Dinner at Shake's Old Fisherman's Grotto on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey was wonderful and the entire Jazz-FM party seemed to congregate at the place, all 26 of us, give or take one or two. Jazz-FM is the group I find myself with to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival, and our first night in Monterey finds us here a day earlier than the festival begins to take in the sights. Which is why tonight we find ourselves at the above mentioned restaurant.
I find myself at a table with two other couples and they look to me for some interesting wine choices for dinner. Each couple is responsible for a bottle, and with 25% off anything local it makes the wine selection a little easier. We start off with a poached pear and Gorgonzola salad and pair it with a Murietta's Well 2010 The Whip, a blended white from 6 different grapes including Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Semillon, Pinot Blanc, Orange Muscat and Muscat Canelli. The nose is very aromatic with lemon, floral and sweet grass while the palate has a slightly sweet-grassy flavour along with lemon, floral, apple and hints of limeade on the finish, there is also a touch of pear and some great orange creamsicle notes that make it creamy and delicious.
Moving to the main I have, as well as 4 of my table-mates, a sesame encrusted walu ... which I just learned is also known as the ex-lax fish because of its laxative effects it has on humans (according to a January 2010 CNN report) and has been banned in such places as Japan and Italy (good to know now). I can say it was very tasty especially with its coating of sesame ... we paired that with a Lockwood 2009 Chardonnay that had lovely smells of pineapple, apple and hints of vanilla on the nose followed by nectarine, peach, and pear fruit in the mouth along with a subtle spiced-vanilla finish.
Ending the evening with a little creme brulee topped with fresh strawberries and a Qupe 2009 Syrah that was loaded with black raspberry and white pepper on both the nose and palate, there were also some decent tannins on the finish to keep it from being jammy.
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