Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Cépage et Cuisine, Mary’s
and Brian’s wine and food blog. I’ve
been busier than a one-armed paper hanger with work and travel, so it has been
a while seen we’ve posted. We’re back,
though, with more stories about wine and food.
This post is about our recent trip to St. John in the U.S. Virgin
Islands and a lovely dining experience.
I was there on business (really, no kidding!) and Mary came with me to enjoy the
beauty of the location. It certainly
lives up to its reputation for beauty, as you can see in these photos. Most of St. John is a national park, so
wildlife is abundant. Deer are numerous
and nearly tame, not at all spooked by proximity to humans.
There is also a large population of donkeys, like these, just outside our door, apparently descended from old
sugar cane plantation animals.
Transfer to St. John is via water taxi, which happened to have the name Mary II, a ferry ride of about a
half-hour with rum punch offered to help enjoy the journey. The third island, quite a distance to the
south, is St. Croix. The British Virgin
Islands are just beyond St. John, close enough that AT&T cautioned us about
picking up cell phone signals from them.
In its long-ago history, vast sugar cane plantations were
located in the islands. Most of the people
of the USVI are descendants of Africans who were transported there and enslaved
to work the sugar cane. The language
reflects the combined influences of the French, Spanish, Americans, British, Dutch,
Danish, and Africans. The result is a
rich and delightful mélange of Creole island language. The Caneel Bay Resort property includes the ruins
of a 17th century sugar mill.
Mary walked among the ruins and took these terrific photos.
The Sugar Mill Restaurant is adjacent to the sugar mill
ruins, an open air restaurant that specializes in Caribbean cuisine. Our table had a view of Caneel Bay and the
lights of St. Thomas across the water, caressed by a gentle tropical breeze, just
beautiful. Our server, Lincoln, was completely
knowledgeable about the menu.
The first course was “conch two ways,” conch cakes
and conch ceviché with a corn and black bean salsa. We rarely have the opportunity to enjoy
conch, a sea snail of the tropics, but it is common in the islands and south
Florida. The two preparations were
delicious. The conch cakes had an
exterior crispness, an interior moistness, and a delightful spiciness. The ceviché was tart and refreshing with
crunchy vegetables to complement the conch.
We loved this dish.
Mary selected seared scallops, one of her favorites. This version included scallops on a bed of yuzu
fruit, sweet potato, and butter. Yuzu is
a citrus that is sort of a cross between grapefruit and tangerine. The fruit and the potato provided a sweetness
and creaminess that complemented the scallops.
The garnish of microgreens was amazing, a combination of arugula,
tarragon, and pancetta. Mary raved about
that little salad. The sauce was a spicy
barbecue.
I selected pan-seared red snapper on a bed of saffron rice
and seafood bouillabaisse of shrimp and scallops, topped with the same
delightful microgreens salad. I’d love
to learn to prepare fish this way, crisp skin and cooked through while
maintaining delicate moistness and flavor inside. The executive chef, Chef Michael, paid a
courtesy call to our table to discuss the cuisine, the flavors, the
preparation. We always love personal
attention like that.
The wine list was surprisingly good for what I thought was a
somewhat remote tropical location. With
the warm temperature and the Caribbean cuisine, we wanted a cool and refreshing
white wine. With the assistance of a completely
knowledgeable sommelier, we selected a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand,
produced by Kim Crawford. It was the
perfect choice, clean and refreshing with an interesting peppery note, seamless
with the dinner. Here are my notes on
the wine.
Kim Crawford Wines
Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2010.
Like most New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, this wine sees little or no oak
so the fruit shines through, highlighting intense grapefruit and mineral aromas. The palate vibrates with mouthwatering acidity
and citrus, melon, and herbal flavors, most notably jalapeño pepper. It did what a good wine of this type should
do, accent the food and refresh the palate for the next bite. It was well balanced, moderately complex,
with short to medium length. The
restaurant price was $48. By
coincidence, we had dinner a few days later back in Jackson and saw the same
wine on the list for $24.
Mary had a delightful dessert of pineapple cake, vanilla ice
cream with caramel topping, and fresh berries.
The evening was delicious in more ways than just the food
and the wine. The weather, the ambience,
the location, and a wonderful evening with my wife all add up to a memorable
experience. That’s our post for
today. We hope you found it
interesting. Keep checking back for more
wine and food articles at Cépage et Cuisine. In the meantime,
Cheers!
Brian♥Mary
