Nation's Capital

Nation's Capital Assemblage & Nation's Capital Assemblage & Thomas Jefferson Harvest Dinner Thomas Jefferson Harvest Dinner

The Nation’s Capital Chapter of the Knights of the Vine held its 33rd Assemblage in conjunction with our Thomas Jefferson Harvest Dinner at the Walsh Family Vineyard, in beautiful Purcellville, Virginia. For the past two years, we have combined these two events. The first Thomas Jefferson Harvest Dinner was held at the Kennedy Center in 1988. This year we were honored to host the Grand Commander and Master Lady, Buddy and Trish Hagner at our event.

The greeting wine was a Shea Rosé of Pinot Noir from Oregon. Why you ask is an Oregon wine featured at a Virginia KOV event? Thomas Jefferson himself, sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the expedition to the Pacific Ocean after the Louisiana Purchase. As you well know, the expedition ended in Oregon. We cherish our friends in the Oregon Wine Brotherhood and we sa‑ lute your Willamette Valley Pinots and their connection to Thomas Jefferson. The Assemblage was called to order by Master Heralder Walter Rachele. The cadre filed in led by Master Com‑ mander Ken Haapala. The guests were all happy to be together as this was our only event of the year and we had much to catch up on.

We inducted two new Knights into the organization, Mr. Ray Herras and Mr. Kevin Henry. Mr. Herras was the principal among candidates and performed the rites of initiation on behalf of the class of 2021. Mr. Herras is an Information Technology professional for the Depart‑ ment of Defense and Mr. Henry is an Investment Ad‑ visor and Financial Planner. They both love wine, good food and good company and were warmly welcomed into our KOV family.

With the business and pleasantries out of the way, it was time to celebrate. Our Chef, Austin Schlener, is an ex‑ perienced chef, skilled in menu engineering and private dining. He is currently the chef and owner of Migrant Table through which he executes the perfect farm to By Claire Cuccio

“I think it a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines, as a tax on luxury. On the contrary it is a tax on the health of our citizens.” ~Thomas Jefferson, 1818

table dining experience in the greater DC area. Leading up to this, he studied in Portugal and is fluent in the language and food of that country. He has been a line cook, a head chef and a personal chef. His dream is to create memorable connections between people and their food. Much of the produce used in this very special meal was grown on the farm he runs with his brother. Austin was eager to get back in the kitchen and create a new menu for us.

Proprietors Sarah and Nate Walsh were the perfect hosts and we started the meal with a toast of their own Rosé from Walsh Family Vineyard. This was paired with a scrumptious Parsnip Croquette and Fermented Garlic Aioli.

The next course was grilled cabbage and pickled carrot salad with tiny broccoli, chili flake bread crumbs and champagne vinaigrette. This was the hardest pairing of the night and a Walsh Family 2020 Viognier was selected to go with the salad. The cabbage was harvested two days before the din‑ ner from Austin’s Root & Marrow farm. Both the salad and the wine were delicious. This was followed by a seared scallop with vadouvan pumpkin bisque and toasted pumpkin seeds served with a beautifully sculpted Linden Vineyards 2014 Avenius Chardonnay from Pat and Walt Rachele’s cellar. Jim Linden’s wines are always a favorite for the Thomas Jefferson Dinner. Following that was an absolutely decadent herbed gnocchi and mushroom ragout with shaved comet cheese. This was paired with a Shea Estate 2017 Pinot Noir again from the Willamette Valley. The wine beautifully comple‑ mented the course; the food had all been fantastic so far and the Knights

and Gentle Ladies anticipated the next course.

They were not disappointed when an impressive boeuf bourguignon short rib on grits with roasted celery root, purplette onion and fall pea shoots was presented. This featured another Walsh Family Wine – the Russ Mountain Merlot which was a perfect complement to the boeuf. Mid‑meal, Knight Richard Abelkis received a gift from Master Knight Walt Rachele of a bottle of Walsh Family 2019 Tannat, called “What Will the Women Drink?!” The story behind it was that a man came in and finding nothing sweet in the lineup asked the server, “What Will the Women Drink?” Upon hearing this, Sarah Walsh decided to name their biggest, boldest wine (that she helps blend), “What Will the Women Drink?”.

To finish the evening, Chef Austin treated us to a Georges Mill chevré pots de crème with husk cherry and thyme tuile. This was served with a Quin‑ ta das Carvalhas 2002 Colheita from Portugal. If you remember from last year, Georges Mill is a local dairy goat farm, specializing in artisan cheeses aged in a cave on the property.

At the end of the meal, Knight Charles Franklin presented Master Knight Walt Rachele and Forever First Guest, Pat Valas, two books as a thank you for organizing the past two Thomas Jefferson dinners and the rest of their ser‑ vice to KOV. The first, Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance, combines recipes, essays and illustrations to provide a view of the renowned hospitality offered at Thomas Jefferson’s table with a blend of Continental and French culture and tra‑ ditions. The second, Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brulée: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America. As the story goes, Thomas Jefferson and James Hemings struck a deal in 1784 – Hemings would accompany Jefferson to Paris and while James mastered the art of French cooking, Jef‑ ferson studied the cultivation of French crops (especially grapes for winemaking) so they might be replicated in American agriculture. In exchange, for James’ coopera‑ tion, Jefferson would grant him his freedom. Together, they returned home to America with such culinary de‑ lights as pasta, French fries, Champagne, macaroni and cheese, and crème brulée.

The food and wine were exceptional as was the venue location in the hills of Virginia. The gala was a huge suc‑ cess as ultimately we welcomed two new members who appreciate the gastronomy and terroir of the Common‑ wealth of Virginia and the unparalleled blessings of the friendships to be found in our brotherhood.