Wine tasting at the Lobby

Last night I attended the first wine and food-pairing event at The Lobby, An Inspired American Grille. The Lobby is a fun little restaurant bar located in the historic Paris Hotel. The gorgeous Victorian building was first established in 1891 and completely renovated in the late 1990’s maintaining the flavor and ambience of the original elegant structure. The Paris is now primarily private residences and the former hotel lobby houses The Lobby. Current owners maintained the lovely hardwood details and have exposed brick to give the room a vintage feel. There is a beautiful and spacious patio located in the courtyard hidden behind a brick wall and shaded by ancient trees. The courtyard is scattered with fragrant flowers and an elegant fountain.

The cuisine surprised me as much as the atmosphere. The first pairing was a steely mineraly crisp sauvignon blanc from South Africa that paired with a pungent prosciutto wrapped prawn. Although the wine pour was scant, the pairing played well on my taste buds. This was followed with a delicious sun dried tomato, goat cheese and chicken pinwheel drizzled with buffalo beurre blanc in a difficult pairing with an aromatic torrontes from Argentina. During this course, the patio filled up with Denver’s beautiful people. The women were decked out and sitting together. Yet the men, who showed up in flip flops or athletic shoes, were congregating separately at their own tables…typical of Denver. The third, and best pairing was a smoky tempranillo from Spain with a slice of seared tuna dressed with mint and cherry coulis. The last pairing of an Argentinean malbec and a seared rib eye doused with a tangy sauce, although very good, left me wanting to revisit the third.

The skies quickly turned dark. Lightening cracked and as it began to pour down rain the tasting wrapped up. The party scrambled indoors where the wine continued to flow. It was a fun night and everyone had a good time. The Lobby will be hosting wine and food pairing events on the third Tuesday of each month through the summer. Check it out for a splash of interesting wine and a taste of delicious cuisine in a fantastic hidden little corner of Denver.