“Uncork the Magic” at the Hobnob
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Wine Tasting Dinner
Friday, January 23, 2004

Friday evening, January 23, 2004, Hobnob Corner restaurant in downtown Nashville, Indiana, will serve the Seventh Annual “Uncork the Magic” Wine Tasting dinner to benefit the Brown County chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters. The evening begins with a reception at the Visitors Center about 6:30 p.m. Dinner begins at about 7:30 p.m. Hobnob will close to the general public for the day so that volunteers can work a little magic on the restaurant.

“We close for part of the day prior to the dinner and the day of the dinner itself in order to decorate the business, line the tables with linen, set out the china and silverware and polish the glassware. We have lots of help from people who work here and volunteer their time, from people who used to work here and come back for the night, and from other people in the community. Some of our suppliers help with the food cost and all labor is donated,” says Warren Cole. “We aim to serve as elegant a five-course meal as we can manage.”

The dinner has become a bright spot in the long, slow winter. The streets are empty, the night dark, but lights glow invitingly from the Visitors Center where before the dinner begins guests gather for a festive glass of wine. At this time a silent auction featuring a number of bottles of fine wine takes place.

Donors have been quite generous in their gifts and in their bidding. In early 2003 about three dozen bottles were available for bidding. A bottle of 1992 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon brought the highest price. Other notable bottles available included a 1983 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet, a 1977 Graham’s Vintage Port, 1995 Dom Perignon, a 1999 jeroboam of Grand Archer Cabernet, a jeroboam of 1997 Boscaini Santa Stefano and there were many more beautiful wines available. This year there will be another vintage of the Heinz Martha’s Vineyard available as well as another jeroboam of the Boscaini. There will be some happy hunting for wine lovers.

Afterwards guests move across the street to Hobnob Corner for seating. And then the dinner begins. This year the saxophone and guitar duo of Jackson and Elliot will lend their warm tones to the evening meal.

In the past the menu has been chosen and then wine sought to match. This year, for a switch, the choice of wine has driven the menu. This year we asked Claire Becraft of Olinger Distributing what wines she would like to showcase. In November the front and back volunteers got together with Claire to taste the dozen or so she had selected. With some difficulty they reduced the wines to seven. The chefs gathered in a local home to taste various dishes in search of good matches.

Claire Becraft will begin with a discussion of the wines that she selected. The dinner will lead off with Mumm’s Joyesse, a French sparkling wine. For the appetizer, a big and bold Norman Paso Robles ‘The Monster” Zinfandel will pair with wild boar sausage. The Rudd Bachgalupi Vineyard Chardonnay will accompany a delectable fennel-scented cream soup with sea scallops. In a departure, the dinner will attempt to pair a salad with a wine, namely the Clos de Bois Winemaker’s Reserve Malbec from Alexander Valley. Patrons will get a choice of either brace of quail with juniper couscous and a rhubarb-fig coulis with Sequoia Grove Rutherford Reserve Cabernet, or roasted tenderloin of buffalo with wild mushroom matched with the elegant Darioush Red from Napa Valley. Finally a shinning Niagara Peninsula Ice Wine made by Innskillion will accompany a trio of desserts.

The cost for the evening is $195 per couple with limited seating. Reservations may be made at 1-800-753-3255 or locally at 812-988-7303. Or call Warren Cole at 812 988-4114.

If interested, please do not delay. Last year the dinner sold out early.