Last weekend was our annual pilgrimage to Amelia Island for the Concour d'Elegance, one of the premier car shows in the country. This wonderful event is something I’ve been going to for the last 10 years or so, and I never tire of seeing some of the finest vintage cars ever made, along with many of the amazing new “exotics” on the market. And although these are cars I will never enjoy the pleasure of owning or even driving, my 9 year old son Michael, who plans on driving on Ferraris F1 team someday, goes from car to car picking out which ones will look best in his future driveway….dare to dream! Just hope I’m around long enough for him to take me for a ride in one of his Prancing Horses…

Another reason I look forward to the second weekend in March is the Saturday night before the Concour dinner with two very special friends Vince and Holly Cavallo. Vince first told me about the Concour many years ago and ever since I have packed our overnight bag. Mike and I have dinner at their house and then off to the Ritz-Carlton the next morning for a full day of auto-envy. Oh, and about that dinner, Vince also happens to have an amazing collection of vintage wines that fits in perfectly with the vintage car theme of the weekend.

This year he reached into his vault and found a couple California Chardonnays that you aren’t typically going to see on retail shelves, a 2008 Brewer-Clifton Mount Carmel Chard and a 2009 Russian River Chardonnay from Tom Dehlinger. The Brewer-Clifton we had with assorted meats and cheeses before dinner and the Dehlinger was served with the first course, linguine and scallops done in a light lemon/butter sauce…just perfect.

For the main course, which is always a great piece of beef, Vince roasted a beef tenderloin in an herb crust to a perfect medium-rare, served with assorted mushrooms in a Cabernet/tomato glaze and wild rice…it was fantastic. The wine we started with was a 1995 Chateau Lafon-Rochet from St. Estèphe, and it was a terrific match with the mushrooms and tenderloin. Not a wine of the vintage by any means, but it still had great earthy notes, rich tannins and a slightly spicy finish that really showed well with the food.

After the Lafon-Rochet, we had one of my favorite wines from one of my favorite Bordeaux vintages, a 1982 Ch. Gruaud-Larose from St. Julien. This wine is just unbelievable--been in the bottle for 30 years and still as dark and rich in color as the day it was born. Huge, massive structure that will continue to evolve for many more years, though hard to believe it could be any better than it is right now. This is the third time I’ve had this wine in the last decade or so, and it blows my mind how much better it gets each time…and then the we came to the last wine of the night, a 1986 Ch. Gruaud-Larose, but alas, we will have to save that one for another time.

Sunday at the Concour was perfect, 75 and sunny in March--the reason we all live in Florida. The cars (pieces of art) gleamed in the sunlight against the backdrop of the green, manicured fairways of the 10^th & 18^th holes where the classic cars are displayed. The many thousands of automobile aficionados admiring the beauty, history and dollar signs that these cars represent were treated to a great show and will be, like me, looking forward to next year.

Ken Amendola, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinkena