jessicadE7322BF
30 Dec 2024
We booked the Graycliff Hotel wine luncheon to celebrate my husband's birthday. The process to book - and change the booking - was a challenge as they operated only via email; I never got anyone by phone.
The level of service in person was the best I have ever experienced - saying World Class Service or like I felt like royalty does not do it justice. They arrived at our cab with an umbrella to escort us in. We got to enjoy the front room while we waited for our actual reservation time, having arrived early. It is clear the level of pride everyone who works there takes in the history, service provided, quality of food, and maintaining this historic icon.
Part of the luncheon included a tour of their extensive and impressive wine cellar. We were lucky to have the assistant sommelier be our guide. Sharing the statistics - that it houses over 275,000 bottles that range in region, type, and age and takes more than the footprint of the building it still doesn't let you realize how big it is. It was fun seeing the different "rooms" of wines, as well as seeing how bottling has changed through the centuries. Yes, centuries. They have a bottle from the 1700s!
Our luncheon was some of the best food I have eaten in my life. Each of the wines was perfectly paired with the course. When we sat fresh bread was brought to us with a choice of oil or butter. We started with an amuse bouche of bruschetta and a champagne cocktail. This was followed by truffle trumpet mushroom pursettes and a Pinot Grigio (2023 Tocana Col D'orcia). Our second course differed - I (with a seafood allergy) had a creamy butternut squash bisque, while my husband had conch stew; paired with Sancerre (Aurore & David, Dezat Girard). Our third course we each had steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes and steak. He had fish and I chicken in a lemon cream sauce. I have never tasted steak so tender and chicken so juicy. This was paired with Olema (2021, Sonoma, Pinot Noir.) We rounded the meal with a port (Maynard's Fine Ruby Porto) and an assortment of cheeses (brie, gouda, cheddar, and something else - along with guava gelee, honey, and crackers.) Our final dish was a simple chocolate cake (average - a bit dry) with a strawberry and vanilla ice cream garnished with mint.
We almost had the dining room to ourselves, but halfway through a small group were seated as well as a couple. This did not lessen the quality we received.
We had lovely conversations with everyone who we interacted with. I asked if, if it was no trouble and there was availability, we could see a room upstairs. They had talked it up, so I was curious. Our server joked that the staff wanted to show off. We were not disappointed at the incredible quality, the number of antiques, and beauty we saw in both a deluxe room and a suite. The deluxe room had more character to it.
At the end of our experience, at their urging, we took a short walk around the gardens. This was talked up more than it was worth, but it was quaint. I enjoyed the statues along the path and the pool was gorgeous. I was intrigued by the grotto pool accessed by going over a wooden halfmoon bridge. I suggest being very careful on it if it is wet.
This was an experience of a lifetime and worth every penny. Thank you to Lucknar and the entire staff for their hard work making it feel effortless and providing amazing memories.
The team of servers were exceptional, but Jeffrey was really the star. He was gracious and funny, interactive with our entire family. He not only made our day, we will remember that experience because of him for a very long time. And not to forget why we were there, the wine tour and food were excellent.
I've been to ALOT of wine experiences, and this was absolutely one of the best tastings of my life. The food, wine, and tour in the cellar were excellent. A+ service as well. Highly recommend.