Taos News

Getting cosy at the Chalet

Napa winemaker Robert Sinskey returns to Der Garten Bistro at Brownell Chalet

BY JULIA HENZERLING

ON FRIDAY, JAN. 27, NAPA Valley winemaker Robert Sinskey will join local chef Asia Golden at Der Garten Bistro upstairs at Brownell Chalet for an evening of storytelling, music and tasting Napa Valley wines paired with local artisan food. Rob will tell jokes and stories and talk about the wines. Asia will serve five courses of creations made with local food and love. Christoff will play some jazz piano. We can’t predict snow falling softly outside, but most certainly there will be a crackling fire.

“A taste of wine should not be a quick study — the wine should seduce you, slowly, as it opens in the glass,” says Sinskey

This is the second annual wine dinner with Rob Sinskey at Brownell Chalet. He loves ramblings and recipes and sharing his deep concern for the earth — alongside some good-natured gluttony. His “Rules for Wine” read like The Ten Commandments for the proper spiritual mindset and practice of winemaking. For example, this entry:

“A wine should taste like it came from a place, not a chemistry set,” Sinskey states.

Working with winemaker Jeff Virnig, Rob has made manifest these and other principles at Robert Sinskey Vineyards (RSV). Rob believes that the objectives of making elegant wines and farming with earth-friendly methods are not mutually exclusive. RSV is a 100-percent organic and biodynamic-certified wine-growing operation, with over 200 acres of premium vineyards in the Carneros and Stags Leap districts of Napa and Sonoma Valleys. “We produce wines of individuality, and leave a minimal footprint on the land.”

Step into the magical Bavarian Chalet

Upstairs at the Brownell Chalet feels like a family room from another time — with a crackling fire, smells of something yummy in the kitchen, and someone playing the piano….

In fact, it really is a family room: Christoff Brownell grew up in this house. Bookshelves and family artifacts still line the warm, pinewood walls. Here is where his mother made dinner while his father played some jazz piano. Elisabeth Brownell began working for Ernie Blake in 1962 just a few years after he opened the Taos Ski Valley ski business, and together with her husband, Tom, they bought the historic Thunderbird Lodge and built the Chalet. His family was close to all the other founding families of the ski valley, including the former French junior champions and legendary ski school founders Jean and Dadou Mayer.

“I feel pretty lucky to have grown up on this mountain and be able to continue to be here,” says Brownell.

Many souls enjoyed the glory days at The Thunderbird Lodge, which Tom and Elisabeth ran for 35 years. Chef Chuck Lamendola’s cooking was so well-loved that people drove up to the ski valley for dinner, even in a swirling snowstorm. Former president Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy, Jr. were among the many famous guests. They even started a jazz festival that brought world-class names to the ski valley. Since the Thunderbird sold, Brownell has been running the Chalet. Some longtime guests that have been coming consistently for 40 years are now joined by a younger generation of ski lovers.

The dance of love and salt

Meanwhile, back in Des Montes, Asia Golden is growing tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and more out of straw bales. She sources other fresh food from local growers and blends her Ayurvedic and French cooking styles into creations and combinations that are as pretty on the plate as they are delicious and healthy.

Like Rob Sinskey, Asia brings her own spiritual mindset to preparing food — just ask her about the dance of love and salt, and the bouquet of flavors that emanate from their union.

“I believe your mood can change the food,” Golden notes.

The couple opened their food truck, Der Garten Bistro, at Brownell Chalet last year. Her suite of gourmet sandwiches are such a hit that they threaten to take away time from skiing. “After making a hundred sandwiches a day, we are so ready to get on the mountain!” Not so fast — they expect business to increase when they receive their wine and beer license this month.

Golden’s vision for the expanded Der Garten Bistro is to continue making all the gourmet sandwiches, and add fresh, savory small plates and shared plates. Here’s a few to come:

Bison meatballs with a tamarind dipping sauceBeet Salad over a bed of mixed greens, carrots, watermelon radish — with chicken, Ahi Tuna or Salmon Quesadilla with goat cheese, sweet peppers, jalapeño, cilantro chutney

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2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://taosnews.pressreader.com/article/282419878383881

Santa Fe New Mexican