On Thursday night, I had the opportunity to dine with Robert Parker's beau-frère, Mike Etzel, who in partnership with his brother-in-law established the aptly named Beaux Frères winery in Oregon during the late eighties.

My dinner invitation came from a business vendor, whose team treated our advertising group to an evening of El Gaucho food and Beaux Frères wines. This winemaker's dinner was hosted by Etzel, who ended up sitting at our table for most of the meal, making for an interesting and enlightening experience.

I found the circumstances surrounding this free dinner a bit ironic, considering the storm that had been brewing in the wine blogosphere over the last week.

Etzel's beau-frère, Parker, has found himself in the center of a growing storm caused by the actions of Jay Miller, a Wine Advocate writer responsible for covering Pacific Northwest wine. Miller is accused of accepting free trips to Argentina while covering their wines, which is in violation of Parker's ethics policy for The Wine Advocate.

So, with Parker on my mind of late, I came into this event ready to project a lot of preconceived notions on Mike Etzel and his winery. I fully expected Etzel to start calling out the 90+ points his wines had scored, or to pontificate on why his wines were best, or to take issue with how wine is being covered by the blogosphere.

To my pleasant surprise and happy relief, there was none of this during the evening I shared with Mike.

The only mention made of his brother-in-law was a brief one, when Mike described the history of the winery's founding and the reason for the name. While seated at our table, Mike focused much of the initial conversation on getting to know us, asking about our experiences with wine and our familiarity with Oregon pinot in general and his wines in particular.

One of the things that immediately impressed me about Mike was his casual and informal style. I've been to winemaker dinners where the host is either far too technical or too intrusive when commenting on his or her wines. Mike struck a nice balance by connecting us to his wines with a layman's description of each vintage and vineyard.

In fact, it seemed Mike was most interested in letting his wines speak for themselves and then hearing what folks had to say about each. This was the case when we first tasted his grenache and pinot noir blend, a terrific wine that is private labeled as "Grenoir" and available at PCC markets.

This being my first time to experience Beaux Frères, I was really excited to try Mike's 2007 pinots against those he made from the previous vintage. I really enjoyed comparing the '06 and '07 Upper Terrace pinots, which prompted an interesting comment from Mike.

While discussing the two vintages, Mike stated a preference for the 2007s, as these offered a style more to his liking. I wholeheartedly agree.

The grand finale consisted of two magnums from the 2002 vintage, a Belles Soeurs 2002 Ana Vineyard Pinot Noir and a Beaux Frères 2002 The Beaux Frères Vineyard Pinot Noir. Although neither wine really appealed to me, I enjoyed tasting them both and thinking about the year 2002, which was when my first daughter was born.

As to El Gaucho's food, the number of courses and portion sizes seemed a bit over-the-top. I thought the grilled wild Alaskan king salmon was a standout dish, but everything else seemed a bit overplayed. Even still, the service at El Gaucho is excellent and the attention to detail impressive.

Here are the details of each course and wine pairing transposed from the menu:

Tenderloin Carpaccio Crostini with Arugula and Truffle Oil
2007, Private Label, Grenache & Pinot Noir Blend, Willamette Valley

Warm Portabello Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts
2007, Beaux Frères, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Grilled Wild Alaskan King Salmon with Wild Rice & Pinot Noir Beurre Rouge
2006, Beaux Frères, Pinot Noir, The Beaux Frères Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge

Chateaubriand with Crispy Polenta Cake and Crimini Mushroom Au Jus
2006, Beaux Frères, Pinot Noir, The Upper Terrace, Ribbon Ridge
2007, Beaux Frères, Pinot Noir, The Upper Terrace, Ribbon Ridge

Signature El Gaucho Fruit and Coastal Cheddar Cheese

2002, Beaux Frères, Pinot Noir, The Beaux Frères Vineyard
2002, Belles Soeurs, Pinot Noir, Ana Vineyard

Poached Pears with Whisky Praline Ice Cream & Whipped Marscarpone

Overall, I really enjoyed meeting Mike and tasting his 2007 wines. Unfortunately, at $50, $80, and $90, the 2007 Beaux Frères pinots are too expensive for my budget. But I am definitely going to try to find the 2007 Granoir soon, which retails for under $15.