Cake
  With red wine figs and whipped cream.
• Panforte
  With hazelnuts, pears, candied ginger, and whipped mascarpone.
• Chocolate Sorbet
  With olive oil and cacao nibs.

Dominus Estate is a wine producer based just outside northern Yountville, in California's Napa Valley wine region. The winery makes one Napa's so-called cult Cabernets and its eponymous wine regulary receives critical acclaim. The owner, Christian Moueix, has had ownership – at least in part – since 1982, and ran the estate concurrently with his family wine business in Bordeaux until 2008.

The estate is based around the Napanook vineyard, which is notable for being one of the first sites planted to grapes in the Napa Valley. George Yount, who gives his name to the Yountville appellation, set up a vineyard here in 1838 and, since then, the 50-hectare (124-acre) site has been owned by all manner of Napa stalwarts including John Daniel Jr, who is widely credited with bringing the Inglenook estate to world prominence.

Moueix went into partnership in 1982 with Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, the daughters of John Daniel Jr, and, in 1995, took over as the sole owner. Since then, a second vineyard has been added to the Dominus portfolio, this time in Oakville.

The Napanook vineyard sits on the edge of the Mayacamas Mountains, rising slightly into the hills to the west of the valley. The vineyard is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, although there are plantings of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

This makeup is reflected in Dominus Estate's flagship red wine, which is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc – although the exact proportions depend on the vintage. Dominus Estate also makes an entry-level red wine, Othello, and a mid-level Cabernet, Napanook.

The vineyard is dry-farmed both to conserve water and to control yields and thus the quality of the fruit. Moueix has also been a particular proponent of crop-thinning, having used it since the early 1970s at his most high-profile estate: Pétrus. This practice is said to improve the quality of the fruit as it improves the leaf-to-fruit ratio, aiding ripening.
Dominus Estate is also notable for its winery, designed by the same Swiss architects that designed Beijing's Olympic Stadium. It is constructed from gabions filled with stones, which give the winery natural light as well as moderating Napa Valley's extremes of temperature.

The cost of the event is $150 and all guests must prepay to reserve their seat. Once paid, no refunds will be given but you can have somebody else come in your place.