Mean Deans and Alexander Valley Vineyards make for a Perfect Pairing

On Friday night, the Sarasota Manatee Originals kicked off Forks & Corks weekend with private wine dinners throughout the area. I had the chance to attend the Alexander Valley Vineyards dinner at Mean Deans Local Kitchen in south Manatee County, where guests to the sold-out event were treated to a spectacular evening of gastro-vino delights as a warm-up for Sunday’s Grand Tasting in the courtyard of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.

In 1963, the Wetzel family began planting grapes on a portion of Cyrus Alexander’s northern California ranch the family had purchased. In 1975, they built their winery. Today, the third generation of the family continues the legacy on vineyards that stretch from the banks of the Russian River all the way to the hillsides, producing more than a dozen varietals.

Friday’s dinner began with their unique Rosé, which is made from Sangiovese grapes. Dry and crisp with citrus notes and flavors of watermelon and strawberry, it paired perfectly with a delicious strawberry burrata salad topped with honey balsamic and toasted pistachio.

Next up was AVV’s Chardonnay, which is as dry, crisp, and clean as any you are likely to find. For a varietal awash in overly buttery oak-drenched offerings, AVV comes through with a 30% oak cask aged, 70% stainless steel aged chardonnay that I found to be among the very best in the $30-$40 California Chardonnay market. Paired with a giant ceviche prawn and plantain chips, the second course had us salivating for more.

The reds made their debut in the third course, and AVV’s small-lot, whole-berry fermented Syrah made the biggest impression of the night at our table. Aged in toasty French oak casks, this fruit-forward Syrah offers hints of dark berries and vanilla, leading into a silky-smooth finish. It was perfectly paired with a delightfully tender lamb lollipop with a luxardo cherry glaze over perfectly whipped rosemary garlic potatoes.

I spent a lot of last year exploring old vine zinfandels, and I immensely enjoyed AVV’s Sin Zin, a delightfully jammy zin with cherry, plum, and black pepper notes and a zesty red berry flavor that was able to punch its weight with a garlic-heavy wild mushroom petite filet over creamed spinach. As winemaker Harry Wetzel explained, the 17% ABV zinfandel got its name from his grandmother’s proclamation that packing that kind of wallop, this zin will make you sin.

The portions were just tame enough to leave room for dessert, for which Dean came through once more with a sinfully rich and velvety double chocolate mousse topped with toasted almonds. AVV then treated us to the perfect encore in a glass of their magnum opus, CYRUS.

This cab-based blend of the Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec), the balance of which shifts according to the best offerings each season, is a top-shelf, premium California red. The 24-month barrel-aged blend benefits from additional bottle aging, resulting in a beautifully complex yet perfectly balanced wine that strikes me as what someone might expect to taste when they spend that kind of dough on a bottle of Caymus.

If you haven’t been to Mean Deans Local Kitchen, I’d certainly recommend giving it a go. And if you want to branch out from the typical, mass-produced Napa wines that dominate the aisles at Publix without breaking the bank, check out Alexander Valley Vineyards, a family of serious artisans who take pride in delivering domestic wines that can more than hold their own with old world producers.

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is a novelist, as well as an editor and opinion columnist for The Bradenton Times. In addition to his regular Sunday column, he hosts our weekly podcast and does occasional theater, restaurant, and wine reviews. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. His novels and short story collection are available here.