Last Sunday evening my husband and I made our way to our favorite Southern Oregon winery to enjoy a unique evening of entertainment, wine and excellent cuisine. Located on a lovely hillside just outside of historic Jacksonville, Ore., DANCIN Vineyards offers a Tuscan-inspired tasting room, piazza, patio and picnic area surrounded by chardonnay and pinot noir vineyards. Dan and Cindy Marca purchased the property in 2007 and have focused on producing wines carefully crafted with a minimum of mechanical intervention. Grapes are hand-sorted three times on the day of harvest; the must is punched down by hand during fermentation, which relies on 100 percent native yeasts; and the wine is then gravity-fed to age in the barrels. Finally, the wines are usually bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Because we are wine club members at DANCIN, we had first crack at tickets to a winemaker’s dinner hosted at the winery celebrating the introduction of new labels for its wines. Playing off the winery’s name, the wines have always been given names related to dance and music (Chassé, Élevé, Pas de Deux, Brisé), and now the labels reflect that relationship as well, with the graceful form of a ballerina in various poses adorned in a gown which appears as a splash and swirl of wine — a lovely improvement on the presentation of award-winning wines. The dinner also celebrated recent recognition DANCIN gained, being named 2017 Oregon Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest and Southern Oregon Magazine‘s  Very Best Winery 2017.

We arrived on a cool but clear late spring evening and enjoyed the view from the patio out over the vineyards to the valley and mountains beyond.   A dance floor centered between the tables hinted at the entertainment promised between each of the evening’s six courses. The evening began with a glass of the 2016 Capriccio Chardonnay and a divine truffle custard served in an eggshell with caviar and Oregon Dungeness crab.  Dan Marca introduced each wine, and the chef described each course, making clear that most of the dinner’s ingredients were “extremely” locally sourced (such as the eggs for the custard, which came from his own chickens!). Each course began with a charming dance performed by the same ballerina (from the Bay Area) who served as the model for the new wine labels. Each number was choreographed to a Frank Sinatra song, and it added polish and appeal to an already classy evening.

We enjoyed each course and its accompanying wine: phyllo-wrapped brie with quince paste, shaved fennel, and focaccia crackers made with the discarded lees from the winemaking process, and the 2016 Chassé Chardonnay; local field greens and fresh mozarella with the 2016 Mélange Chardonnay; roasted duck confit with local polenta, roasted garlic and braised chard with the 2015 Septette Pinot Noir ; and a lovely 2015 Écarté Pinot served with beef medallions and vine-smoked Yukon Gold potatoes and bacon-wrapped artichokes.

The light slowly faded from the vineyards surrounding us as a half moon rose in the sky. Just after sunset, we were poured a taste of DANCIN’s 2012 Finale Port alongside a decadent serving of tiramisu and the new season’s strawberries with a balsamic reduction sauce . . . a perfect pairing to conclude a delightful evening.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor