The house of St. George, or rather the Domaine St. George, was introduced to the diners at the Mantra restaurant at the American Independence Day Wine Dinner, on July 4. Leading the introduction was the Domaine St. George winemaker and viticulturist Bob Fredson, representing his 130 year old Californian winery.
The dinner began with variations of Maryland Blue Crab, and taken with the Willamette Valley Vineyards Chardonnay 2006. Both were great starters for the gourmet evening.
Robert Fredson is interviewed for PMTV by the dynamic duo, Paul Strachan (left) and Dr. Iain Corness.
The second course was a coconut pumpkin soup with smoked duck breast, pleasant, but a little bland and taken with another white from the Willamette Valley, a Pinot Gris 2007. Again pleasant, but for my palate, the Chardonnay was more enjoyable.
The next course was the dish of the night, and the wine of the night. A poached salmon fillet in a Creole style fish broth was simply superb, and the Snoqualmie Syrah 2006 fitted perfectly with it. Top marks Mantra and top marks Domaine St. George.
Robert Fredson, Winemaker & Viticulturist, Domain St. George (2nd right) is overwhelmed by the warm welcome from the Mantra team (from left), Yaowaluck Bumrungthum, restaurant manager; Supparatch Piyawatcharapun, social director; and Max Sieracki, resident manager of the Amari Orchid Pattaya.
The main course featured a charcoal US beef tenderloin (it was American Independence Day after all) with a bourbon BBQ glaze – a wonderfully tender cut of beef eaten with a St. George Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. A lovely combination, but the salmon had just that little bit of novelty to remain dish of the night for me.
A very pleasant evening with Bob Fredson, a true American gentleman, even though promoting St. George!
Max Sieracki (left) welcomes Jan Van Houtven (2nd right) together with his parents Frans and Simone Van Houtven. At right is Tony Malhotra Asst. MD of the Pattaya Mail Media Group.
Robert flips through the Pattaya Mail presented to him by the publisher Peter Malhotra (centre). Bruce Hoppe (right), VP of Asia Operations Emerson was guest of honour to celebrate the American Independence Day.
Robert Fredson, Winemaker & Viticulturist
Guests enjoy pre dinner cocktails before the main dining event.
Bruce Hoppe greets Richard and Janet Smith during cocktails.
