Bedrock Wine Company spotlights wine at Raleigh's Vidrio

Advintage Distributing's Ariel Tetterton (left) and Bedrock Wine Co.'s Chris Cottrell.

Wine dinners are a fabulous way to experience so many different things at once. One typically meets new people while enjoying dinner at your table. Of course there is sampling all the wines you might have never tried before. And we can't forget the food. And at most of these dinners you'll get the opportunity to meet the winery's winemaker or owner, and learn firsthand how the winery operates and the history behind how its wines are made.

All of that happened to us on Nov. 8 when we were fortunate enough to take part in the Bedrock Wine Company wine dinner at Raleigh's Vidrio, hosted by Taylor's Wine Shop. Around 65 attendees dressed in their best evening dresses and suits were there to try the wines of California's Bedrock, which have just recently begun to see distribution here in the state.

Related Story: New Mediterranean restaurant opens in Raleigh's Glenwood South

To help us understand more about the winery and its history, Bedrock's co-owner and winemaker Chris Cottrell guided us through the history of the wines, the property in California, its recent acquisition and his thoughts on old vine Zinfandel.

Taylor's Wine Shop really knows how to put on 'Grade A' wine dinners. Besides the dinner at Vidrio, the wine shop has recently had dinners featuring California's Vineyard 36 and Burly Wines at Buku in Wake Forest. And to end the year, Taylor's will host a winemaker's dinner with wines from Croze & Smith Wooten Wines at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse on Dec. 6. To purchase tickets for that event, click here.

Below is a look at the 4-course food and wine pairing.

The buttery taste of the lobster paired well with the Chardonnay.

Course 1 – Lobster Capaccio: eggplant croquette, tomato tartare, beet greens

2014 Brosseau Vineyard Sparkling Chardonnay – Chalone

The fattiness of the fish was good with the tart Rosé – but the
grapes didn't pair – you don't typically eat grapes with wine.

Course 2 – Branzino Fumé: olive oil, celery leaf & grape salad, vinaigrette

2017 Bedrock Rosé (Mouvedre/Grenache)

The tartare and kibbeh paired best with the Syrah, while the merguez
was best suited with the red blend.

Course 3 – Lamb Three Ways: tartare, kibbeh, merguez, harissa, Greek yogurt

2016 Syrah, North Coast

2016 Evangelo Vineyard Heritage Red (Zinfandel/Mouvedre)

The braised beef was the best course of the evening, and went great
with both the Zins to end the night.

Course 4 – Braised Short Ribs: potato espuma, pickled radish

2016 Old Vine Zinfandel

2017 Esola Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley, Amador County