We had a few friends over the other evening for a six-course Holiday dinner, featuring Mediterranean food and wine. My wife and daughter put together the menu, and I had the fun of pairing wines that would compliment each course. I also enjoyed helping with the prep work and cooking of the food which took over 8 hours of time prior to the start of the party. We finished the prep work about an hour before the first guests arrived, and from there it ended up being a fantastic evening. I have listed out each course and the wines that I paired with them, and the food and wine complimented one another wonderfully.

Course 1: Cheese Biscoitos with Cayenne Pepper (homemade cheese crackers) with Chevre Cheese, Walnuts & Drizzled Honey – paired with La Marca Prosecco

Course 2: Bacon Wrapped Dried Figs Drizzled with Honey – paired with 2011 Sonnenband Riesling

Course 3: Shrimp Bruschetta served on toasted Foccacia Bread – paired with 2010 Maso Canali Pinot Grigio

Course 4: Smoked Basque Chorizo with Chickpea Tapenade served on toasted Foccacia Bread – paired with 2011 Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages

Course 5: Beef Carpaccio with shaved Parmesan Cheese wrapped with Butter Leaf Lettuce – paired with 2009 Toscana Tenuta Luce Della Vite

Course 6: Strawberries with Mascarpone & Sugared Mint – paired with Luccio Moscato d’Asti

Happy Holiday’s!

Jon

Cheese and wine seem like a perfect match, and for the most part they are. Both cheese and wine are complex foods, and there are a plethora of both available to us. However, not all wines and cheese go together. Below are some basic guidelines when pairing cheese and wine, as well as what wines and cheeses pair well together:
   ~ White wines pair well with softer cheese and those that taste stronger.
   ~ Red wines pair well with hard cheeses and milder tasting.
   ~ Sweet and fruity tasting wines go well with just about any cheese pairing.
   ~ The stronger smelling cheeses pair the best with sweeter wines.

The next time that you want to pair cheese and wine, remember the simple guidelines mentioned above.

Listed below are recommended cheese and wine pairings:

Jon

With the Holiday season upon us, pairing the right wine with your Holiday meal is important. For Thanksgiving, most of us will stick with the traditional dinner of turkey and stuffing, with all of the fixings that go with it. So what wines would pair well with Turkey? There are a few options of both white and red wines that would compliment the dinner.

But before we get into the dinner wines, I like to begin with an aperitif, and during the holiday’s I enjoy a glass of Champagne or sparkling  wine. If you don’t go for the Champagne, try a Prosecco from northern Italy, made from the Prosecco grape variety, or a Cava from the  Penedes region of southern Spain. Both are produced in the same traditional fashion as is Champagne, but in both instances different grape  varieties are used. I like to add a couple of fresh red raspberries to my glass to add color and a slight hint of berry flavor to the bubbly.
With traditional Thanksgiving turkey I would recommend a white wine, and my first recommendation is Sauvignon Blanc. With the aroma and flavor characteristics of citrus and herbs, this would be a great choice to accompany the turkey. Another white wine for Thanksgiving dinner is a wine that not many people are familiar with, Viognier. This grape variety is very aromatic, with aromas and flavors of white peaches, Granny Smith apples, and tropical fruits. Both of these white wines would go very well with the turkey and fixings.
Not many people would think to pair a red wine with poultry, but there are a number of red wines that would compliment the dinner well. The first wine that comes to mind would be Beaujolais, made from the Gamay grape variety. Beaujolais is a district located in Burgundy, France. The characteristics of this wine is one of being light-bodied, with ripe red fruit on the nose and palate. Another red wine would be a Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir is a bit heavier than the Beaujolais, but would still pair up very well. Some of the characteristics of a Pinot Noir would be strawberries, red raspberries, cherries, and earthiness. Both of these wines would compliment your Thanksgiving dinner very well.
One always has to leave some room for dessert on Thanksgiving, and a great wine to pair with dessert would be a Moscato d’Asti, a sweet sparkling wine from the Piedmont region of northern Italy that would go well with any traditional dessert. This delicious dessert wine is light, and very fruit forward, with a low alcohol content of only 5-7%, and it won’t fill you up after a full day of eating good food.
I hope that you enjoy these Holiday wines for Thanksgiving, and from me and my family I would like to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Jon

On a recent trip to Napa Valley I stopped in the tasting room of Rutherford Ranch, located along the Silverado Trail. After sampling several of their wines I purchased a bottle of the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. This wine was a nice, crisp, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc with aromas of fresh citrus, and a slight hint of cut grass. In the mouth were the flavors of lemon zest, pink grapefruit, and a slight grassiness. The acidity of this wine was good, and it had a nice, clean finish. I paired this wine with a Lemon Orzo Soup, and seared Ahi Tuna. The pairing was wonderful.

Jon