Photograph by Paul Myers
Danielle Cappa is the event coordinator at Mirassou Champagne Cellars in Los Gatos. The Bistro Supper Series is held yearly from fall through spring.
Bistro Suppers return to the Mirassou Cellars
By Suzanne Cristallo
The historic Mirassou Champagne Cellars in the foothills above Los Gatos will provide the setting for three Bistro Suppers to be offered by America's arguably oldest winemaking family beginning next month.
In addition to showcasing fresh seasonal fare, each of the menus will be complemented by the wines of Mirassou, the San Jose family that has operated its winery locally for five generations. The first supper presented by Buca Fine Catering in Campbell will be Oct. 6, followed by one on Nov. 17, and another on Dec. 2.
The October supper, according to Mirassou's Danielle Cappa, will celebrate the Indian Summer season with four courses, each with an appropriate wine accompaniment. After a greeting in the Blanc de Noirs room with a flute of sparkling wine, guests will be seated in the antique cellar atmosphere, where a classical guitarist will entertain throughout the meal.
First on the October menu is an appetizer of escargot with shiitake mushrooms in chardonnay butter sauce, complemented by a coastal selection chardonnay. It's followed by a radicchio cup of butter lettuce with fennel walnuts and topped with grape vinaigrette, accompanied by a Monterey Riesling.
The main course is grilled filet of beef with fois gras and haricots verts (green beans), served with a harvest reserve cabernet. A dessert of banana pecan cheesecake swirled with caramel sauce is accompanied by a late harvest Johannisberg Riesling.
"It's a great venue for delicious food and gourmet wines," says Cappa, who serves as Mirassou's event coordinator. She says the 100-capacity dinner already is nearly filled with members of the Mirassou Tasting panel--or wine club--who are sent their tickets before the tickets are offered to the public. The $68 cost per person includes dinner, wine, tax and gratuity.
Guests are grouped at tables of eight, with small groups and singles seated together. "It's a warm and friendly atmosphere," she says, with no couple or individual seated alone.
The Nov. 17 main course is ostrich Marcella demi-glace with crispy polenta and buttery mascarpone cheese served with a harvest reserve merlot. In December, the entrée is an autumn seed-encrusted sea bass with squash rings, sautéed spinach and a pumpkin-seed reduction sauce complemented by a harvest reserve chardonnay.
Mirassou wines come from grapes grown in Monterey County and processed at the family winery, located in the east hills of San Jose. The winery's champagnes are processed at the Los Gatos location, which is leased from the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic priests who established a novitiate winery there in 1888. The existing structures at the winery were built in the early 1900s, while the limestone cave, which serves as an entrance to the tasting room, was carved out of the hillside in 1910.
Bistro Suppers at Mirassou Champagne Cellars, 300 College Ave., Los Gatos. Call Danielle Cappa for reservations for the 6 p.m. dinners to be held on Oct. 6, Nov. 17 and Dec. 2, at 408.395.3790.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
