This may come as a bit of a surprise, but did you know that Utah’s newest winery is located in Northern Utah? Yep. In Pleasant View, just north of Ogden to be exact. That’s the new home of Purple Sky Winery, which opened to the public this past spring.
The Head Winemaker at Purple Sky Winery is David MaKieve, who has a chemistry background, and received a degree in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis’ renowned wine program. He both worked at and consulted with prestigious Napa and Sonoma wineries such as Cakebread Cellars, Baker Family Wines, and others. He was recruited by Purple Sky Winery owner Simon Goe to make wine with grapes actually grown here in Northern Utah, and the first bottlings took place this year.
The Purple Sky wines are excellent and wine lovers should definitely make the journey to Pleasant View to check them out. But in addition to winemaking, Purple Sky Winery has a very posh restaurant and bar which leans towards French fare during dinner, and less formal lunch is served indoors or outside on the sun-drenched deck, which is where we chose to dine during a recent lunch visit.
Petite Charcuterie
A great start to any meal at Purple Sky Winery is the Petite Charcuterie platter ($18) – there is a larger version for $25 – featuring a curated selection of both local and imported cheeses, cured meats, olives, breads, stoneground mustard, crackers, breadsticks and more. I was particularly fond of the Port Salut cheese included in the platter – it’s one of my favorites. Additional lunch starters include Citrus-poached Gulf Shrimp with housemade cocktail sauce ($18), a Cast Iron Spinach-Artichoke Bake ($14), and one called Siren’s Flame ($20), which is charred Gulf Shrimp tossed in a vibrant fra diavolo sauce with tomatoes, garlic-chile confit, house white wine and sourdough crostini.
Salade d’Endives
My wife and her sister shared a Salade d’Endives ($22) that they enjoyed very much: endive and arugula tossed with walnuts, bleu cheese, apricots, blackberries, and finished with a creamy dressing featuring Lemon Skyr yogurt from Iceland. Other salad options on the current menu include Baby Gem Lettuce ($15) with soft boiled egg and Caesar emulsion; a Maison Wedge ($18) with gorgonzola dressing; and Estate Greens ($15) – heirloom lettuce blend with shaved seasonal veggies, Champagne vinaigrette and sea salt.
Cured Salmon Sandwich
A member of our little lunch party loved his simple but sensational Cured Salmon sandwich ($15), which was house-cured salmon with French cream cheese and cornichons on delicious ciabatta bread and a choice of frites or house salad. Also on the sandwich board is Chicken Parmesan ($18); slow-roasted prime rib French Dip on a French baguette ($18); and one called Bit of Napoli ($18), which is artisan Italian cured meats, aged provolone, pickled jalapeño, red onion, iceberg lettuce, pepperoncini and spicy vinaigrette.
Purple Sky Burger
Burger lovers will definitely want to get their lips around the Purple Sky Burger ($25), made with a Wagyu beef patty, caramelized onion, and sundried tomatoes layered onto a toasted brioche bun with demi-glace reduction. It’s a bodacious burger.
I’m itching to return to Purple Sky Winery for dinner. Highlights from the dinner menu include Caviar Service ($80); Fire Kissed Bone Marrow ($25); Steak Frites ($60); Shrimp Provencale ($23); Golden Seared Branzino ($38), North Sea Salmon ($34) herb-crusted local Lamb Chops ($36) and Forest Herb Pesto Pappardelle ($23).
Photos by Ted Scheffler & Courtesy of Purple Sky Winery
Culinary quote of the week: “Age is just a number. It’s totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine.” – Joan Collins
