Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
Wine Tasting Dinner at Seaview Hotel Wine Tasting Dinner at Seaview Hotel
We were invited to the Seaview Hotel for dinner this week. The dishes were accompanied by Spanish wines, each described by Carlos from Cvne... Wine Tasting Dinner at Seaview Hotel

We were invited to the Seaview Hotel for dinner this week. The dishes were accompanied by Spanish wines, each described by Carlos from Cvne winery. The hotel’s chef and the team from Eurovines had worked together to match the various Riojas with the dishes on the four-course menu.

Canapes

Canapes

The evening kicked off with canapes: confit pork belly with apple, miniature jacket potatoes with cream cheese and chives, and smoked salmon and caviar. A very nice start to the meal. Served with a clear crisp and fresh, coppery Vina Real.

Smoked salmon and caviar canapes

Smoked salmon and caviar canapes

Delicious smoked salmon and caviar canapes.

Monkfish tail

Monkfish tail

The standout dish was monkfish tail, served with a gentle yellow curry sauce, seared grapes and toasted almonds, plus a small nest of wild rice and curly kale. This was a delicate-tasting dish and gorgeous looking. Served with a deep red, almost purple, Rioja Crianza an unusual choice for fish, but a good accompaniment.

Lobster cocktail

Lobster cocktail

This lobster cocktail was an extravagant twist on that retro fave prawn cocktail. Instead of being served in a stem glass, this crustacean was delivered in its shell and annointed with marie-rose sauce. The requisite crispy shredded iceberg was under the rich chunky meat. Served with Melba toast and a glass of award-winning oak-aged Imperial Rioja, Cvne’s flagship wine.

Fallow deer

Fallow deer

Our main course was the tenderest fallow deer, served with a swirl of blackberry and apple puree, spotted with Jerusalem artichoke fondant. The accompanying Rioja Gran Reserva 2009 was quite intense; this was Matt’s favourite wine of the evening.

Passionfruit parfait

Passionfruit parfait

Dessert was a contender for the best dish of the evening. This smooth passionfruit parfait had a real zingy kick to it, tempered by the sweet coconut meringues and liquorishy fennel cress. The Rioja Blanco offered its own acidity to the mix which was a bit jarring, if the truth be told. Perhaps a treacly sweet dessert wine would’ve been better?

Wine

Wine

We managed to work our way through five Cvne wines. Part of the pleasure of the wine tasting dinner (apart from the constant delights from the kitchen) was hearing the stories behind the wines. Who knew a winery could be like something out of James Bond!

The four course dinner, including wines, retailed at £40. Visit the Seaview Hotel‘s website for more events, and Eurovines for the wines.

We were guests of the Seaview Hotel.

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