At this year’s 22nd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction, always a fabulous event benefitting the wonderful Food & Friends organization, I was delighted to find a wine tasting table among the 55 DC area best chefs’ tables!

B&L Brands was on hand to sample 13 of their wines. Unfortunately I discovered them when they were down to only two, but both were very nice wines from Oregon.

Del Rio Vineyards 2011 Rose Jolee

  • Variety: Early Muscat & Riesling blend, with a splash of red blend for color
  • Aroma: Tropical fruit and rose
  • Taste: Sparkling strawberry and grapefruit
  • My thoughts: This wine comes from one of the largest vineyards in Southern Oregon. Along the Rouge River, this family run business first planted in 1997 and now has over 200,000 vines. The wine was a lovely strawberry dance on the palate.

Mile Marker Mile 71 Pinot Gris

  • Variety: Pinot Gris
  • Aroma: Citrus, pear and honey
  • Taste: Honey, citrus and almond
  • My thoughts: This wine tasted like an Italian pignole cookie! Yum! This is B&L Brands wine launched last year with Mile Marker Wine Co. Named after the mile markers you find along your journeys, this is about their wine journey. For this wine, they followed US 99 and at Mile Marker 71 is McMinnville, Oregon, a fantastic place for Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.

Cheers to Oregon wine discoveries benefitting a great cause!

 

About the 22nd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction

On Tuesday, June 26, 55 of the DC area’s best chefs dished up special tastings of their culinary creations at the Washington Hilton for the 22nd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction presented by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation. The event raised $850,000 for Food & Friends, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Proceeds from Chef’s Best will ensure the delivery of 1.2 million nutritious, home-delivered meals to Food & Friends’ more than 2,800 clients living with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other live challenging illnesses.