Perfect pairing: Madson Wines dinner at Persephone Restaurant

What happens when you have the perfect food and wine pairing? Magic! And wizardry was in abundance at the Madson Wines dinner at Persephone Restaurant in Aptos last Sunday. Through six expertly paired courses, chef Cori Goudge-Ayer showcased her incredible culinary artistry, bringing elevated sophistication to each dish, created specifically to match each of six Madson wines, personally presented by Ken Swegles and Abbey Chrystal, Madson Wines’ partners and viticulturists. The result was truly magical.

On a warm summer evening, the first course of trout mousse with chilled cantaloupe gazpacho was the perfect starter. Paired with Madson’s 2022 Santa Barbara County Chenin Blanc, the wine’s fruity, floral qualities bridged well with the cantaloupe and provided a great counterpoint to the herbs in the dish, while its acidity and minerality balanced the trout’s rich flavors.

One of my favorite wines of the evening was the 2022 Sta. Rita Hills Gamay Noir. Swegles explained that the wine was made by fermenting 100% whole cluster using semi-carbonic maceration, where the tank is deprived of oxygen, prompting fermentation to take place within each individual berry. This method is widely used in the French region of Beaujolais, known for its wines from the gamay grape. Madson’s Gamay Noir had a gorgeous violet hue in the glass with inviting aromas of crunchy red fruit, Jolly Rancher cherry and floral notes. It’s a lower-alcohol, higher-acid, low-tannin red wine that tastes fresh, fruity and fun. This wine is what Santa Cruz has been missing – an easy, approachable red alternative to our dearly loved, but often more expensive, pinot noirs.

This wine was amazing on its own, but even better with the paired beet and artichoke parmesan arancini. In the world of food and wine pairing, artichoke is an ingredient that is often difficult to pair with wine. Goudge-Ayer made it seem easy. The rich, earthy, umami flavors of the dish were balanced perfectly by the brightness and acidity of the wine, and vice versa.

Next was a comfort-food plate of chicken- and potato-stuffed ravioli with creamy garlic sauce, paired with Madson’s 2022 Toyon Pinot Noir. Once again, the wine — with its higher acidity and lower tannin along with bright red fruit (cherry, strawberry), earth, sarsaparilla and herbal notes – was a perfect foil for the dish. The pasta, toothsome and hearty with prominent garlic flavor, was balanced nicely by the light almost ethereal quality of the pinot.

The fourth course, a citrus-glazed short rib with parsnip purée and carrots, was paired with Madson’s 2022 Red Tail Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah. The wine was a beautiful deep ruby color with aromas and flavors of blueberry, blackberry, sage and earth. Across the board, Madson wines have a lovely purity of fruit that carries across the palate, and this Syrah is no exception. The rich gamey quality of the perfectly prepared beef worked well with the earth notes in the wine, and the fruit quality in the wine enhanced the citrus flavors in the food.

Just when you think it can’t get any better, the fifth course comes along and casts its spell. This was a crispy pork belly with blackberry gastric, braised fennel and cornbread strata (like bread pudding) paired with Madson’s 2022 Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet. The flavors of the dish were like Thanksgiving dinner, or a gourmet breakfast of good bacon and pancakes with blackberry jam. As for the wine, it had a rich, deep ruby color, and complex refined aromas leapt out of the glass: blackberry, black pepper, redwood duff, a touch of jalapeno, minerals and cassis (black currant liqueur) for days. The wine is a fruit-forward, approachable cab with distinctive terroir qualities that point directly to the Santa Cruz Mountains. And it was an identical twin to the blackberry sauce, connecting the food to the wine perfectly.

For the grand finale, Goudge-Ayer prepared a buttermilk-honey crème brulée with toasted hazelnuts to pair with Madson’s 2017 Vin Jaune Chardonnay, another of my favorite wines of the night. Vin Jaune is a wine traditionally made in the Jura region of France with intentional oxidation under flor, a yeast film that forms on the surface of the wine as it ages. Madson’s version is made similarly, with chardonnay from the historic P.M. Staiger Vineyard and aged for 24 months in neutral barrel. A deep gold color from age and oxidation, the wine has very complex and intriguing characteristics of honey, saline, hazelnuts, almonds, chamomile tea, white flowers, dried pineapple, preserved lemon and minerality. The nutty qualities of the wine married happily with the hazelnuts of the dessert, and the tangy freshness of the wine’s persistent acidity balanced the richness of the crème. This is another wine that Santa Cruz has been missing. It’s such an enchanting, fun wine that worked with a sweet dessert but would be equally happy with a ham-and-cheese sandwich.

Learn more about Madson Wines on its website, where you can purchase its wines or buy wines at its Westside tasting room (328 Ingalls St., Suite G).

Persephone Restaurant presents winemaker dinners every last Sunday of the month. The next one is on Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m. Space is very limited, so book in advance. Check its website or follow the restaurant on Instagram (@persephone_restaurant) for details and to make reservations. Don’t miss out on experiencing the magic for yourself.