OCTOBER 2022
Event Report:
A Lesson in “QPR” followed by a Family Style Dinner
What’s New
This was our second time at 402 Eat + Drink. I missed last year’s event. Advertised as having a diverse global menu, the restaurant had some items you don’t see very often, like Fried Pickles, which went well with the Beef Taquitos. These reminded me of eggrolls only longer and denser. The 30 oz Tomahawk steak was delicious. But the wine theme was intriguing. We had to choose which blind tasting wine we liked the best. We were trying to determine the best wine from a quality / price ratio aspect. Our choices were a $15, a $55 and a $125 wine. Was the $125 wine worth the extra money? Or would we be smiling all the way from the bank with all the money we saved with the $15 wine? Have you noticed that the invites now mention what the retail price of the wines served at event would cost. A 3 oz pour of every wine can easily come out at a price higher than the food. For example, at the Dry aged vs. Wet Aged Beef event on 9/25/22, the retail price of the wine is $140 for a $180 event. How can this be? Because we make every effort to purchase the wine as cheaply as possible, then age it in our cellar until ready. Our events are a bargain over what you could do if you went out to a restaurant and ordered this all for yourself. And we aren’t even using restaurant markups for the wine, which would drive the price even higher. The Branch does not mark up the wine for an event. We use the price we purchased it for. So the next time the thought crosses your mind that the events are too expensive, consider inflation and all the things this branch does to keep the price down. In your email, a PDF will be sent along with the issuu.com link. The advantage of issuu.com is that you can see both right and left pages, like a paper magazine. Our PDF only lets you view one page at a time. You can also access the Branch Recipe file by clicking: https://issuu.com/omahapublications/docs/iwfs_cb_council_bluffs_recipes.
How can there be self-help “groups”? It’s Time for some Lexophiles
A Lesson in “QPR” followed by a Family Style Dinner Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan It crosses all wine tasters’ minds. Are those highly expensive wines really worth the extra money? Isn’t one goal of connoisseurship to find the best wines at the lowest price? If these questions ever crossed your mind while online or in a wine shop, this was your event. What is the QPR (quality price ratio) of this wine, or the enjoyment you get weighed against the cost? We blind-compared a $15 wine, the grocery store ubiquitous Josh Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, to a $55 wine, Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, to a $125 Relic “Artefact” Cabernet Sauvignon, also from 2016. Only the two expensive wines were decanted once at 8:00 am using the Parker Method (decant and poured right back into the bottle). Otherwise, all wines sat breathing in the glass for about an hour before we sat down. Everyone comes to a tasting like this with some assumptions. Mine was that surely the most expensive wine would be the most closed in and tightly wound. After about 25 minutes of examination we mostly all agree that the Josh was the most unappreciated wine. Wine number one I thought had an off, cardboardy nose, was tannic, while the complex flavors improved with swirling. Here my assumption misguided me as this turned out to be the Ramey. Wine three, the Relic, was not as tannic as Ramey, good balance, but to me, not as complex as the Ramey. As always, I think we need more practice. There were 4 large charcuterie boards available for appetizers, more than enough for the 41 attendees. Dinner was casual, with the First Course consisting of all deep fat fried items: Beef Taquitos, Fried Pickles, and Onion Rings. The Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs 2017 was a good choice to cut through the grease. The Flatbread Pizza was delicious and loaded with ingredients. The pièce de résistance was the 30 oz Tomahawk, a delicious hunk of steak pre-cut for our family style seating. It all made for a really interesting event.
2022
UPCOMING COUNCIL BLUFFS BRANCH EVENTS
OCT
23 NOV
10 DEC
11
DOLCE
Fall Harvest theme Event Producer: Michelle Hyder
BARNATO (IN THE OLD BRIX IN VILLAGE POINT) Event Producers: Paige & Brian Ritter, and Tabitha & Dave Thrasher
JOINT EVENT WITH THE OMAHA BRANCH, HOLIDAY WINE DINNER Happy Hollow Club Event Producer: Duke Matz
HOSTING AN EVENT?
Let us know when, where and a little bit about what’s going on! We would love to include YOUR event on the calendar! Email details to: iwfs.councilbluffs@yahoo.com