EXCLUSIVE Special GUEST DINNER

Thomas Jefferson Wine & Food Society members and their guests only.

Where: Pierpoint Restaurant, 1822 Aliceanna St.

When:

Time: Hors d'oeuvres and Champagne:  6:30 -7:15 Dinner: 7:15

Price: $55 per person includes tax, gratuity, and Champagne. Members must bring their own wines to dinner.

Special Guest:

Reservations: Mail your check payable to "Pierpoint Restaurant," c/o Nancy Longo, 1822 Aliceanna St., Baltimore, MD 21231

Seating at Pierpoint for this dinner is limited to 38. Reservations will be honored on the basis of first received, first served, i.e., the first 38 checks received.

Chef: Nancy Longo, one of the best in America.

Hors d'oeuvres:

Salad:

Entrees:

Dessert:

Special Report # 7 Raffaelo's - Naples, Florida. On a recent trip to Naples, Florida, my wife, Anita, and I discovered Raffaelo's, a marvelous little Italian restaurant serving delicious Northern Italian cuisine. We both had fresh Dover sole (it was filleted at our table) and probably the best Dover sole I have ever had. And the ambience is perfect. It seats about 50, and though it was too cold to dine outdoors when we were there, it has a terrace for outdoor dining. The inside decor is charming: paneled pine walls with custom made in-laid wine racks, with well-spaced tables nicely set and beautifully covered with white and rose table cloths. The host, Raffaelo, is gregarious and energetic, and when I said that I was going to mention his restaurant  on my web site, he exclaimed, 'Anyone who comes in here and says 'Thomas Jefferson' gets a free glass of wine." Even without the free glass of wine, Raffaelo's is highly recommended. It is located in-town at 898 Fifth Avenue South, second floor, 263-2480. Tell Raffaelo that Thomas Jefferson sent you.

Special Report # 6 Highlights of a Visit to Napa and Sonoma Valleys

SONOMA VALLEY: Have lunch at Ralph's on the Square in Healdsberg. Ralph's has an interesting list of wine by the glass. I had two glasses of 1997 Lambert Bridge Merlot and it went well with a juicy lambberger and shoestring potatoes. When you leave Ralph's turn right and across the street from the Square is the Kendall Jackson tasting room. Stop in for a few wine samples and instructions and a map for following the wineries and vineyards along the Russian River on over to Bodega Bay on the Pacific Ocean. It takes less than an hour, and the drive along the coastline is spectacular. Follow your map back in the direction of the town of Sonoma but turn off to Glen Ellen. Follow the signs to the Benziger Family Vineyard just outside of town. At Benziger take the free tractor tour of the vineyards and stroll through the beautifully landscaped gardens. At the tasting room ask to have the Benziger Reserve and Imagery tasting. It costs $5.00 but it is more than worth it. But be careful, the pours are generous there are many wines to choose from. Be sure the designated driver sits this tasting out.

NAPA VALLEY: Have dinner at BOUCHON'S, a new restaurant that Thomas Keller, the owner/chef of the French Laundry and his brother recently opened. The food is excellent, the prices reasonable, and reservations are not so ridiculously difficult to come by as they are at the French Laundry. Stop by Stags Leap Wine Cellars on the Silverado Trail and ask to have a tour of their newly opened caves that twist and turn for miles through solid rock. So far as I know there is nothing comparable to these caves in the wine country.

Special Report # 5

John Paul Jones (1747-1792) as seen by John Adams in 1779

In special report # 4, (see below) I reported on Abigail Adams' impressions of the great American sailor John Paul Jones. John Adams had met Captain Jones and the officers of the "Poor Richard" at an elegant dinner at the Hotel de l'Epee Royale five years earlier in Nante, France where, according to Adams, was "practiced the old American custom of drinking to each other" which, Adams confessed "is always agreeable to me." Following dinner and a review of Captain Jones' Marines, John Adams recorded in his diary his impressions of John Paul Jones:

"This is the most ambitious and intriguing officer in the American Navy. Jones has art, and secrecy, and aspires very high. You see the character of the man in his uniform, and that of his officers and Marines, variant from the uniforms established by Congress. . . . " Eccentricities and irregularities are to be expected from him--they are in his character; they are visible in his eyes. His voice is soft and still and small, his eye has keenness, and wildness and softness in it."  Source: "Passions: The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson."

Special  Report # 4

John Paul Jones (1747-1792) as seen by Abigail Adams

John and Abigail Adams resided in Paris through the summer and spring of 1784-85 and gave frequent dinner parties that were attended by Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and other members of the American contingent and their French friends such as the Lafayettes. A member of the American circle who dined with the Adamses' was John Paul Jones who was in Paris in connection with collecting prize money that was due him and his crew. He was, in the eyes of Abigail, a bit of a contradiction. "From the intrepid character he justly supported in the American Navy, I expected to have seen a rough, stout, warlike Roman--instead of that I should sooner think of wrapping him up in cotton wool, putting him into my pocket, than sending him to contend with cannon-balls. He is small in stature, well proportioned, soft in his speech, easy in his address, polite in his manners, vastly civil, understands all of the etiquette of a lady's toilet as perfectly as he does the masts, sails and rigging of his ship. Under all this appearance of softness he is bold, enterprising, ambitious and active . . . he is said to be a man of gallantry and a favorite amongst the French ladies . . . he knows how often the ladies use the baths, what color best suits a lady's complexion, what cosmetics are most favorable to the skin."  Source: "Passions: The Wines and Travels of Thomas Jefferson."

SPECIAL REPORT # 3

ROBERT BROWNING (1812-1889)

     It was my curiosity about what our Founding Father's drank that caused me to discover Thomas Jefferson's incredible interest in wine. We all know of the great English poet Robert Browning who wrote to his equally famous wife, Elizabeth, the poem that begins: "How do I love thee, let me count the ways . . . " Much of Browning's formal education came from his well-read father who was a banker, artist, scholar, antiquarian and collector of books and pictures. But Browning also learned an appreciation for wine from his father.

     Comyns Carr in his book "Eminent Victorians" leaves us this interesting account of time spent with the poet: "The great poet often came to our house in the years between 1880 and 1885. In our small circle we saw him as an intimate friend, and he was both kind and true. I think he was not indifferent to good living, but he was always content with our simple fare--more than content if he was allowed his bottle of port wine, not to be sipped at dessert, as others use it, but to be quaffed through dinner as an accompaniment to every course. His appreciation of wine, never immoderately indulged, must, I suppose, have been inherited, for he used to tell a story of his father's indignation on the occasion of his once asking for a glass of water. 'Water, Robert!' exclaimed the older Browning in dismay. 'For washing purposes it is, I believe, often employed, and for navigable canals I admit to be indispensable, but for drinking, Robert, God never intended it.'"

SPECIAL REPORT # 2:

JEFFERSON IN PARIS

     On July 5, 1784, the 41-year old Jefferson and his 11-year old daughter, Martha, and 18-year old slave/servant, James Hemings, sailed from Boston for France on the Ceres. This was the beginning of a 5-year adventure during which Jefferson acquire a depth of knowledge and an appreciation of wines that no American of his time could rival. On August 8th, Jefferson's carriage approached Paris by way of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Marly, and Nanterre, seeing along the way a spectrum of palaces, bridges, towns, woods and hillsides in vines and wheat. They crossed the Seine at the Pont de Neuilly and rode down the Champs-Elysees stopping at the Grille de Chaillot, one of twenty-four barriers or tollhouse gates that ringed Paris for the purpose of levying taxes on all goods coming into the city. Within a year Jefferson would live in the mansion directly across from the Grille de Chaillot.

     Entering Paris, their carriage continued down the Champs-Elysees to Place LouisXV (now Place de la Concorde), past the gardens of the Tuileries, and along rue Saint Honore to rue de Richelieu where they took rooms at the Hotel d'Orleans, located on the same street as the Bibliotheque du Roi and opposite the Palais Royal.

     Four days after his arrival Jefferson visited Benjamin Franklin, who at the time was our Minister to France. Franklin had come to France in late 1776 to obtain money and arms for the American Revolution and to forge an alliance with France. Franklin was successful in achieving these goals and in so doing had become the most popular and respected foreigner in Europe. Franklin occupied a portion of a spacious estate owned by a wealthy French merchant. The mansion stood on the top of a hill with terraced gardens leading down to the Seine and a view looking back to Paris. This was the first of many visits for Jefferson who frequently dined with Franklin. During these visits they drank wines selected from Franklin's cellar of over 1,100 bottles, including Bordeaux, Burgundies, sparkling Champagnes and sherries.

     Shortly after Jefferson's arrival, John Adams arrived in France from London with his wife, Abigail, his 19-year old daughter, Abigail (called Nabby), and his 17-year old son, John Quincy. Adams moved his family into a mansion in the village of Auteuil which bordered the Bois de Boulogne and described by Adams as "far from the putrid streets of Paris." After two months in temporary quarters Jefferson moved into a handsome house in what is presently the vicinity of the Opera. Franklin and the John and Abigail gave frequent dinner parties that were attended by Jefferson and other members of the American contingent and their French friends such as the Marquis de Lafayette and his wife. Another member of the American circle was John Paul Jones, who was in Paris in connection with collecting prize money that was due him and his crew.

     Dinner with Benjamin Franklin and the Adamses was always accompanied or followed by wine.

           Abridged from "PASSIONS: THE WINES AND TRAVELS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON," by James M. Gabler

JEFFERSON’S FAVORITE WINES--Report #1

Want to drink wine made from the same grapes and vineyards that Thomas Jefferson esteemed? Well, here are some of those wines that have a Thomas Jefferson provenance.

Jefferson discovered white Hermitage during his fascinating three and one-half month trip through Southern France in 1787. He held white Hermitage in such high esteem that he called it "the first wine in the world without a single exception." During his presidency he purchased 550 bottles of white Hermitage from the House of Jourdan. The Jourdan vineyards presently belong to M. Chapoutier who calls his white Hermitage, Chante-Alouette (Lark's Song).

He also tasted red Hermitage and noted "the wine called Hermitage is made on the hills over the village of Tains; one of which is the Hermitage which gives its name to the hills for about 2 miles, and to the wine made on them. There are but three of those hills which produce wine of the 1st quality, and of these the middle regions only." Paul Jaboulet's la Chappelle is an outstanding example of this famous wine made from the same grape - Syrah - grown on these same hills.

In Burgundy, Jefferson met a wine merchant by the name of Parent who introduced him to Montrachet. Jefferson's practiced palate considered Montrachet the best dry white wine of France. Parent also introduced Jefferson to a dry white burgundy from the town of Meursault, Goutte d'Or (drop of gold). At a cost of only one-eighth the price of Montrachet, it became his favorite dry white wine during his remaining 2 1/2 years in France. Goutte d'Or is available today from the same 13 acre vineyard and is classified as one of the best Premiers Crus Meursaults. Two of Goutte d'Or's main exporters to the U.S. are Louis Latour and Louis Jadot.

During Jefferson's visit to Bordeaux in May of 1787 he became acquainted with many of the area's great wines which remain great wines today. One of Jefferson's early purchases after he arrived in France in 1784 was for 144 bottles of 1783 Leoville (now three vineyards, Leoville-Las-Cases, Leoville-Poyferre and Leoville-Barton). Jefferson highly esteemed the wines of Madame Rauzan (Now Rauzan Segla). While serving as our first Secretary of State, Jefferson wrote Madame Rauzan and advised, "I had the opportunity on a tour I made during my stay in Paris of visiting the Canton of the best Bordeaux wines, among which was de Rauzan, your cru, of excellent quality. Would you please send me 10 dozen bottles of the best for drinking now, bottled and packed at the vineyard." "Leoville" and "Rauzan" were 2 of the 16 Bordeaux wines Jefferson listed of outstanding quality.

SPECIAL REPORT QUESTION OF THE MONTH

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