Ben Parsons brings Infinite Monkey Theorem Wines to Arugula tonight

Five years ago Ben Parsons opened a winery in an old quonset hut just off Santa Fe Drive, and used Colorado-grown grapes to make wines in this unlikely setting. Last year, he moved his winery to a 30,000 square-foot facility in RiNo, where he also opened a tasting room. And Colorado has definitely developed a taste for Infinite Monkey Theorem wines. At tonight’s local winemaker dinner at Arugula, chefs Alec Schuler and Sven Hedenas will pair their courses with five of Parsons’s wines — and he’ll be on hand to talk about them, including 100th Monkey, which received the highest score given by Wine Spectator to a wine from Colorado.

Dish: White balsamic dressed baby lettuces*, Charentais melon*, Armenian cucumber* 
and spiced roasted almonds; topped with seared Nantucket bay scallops

Wine: The Blind Watchmaker White, Viognier/Rousanne 2012

Dish: Seared wild Alaskan salmon over orecchiette pasta in corn* cream
 with roasted peppers*; topped with a petite fresh herb* salad

Wine: The Blind Watchmaker Red, Syrah/Petite Verdot 2011

Dish: Bacon* wrapped pork tenderloin* roasted with apples*; served in its 
natural jus with pecorino pepato gratinéed delicate squash*

Wine: Syrah 2012

Dish: Seared rare venison with roasted carrot*, new potato* and oyster
mushroom* medley and blackberry-red wine* demi glace

Wine: 100th Monkey, Malbec/Petite Syrah/Petite Verdot/Cabernet Franc 2010

Dish: Lemon pudding cake with toasted pine nuts, mint sorbet* and fresh berries

Wine: Orange Muscat 2012

*denotes local products For more information, go to arugularistorante.com.

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