The Omaha
JANUARY 2023
Event Report: Wine Tasting with a Master Sommelier - A Stag Event Upcoming Events
What’s New What’s new is that the Branch tried a new restaurant established in 2021: Dynamite Wood Fire Grille. The restaurant’s specialty is wood smoked meats and open flame. But they aim for an explosion of flavors. Inside it has a quite modern industrial aesthetic interior. We had our own party room with a narrow, continuous gas fed fireplace that filled most of the front, and a decor with some rusticity. They had burnt planks from the M’s Pub fire artfully displayed on one wall, for example. Quaffing was in a bar at the rear of the building, then we moved to the restaurant’s party room at the front end. Dynamite sports Nebraska’s only full Master Somm, Robert Smith. He guided us through a tasting of three reds, after which we segued into dinner. In essence, it seemed like a high quality steakhouse, a course of Caesar Salad being one example. The sides with the steak were the steakhouse familiar mashed potatoes, Mac n’ Cheese, and Brussels sprouts, served family style as most steakhouses do. But the Pork Roulade was an outstanding surprise, much better than average steakhouse fare. A little dyn-o-mite for the taste buds! Some members have had trouble reading the Gazette on issuu. com, Or, they don’t want to sign in, which means you can’t even read the Gazette at all. They prefer a PDF since all you have to do is click it open. We have decided to offer it in both formats. 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. Cheers! Tom Murnan Don’t tell other people your troubles. Half of them aren’t interested and the other half are glad you got what you had coming to you. Best of the Cockle Bur compiled & edited by Harry B. Otis, 3rd President 1973-1974
Event Report: Wine Tasting with a Master Sommelier - A Stag Event Written by Tom Murnan, Photos by Tom Murnan & Ron Policky
We had two firsts at this event: First time at Dynamite Wood Fire Grille in The Farnam Hotel, and first time (at least in recent memory) with a local Master Sommelier. The restaurant has taken a nod to Omaha history by using charred timbers from the M’s Pub fire on the wall, and a screen shot of the Missouri River in its interior. Nicely appointed and modern, it has a fireplace that spans most of the room. Robert Smith was our Somm. He has worked at many high end resorts and restaurants since becoming a Master around 1996. He helped event producer, Dave Thrasher, to set up a tasting after quaffing but before the meal. We had three reds served blind. Our mission was to decide which wine we liked the best, and why (the easy part) but then to identify the provenance. We had an Italian, Fattoria Galardi “Terra di Lavoro” Roccamonfina 2010; a Château Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2021; and a Bordeaux, Château Faugères St. Emilion Grand Cru Classé. Robert tutored us in the method he uses to identify wine: the FEW method. FEW stands for Flowers, Earth and Wood. You might start, for example, with determining which wine was (F) fruit forward. Was a wine showing (E) earth as a primary characteristic, or perhaps (W) woody notes? When asked what their favorite wine was, the group of 40 was divided into thirds. The same trend appeared on the accuracy of identifying the wines, which indicated only one third had all three correct. I finally got them all correct after a string of other imperfect blind tastings. Don’t worry, just keep at it and learn as much as you can from your mistakes. And practice, practice, practice! Executive Chef Robert Murphy took over for dinner. We had a large Caesar salad, with which the Louis Roederer Collection 242 Champagne did an admirable job. Pairing wine with watery salad ingredients can be tough, but the Roederer matched with aplomb. I thought the course of the evening was an outstanding Pork Roulade with Smoked Mushroom Pâté. It was superb. Incredibly moist with smoky notes, it was the first level of umami heaven. The Roserock Pinot Noir 2016 raised the experience to the second level of heaven. The entrée featured Certified Piedmontese Beef Tenderloin with sides of Whipped Potatoes, Crispy Brussels Sprouts and Smoked Mac n’ Cheese (apropos for a wood fired grill establishment). These were the perfect foil for our two cab based wines: Mayacamas Cabernet 2014 and Château Lynch Bages 2014. My table mate and one other were frustrated by cool, well done steak, but mine was mostly rare, the way I like it. We finished with Cardamom Panna Cotta & Ginger Macerated Blackberries with Château Doisy Védrines, Sauternes 2011. Great thanks to our talented food and wine heads, Murphy and Smith, and all the staff for a delightful dinner.
2023 UPCOMING OMAHA BRANCH EVENTS
JAN
7
52ND ANNUAL STAG
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Bar Tasting comparing 2 First Growth Bordeaux Event Producer: Mike Wilke and Tad Singer
FEB
A PERFECT VALENTINE
MAR
MARCH MADNESS
25 TBD
Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops Perfect Matches of food & wine Joint event with the Council Bluffs Branch Event Producer: Michelle & Hasan Hyder
Happy Hollow Club Cry Room Tailgate food with high end wines Event Producer: Joe Goldstein