Plumpjack & CADE Carmel Café Wine Dinner Features Napa Valley Wines Plus Mod Med Cuisine

Enjoy wines from Plumpjack and CADE, two of Napa Valley’s most celebrated vineyards on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the Carmel Café & Wine Bar in Clearwater and Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Carmel Café & Wine Bar in Carrollwood.

A five-course pairing menu featuring Mod Med cuisine will accompany select wines from both vineyards from 6:30 – 8 p.m. each evening. Kristina Doxin, Plumpjack Winery’s national wine manager and sommelier, will be your guide while you taste, explore and enjoy CADE Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Plumpjack Chardonnay 2010, Plumpjack Merlot 2009, CADE Napa Valley Cuvee 2008 and Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon 2009.

The wine dinner is $69.95 per person. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Executive Chef Steve Cook will prepare the following Mod Med menu specially created to complement the featured wines:

• Goat cheese with strawberry, honey and marcona tapenade and jicama

• Sea scallops with sautéed spinach and lemon artichoke Beurre Blanc

• Mushroom volute with challah cheese rusk

• Braised short rib with grilled asiago polenta cake and cabernet demi glace

• Carmel Café’s signature dark chocolate truffle

An identical menu with the same wine pairings will also be presented Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Carmel Café & Wine Bar in Carrollwood.

For reservations at the Clearwater Carmel Café, call 727-724-4228. For Carrollwood Carmel Café reservations, call 813-265-1415.

Mod Med is Carmel Café’s signature cuisine. It represents a modern interpretation of foods and flavors traditionally associated with Mediterranean countries like Italy, Spain, France, Greece and Morocco.

In addition to enjoying the Mod Med cuisine served exclusively at Carmel Café & Wine Bar, diners may choose from a global selection of wines designed to easily mix and match with the Mod Med menu. Wines can also be customized according to serving size with many available in three-, six- and nine-ounce pours or by the bottle.

Customized iPads placed right at diners’ fingertips offer an inviting, interactive way to view images and descriptions of each dish, learn about wines from around the world, create pairings based on personal preferences or control the pacing of their food and wine orders.

Both Carmel Café & Wine Bar locations are now open for lunch 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Monday – Friday starting Jan. 14.

Dinner hours now include 5 - 10 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 5 p.m. – midnight Friday and Saturday and from 5 – 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Beginning Jan. 14, both Carmel Café & Wine Bar locations will also offer brunch from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information about the featured wineries, go to: 

 http://www.plumpjackwinery.com/plumpjackwinery/ and

 http://www.cadewinery.com/