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Vin48’s warm and tasty offerings

Suzanne Hoffmann
Special to the Daily
Vin48's ahi carpaccio with tobiko five ways, Japanese mayonnaise, sriracha and cilantro.
Dominique Taylor Photography/taylordmedia@icloud.com
Vin48
  • 48 E. Beaver Creek Blvd, Avon
  • 970-748-WINE
  • vin48.com
Price
  • Snacks start at $9; large plates start at $24
Ambiance
  • Modern mountain setting serving seasonal, Colorado cuisinern
Signature dish
  • Pork du Jour

In December 2007, three local gastronomic professionals created Vin48, a hybrid wine bar and restaurant that quickly became a year-round culinary and vinous favorite of locals and Vail Valley visitors.

Early in its storied life, Vin48 earned its stellar gastronomic reputation for an ever-changing, seasonal menu of creative mountain cuisine with an international twist, delivering new and exciting dining experiences every season. The concise menu structure of snacks, small plates from the sea and land, large plates, and of course, scrumptious desserts provide extensive opportunities for the culinary team to innovate — and diners to rejoice — whether nibbling with a glass of wine at the bar or enjoying a full meal at table.

Mountain View pork meatballs with smoked applesauce, spiced wine gastrique and apple cider-goat cheese crema.
Dominique Taylor Photography/taylordmedia@icloud.com

Executive Chef Tim McCaw’s less-is-more approach of seeking simple, exceptional ingredients creates explosions of flavor in all the dishes. There’s no rush in the preparation of the pappardelle small plate. Hours of slow cooking with heritage Berkshire pork, beef short rib, spicy Italian sausage, toasted garlic, and plum tomatoes produce a flavorsome ragu for the thin ribbons of house-made pappardelle.



Chef McCaw describes the pork meatballs small plate as “our play on the classic pork chops and applesauce.” Ground Heritage Berkshire Pork from Mountain View Pork in Meeker, Colorado — the source of all the restaurant’s pork — is blended with caramelized Granny Smith apples, roasted shallots and sage. The meatballs are served over house-made smoked Granny Smith applesauce and given a light coating of spiced-wine gastrique, apple cider goat cheese crema that balances the palate, making it impossible to resist the next bite.

From the sea, Chef McCaw’s ahi tuna carpaccio with dollops of tobiko — flying fish roe — gets an infusion of umami flavor from sweet and savory Japanese mayonnaise.

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Creative, delectable cuisine deserves pairings of the same consideration and quality. From his cellar of over five hundred distinct labels, partner and wine director Greg Eynon curates an impressive list of under-discovered wine regions, producers and grape varieties blended with better-known vinous choices. This season, he’s excited to pour Chiara Condello’s Lo Stalisco 2018, a 100% Sangiovese di Predappio from the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Eynon describes the wine he recommends to pair with the pappardelle small plate as “one of the most profound wines” he’s had on the list lately. “I love the elegant and slightly saline mineral expression of this wine,” he added. To pair the ahi tuna, Eynon looks to Hungary for a dry Furmint from Tokaj-Hetszolo.

Pistachio-crusted chicken with Springer Farms breast, rice soubise, brown chicken demi-glace, butternut squash and kale.
Dominique Taylor Photography/taylordmedia@icloud.com

Eynon takes great care choosing which 32 wines he offers by the glass from the Enomatic preservation and dispensing system, a dominant feature in the restaurant’s vibrant, signature bar. The wide selection of by-the-glass wines — also offered by the bottle — provides an opportunity for diners to explore pairing each plate with a different, interesting wine. The amalgamation of delicious food, carefully structured wine and cocktail offerings, and stellar, warm service with breathtaking views of Beaver Creek’s slopes offers the exclamation point we all need after a tiring but exhilarating day in the Colorado Rockies. 


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