Well the holiday season is upon us and the urge to rouse, gather, imbibe and gyrate never goes away. Many have decided to suspend their usual holiday parties in an effort to appear politically correct. In my opinion, now is the time to host your client appreciation event so that you stand out from your competitors.
I am doing many events all over the country that deliver Great Value for a modest investment. To inquire check out my new website and see what people are saying.
I achieve this by doing wine and hors d'ouevres parties rather than expensive dinners. Accordingly the wines I select are the more affordable varieties from regions or styles that your guests will enjoy discovering.
Here are my "Top 10" suggestions that will identify you as being a true Power Entertainer who is up on the latest trends in wines:
Prosecco from Italy/ CAVA from Spain: Everyone feels special when you start with bubbles and you can achieve this very reasonably ($10-20) with these sparklers. Prosecco is slightly less bubbly and CAVA offers great value. One of my favorites is Segura Viudas Reserve that sells for $19.00…this one always hits the mark and the bottle is stunningly packaged.
Grüner Veltliner from Austria: Here is a versatile "food-friendly" white that is quite popular with us sommeliers. Good ones identify themselves with a distinct "white pepper" nose. Most of these can be had for less than $20.
Dry German Rieslings: Not all rieslings are sweet. Some of the best food wines I know are the "dry-style" Rieslings labeled Halbtrocken (semi-dry) and Trocken (very dry). If you want to sample some of the best of these you simply have to go to Truly Fine Wines. Ask them to ship you a sampler 6 pack and you will see what I mean. Very reasonably priced!
Torrontés from Argentina: Here is a delightful wine that hasn't yet been widely discovered and offers great value (less than $15). The Torrontés grape reminds me of Viognier with its hints of peach, flowers and orange. Ask your retailer for ones with vibrant acidity and your guests will be impressed.
South African Sauvignon Blanc: On a recent trip to South Africa with my fellow Master Sommeliers I was quite impressed with the style of sauvignon blancs I saw in this region (sort of in between New Zealand's racy acidities and fuller bodied Loire Sancerres). Serve these and you will stand out!
Let's not forget the Reds:
Portuguese Reds from Douro region: These are my style wines (delicate, feminine, and balanced) and ideally suited for food. If, like me you are tired of those over-oaked, alcoholic, highly extracted food-killers that dominate so many retail shelves then these are for you. Start with the reds from the Douro region where the blend is from Tinta Amarela, Touriga Francesa and Tinta Roriz vines. If you like finesse you will see what I mean.
Chinon and Bourgueil from the Loire Valley (France): The Cabernet Franc based wines express themselves so well due to their high acidity. Once there, sign up for their newsletter as it will keep you current with his ever-changing selection of French and Italian country wines. Kermit Lynch (Berkeley, Calif.) is an artist in discovering lesser known wine from France and Italy. You all deserve to explore his "great value" portfolio. Put him in your favorite's folder.
Malbec from Argentina: Here are crowd-pleasers who are looking for massive reds at great prices. Great with any char-grilled meats. One of my favorites is El Felino by Paul Hobbs winery in Mendoza at around $19.00
Want to be controversial? Do you think that many chardonnays lack sufficient acid? Do you think many New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are off the charts with their acidities? Then maybe you ought to try Tarriquet 2007 "Cote" Gascogne (50% Chardonnay; 50% Sauvignon Blanc) At around $12.99 I think it is worth a try…low alcohol (12.5%), slightly spritzy), a great aperitif wine.
Not only are these wines great values but they also offer you ammunition to Power Entertain. Anyone can do a Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir party. You don't want look like anybody do you? So insert the element of surprise, raise your entertaining bar and be in the 1 % of executives who practice this.
If your local retailer doesn't have these wines, they can order them. If that isn't possible then you simply go the Web-Searcher website - it's free. Simply enter the wine you are looking for with its vintage and up will pop a dozen or so offerings from around the US that are sitting on shelves waiting for you.
Got Power tools? Everyone needs a dozen crystal wine glasses and right now Amazon.com is doing one of their sales on Spiegelau glasses. Right now, Grande red wine glasses at 57% off!!!!
Well that's all for now. I encourage you to push the envelope over the holidays. Serve people something different - use my "Foodie websites" list of great internet sites that have stuff that will dazzle your guests - provided you get it to them in the 1st 30 minutes. If you don't have the list, email or call me and I will send it to you.
I still have openings on my calendar if you want to create a memorable event at affordable prices.
Taste Life Now!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
What Makes A Wine Tick?
Wine is a beverage whose intent is to "provoke pleasure". Tasting wine determines just how much pleasure is provoked or, not provoked which is often the case.
Wine is a libation that possesses 4 elementary tastes along with another savory/tactile sensation known as UMAMI that I will discuss another time. The sweet taste results from natural grape sugars and the presence of alcohol. These elements play important roles in determining the overall sweetness of wines. Glycerine also contributes to the sweet taste, and to the mellowness of a wine. The sour taste, referred to by wine tasters as the acid taste, is a result of various organic acids. This is what gives "freshness" and "life" to wines. The salty taste plays only a minor role in wines because its presence, due to mineral salts in the soil, is practically imperceptible. The bitter taste, resulting from compounds known as tannins, gives red wines both their skeletal structure and long life.
For anyone tasting wine, certain confusion almost always exists when it comes to describing accurately the sensations that manifest themselves in one's mouth. To remove the ambiguity surrounding the tasting of wine, an accurate method for measuring the quality of wine is needed. The method I propose is called "The Systematic Approach", the method used at the Université de Bordeaux where I went to school. Once you learn it, it should make matters simpler when trying to verbalize your impressions of how a wine tastes.
This approach takes into account the lag in sequence of taste sensations, and structures it so that it becomes accurate and measurable. When you take a sip of wine, your first impressions are quite elementary--either you like it or you dislike it. If you allow the wine to remain in your mouth a few seconds longer, these first impressions are followed by secondary impressions, which should be similar to your first impressions. Lastly, when you swallow the wine, the final impressions should serve to confirm the taste impressions you had when the wine was in the mouth. Look at it this way: As the wine enters the mouth, it announces its presence with an initial impression. Call this the attack. You must then keep the wine on the tongue and concentrate on whether or not you receive continued stimulation. Call this the evolution. Now, you look to see if the initial impression evolves or develops more flavor intensity. This may cover a short period of time (one second) or a longer one (four-to-five seconds), depending on the wine. Lastly, you look at the finish (aftertaste) of the wine. This is the stage where the wine impregnates your mouth with its final sensation, either a positive one or a negative one. The attack of a wine is judged in the first two seconds; the evolution occurs immediately after that and may last several seconds. Upon swallowing, the finish can be short-lived or long, depending upon the wine's concentration of flavor.
As a wine enters the mouth, the first impression you receive is the degree of sweetness in the wine - mostly because the tip of your tongue, which measures sweetness, is affected first. At this point, you must "wait a couple of seconds" before you can perceive the tingling sensation caused by the wine's acidity. Sweetness tends to retard your ability to perceive acidity, hence the slight time lag. Because the taste buds responsible for detecting bitterness are on the back of the tongue, a wine's bitterness isn't perceived until you actually swallow it.
Essentially, there are three elementary tastes responsible for a wine's flavor: sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. It is the interrelation of these elements that makes a wine tick!
All red wines, for example, have some sourness (per the grape acidity) and bitterness (per the grape tannins); and without the neutralizing effect of sweetness (grape sugars/alcohol), they would taste sharp and biting. When these elements are in good balance, you have an excellent wine. Some years, if the grapes don't ripen due to the lack of sunshine, they lack sufficient sweetness to balance-out the acidity and tannins present. The result is an unharmonious wine, slightly sour, with a rough finish.
Everyone's fingerprints are different and so are the ways their taste buds are configured. Hence, no one tastes a wine the same as everyone else. It is your personal taste that dictates quality…for YOU. You must learn to go with what you like. Pay no attention to anyone else!
What is important to me is that regardless of whether you like red, pink or white wine…can you tell if the wine is balanced…if you can, you are way ahead of most consumers. Most consumers are doing just that….consuming rather than tasting.
Cheers, Eddie
Learn some more great wine and entertainment advice by going to vinojester.com
Wine is a libation that possesses 4 elementary tastes along with another savory/tactile sensation known as UMAMI that I will discuss another time. The sweet taste results from natural grape sugars and the presence of alcohol. These elements play important roles in determining the overall sweetness of wines. Glycerine also contributes to the sweet taste, and to the mellowness of a wine. The sour taste, referred to by wine tasters as the acid taste, is a result of various organic acids. This is what gives "freshness" and "life" to wines. The salty taste plays only a minor role in wines because its presence, due to mineral salts in the soil, is practically imperceptible. The bitter taste, resulting from compounds known as tannins, gives red wines both their skeletal structure and long life.
For anyone tasting wine, certain confusion almost always exists when it comes to describing accurately the sensations that manifest themselves in one's mouth. To remove the ambiguity surrounding the tasting of wine, an accurate method for measuring the quality of wine is needed. The method I propose is called "The Systematic Approach", the method used at the Université de Bordeaux where I went to school. Once you learn it, it should make matters simpler when trying to verbalize your impressions of how a wine tastes.
This approach takes into account the lag in sequence of taste sensations, and structures it so that it becomes accurate and measurable. When you take a sip of wine, your first impressions are quite elementary--either you like it or you dislike it. If you allow the wine to remain in your mouth a few seconds longer, these first impressions are followed by secondary impressions, which should be similar to your first impressions. Lastly, when you swallow the wine, the final impressions should serve to confirm the taste impressions you had when the wine was in the mouth. Look at it this way: As the wine enters the mouth, it announces its presence with an initial impression. Call this the attack. You must then keep the wine on the tongue and concentrate on whether or not you receive continued stimulation. Call this the evolution. Now, you look to see if the initial impression evolves or develops more flavor intensity. This may cover a short period of time (one second) or a longer one (four-to-five seconds), depending on the wine. Lastly, you look at the finish (aftertaste) of the wine. This is the stage where the wine impregnates your mouth with its final sensation, either a positive one or a negative one. The attack of a wine is judged in the first two seconds; the evolution occurs immediately after that and may last several seconds. Upon swallowing, the finish can be short-lived or long, depending upon the wine's concentration of flavor.
As a wine enters the mouth, the first impression you receive is the degree of sweetness in the wine - mostly because the tip of your tongue, which measures sweetness, is affected first. At this point, you must "wait a couple of seconds" before you can perceive the tingling sensation caused by the wine's acidity. Sweetness tends to retard your ability to perceive acidity, hence the slight time lag. Because the taste buds responsible for detecting bitterness are on the back of the tongue, a wine's bitterness isn't perceived until you actually swallow it.
Essentially, there are three elementary tastes responsible for a wine's flavor: sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. It is the interrelation of these elements that makes a wine tick!
All red wines, for example, have some sourness (per the grape acidity) and bitterness (per the grape tannins); and without the neutralizing effect of sweetness (grape sugars/alcohol), they would taste sharp and biting. When these elements are in good balance, you have an excellent wine. Some years, if the grapes don't ripen due to the lack of sunshine, they lack sufficient sweetness to balance-out the acidity and tannins present. The result is an unharmonious wine, slightly sour, with a rough finish.
Everyone's fingerprints are different and so are the ways their taste buds are configured. Hence, no one tastes a wine the same as everyone else. It is your personal taste that dictates quality…for YOU. You must learn to go with what you like. Pay no attention to anyone else!
What is important to me is that regardless of whether you like red, pink or white wine…can you tell if the wine is balanced…if you can, you are way ahead of most consumers. Most consumers are doing just that….consuming rather than tasting.
Cheers, Eddie
Learn some more great wine and entertainment advice by going to vinojester.com
Monday, February 23, 2009
Is Buying Your Wine Online a Good Idea?
Are you buying your wine online...I do !
Just back from China where I conducted a dozen programs in 5 different cities….fascinating! I met so many new, "under 40" millionaires who want to display their wealth by entertaining with wine and food. They like Bordeaux best because it is the most expensive, the color red in China is lucky and they understand it is good for one's health. My observations of many drinking it with fish (out of shot glasses) indicated that there's a lot of room for improvement (LOL).
I am often asked "where do you shop for wine?" Allow me to shed some light on this subject. You may recall that I break my wine tasting occasions into 3 levels.
1. Beverage (Everyday wines…up to $15 a bottle)
2. Better (Wines for weekends with good friends….up to $35 a bottle)
3. Best ( Wines that take your breath away for your "foodie" friends who recognize excellence…$75 and up a bottle)
Beverage wines are easily found at the large chain liquor stores. If you are fortunate to have a Trader Joe's in your area, you are lucky. Their buyers are very skilled and their selection and value of International wines is spot-on. Better wines are found at your favorite wine shops. COSTCO has the best prices of all….they are the largest wine retailer in the US.
Best wines are the challenge. Some wines are severely allocated. Wines with high scores or those "collector items" vanish the day any press comes out. That said, you need to act fast whenever you taste or hear of something great. One of my favorite websites is www.wine-searcher.com . Here, you simply type in the desired wine, and just like Google it will show you where these bottles exist. It is free, but I suggest you invest $29.00 for the pro-version and you will get a better selection from around the country…this is a "must-have" for any of you who want to get in on the wines that stun your guests.
More than 80 % of my cellared wines are from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy and Germany and here is where I buy them.
Wine Exchange: www.winex.com
Premier Cru: www.premiercru.com
The Wine Club: www.thewineclub.com
K & L wines: www.klwines.com
The Burgundy Wine Company: www.burgundywinecompany.com
This store is operated in a similar fashion as do British wine merchants and has an incredible selection from Burgundy, Rhone and Oregon. You must check them out if in New York City. Get on their email list!
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant: www.kermitlynch.com. Here is one of my favorite wine merchants. What's fabulous about this store is that Kermit sources Old World wines that range from $10 - $30 that offer uniqueness (do you drink AOC Irouleguy or St. Chinian?) and superb value. Get this guy's monthly catalog and you will always have stuff that will impress and educate your guests.
Truly Fine Wine: www.trulyfinewine.com. One of the greatest food wines in the world is Rielsing from Germany. The best of these food wines are the dry style "halb trocken" and "trocken". Here is a new company that has some of the finest selections of these wines at extremely reasonable prices. Check out their website and order a sampler pack from Damon.
These wine companies supply me with most of my wines. I love shopping with Wine-searcher.com to find the most competitive prices. Don't overlook your local wine shop owner who will call you to remind you of your favorites and when they will be released. If these aren't enough, I am including a great article by Jon Bonné from Food & Wine magazine who mentions some of his favorite online wine shops as well.
Remember to buy wines "in pairs" for comparison. Serve wines that most people have never had so that they learn something from your efforts. Chill your reds (65°) and make sure they taste the best foods and wines within the first 30 minutes and you'll own them!
From 10 Best Online Wine Shops
From mega-Web sites to tiny, quirky specialists, these e-merchants can procure great wines in top condition.
By Jon Bonné
Despite years of shopping for wine on the internet, I still can’t quite get used to the idea. Wine, after all, isn’t like a book or CD. Holding a bottle, inspecting its label—you just can’t replicate that experience inside a browser window. Yet I do most of my wine buying online. Why?
For starters, the comparison shopping is unbeatable. With search engines like Wine-searcher.com and Google (which most retailers love), you no longer have to go to the Montrachet; the Montrachet will come to you. Cross-referencing the latest scores and top recommendations is blissfully easy, and especially pleasurable when you can do it at home in your bathrobe on a Saturday morning.
Certain things separate the top Web sites from the also-rans. Ease of use and good customer service matter, for a start; so does price. But ultimately, what really counts is selection. Maybe that’s why so many of the 10 terrific sites below are established retailers with online divisions: They have the best access to a wide range of wonderful wines.
The Top 10 Online Wine-Buying Web Sites
Appellation America
appellationamerica.com
This four-year-old site is the ultimate source for obscure American wines—Merlot from North Yuba, California, say, or Ohio River Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It also offers wines directly from more than 120 wineries. One to try: the appealing 2005 Bowers Harbor Vineyards Semi-Dry Riesling ($14) from Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula. Tip: A search tool parses each state’s shipping laws to determine which wines shoppers can buy.
Avalon Wine
avalonwine.com
Run out of a modest Corvallis, Oregon, wine shop of the same name, this is a comprehensive source of top Washington and Oregon wines from producers like Beaux Frères and Leonetti Cellar—though it sells great wines from obscure producers, too. Tip: Avalon’s wine clubs, like the Northwest Big Reds Club and the Reserve Pinot Noir Club (membership costs $90 per month), are a great way to access up-and-coming stars, like Oregon’s Daedalus Cellars and Washington’s O-S Winery.
Bounty Hunter Rare Wine & Provisions
bountyhunterwine.com
Mark Pope’s Bounty Hunter is a restaurant in downtown Napa, as well as a catalog and Web site featuring top Napa and Sonoma wines. One recent find: the rare 2002 Mount Veeder Progeny Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) from Marco DiGiulio, who also made the cult Lokoya wines. Tip: Download the catalog; it’s an always-enjoyable read.
Brown Derby International Wine Center
brownderby.com
Great deals in Missouri on California wines? Brown Derby owner Ron Junge uses his long-standing connections to bring great California wines like Copain Syrah home to the Show-Me State. He also offers hard-to-find gems such as the 2002 Diebolt-Vallois Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($60). Tip: Many, but not all, of the wines here have low markups. Low inventory numbers ("Only 6 left!!") are often a guide to bottles that are going fast.
Chambers Street Wines
chambersstwine.com
Owners David Lillie and Jamie Wolff are consummate wine geeks who have assembled an impressively esoteric inventory in their Manhattan store, and on their Web site, which includes lots of Loire valley wines and biodynamically grown Bordeaux, like the 2004 Château Peybonhomme-Les-Tours Premières Côtes de Blaye ($13). Tip: Check out the "Pre-Arrivals" section for Lillie and Wolff’s latest finds, like the 2001 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chênes ($78).
K&L Wine Merchants
klwines.com
Serious wine lovers have been turning to this California retailer for more than 30 years. K&L’s wine buyers not only hunt down the best from nearly every region in the world, but also sell hundreds of direct-import wines at great prices. The Web site shows real-time inventory of just how many bottles of, say, 2004 Domaines Schlumberger Saering Grand Cru Riesling ($20) are still available. Tip: Direct-import sparkling wines include terrific bargains such as Tarlant Brut Zéro Champagne ($28).
Napacabs.com
wine-club-central.com
This no-frills site isn’t actually in Napa but Chino, a small city between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Owners Tom and Kris De Grezia have access to highly allocated wines, which they offer at excellent prices. These include famous names like 2003 Ridge Monte Bello ($105), as well as lesser-known ones like 2005 Rusack Santa Barbara Pinot Noir ($19). Tip: Check out the "90+ Under $20" section for bargains like the 2005 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell Yecla ($6).
Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants
2020wines.com
Los Angeles-based owner Bob Golbahar specializes in hunting down impossible- to-find wines for impossible- to-reach clients like Jack Nicholson and Sandra Bullock. The informative and easy- to-use site includes prestige bottles like the 1997 Harlan Estate ($1,695) and the 1996 Denis Mortet Clos de Vougeot ($995), but also great deals such as the 2005 Two Hands Angel’s Share Shiraz ($29). Tip: The site contains lists of 99- and 100-point wines for those buying bottles to fill out their collections.
Vinfolio
vinfolio.com
This California wine-storage company’s recently launched Web store is packed with more than 1,500 hard-to-find wines, like the 2004 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos ($47), along with scores and average retail prices based on online data and recent auction sales. Specialists offer to help anyone looking to build a killer collection—and buy at least $10,000 worth of wine. Tip: The site lists great older bottles, like the sought-after 1989 Dominus Estate ($129).
Winecommune
winecommune.com
This is eBay for wine lovers, where frenzied bidders vie for wines like a 1979 Château Pétrus ($650) or a 1999 Screaming Eagle ($1,800). Modest bidders can score bargains, too—there’s a no-minimum section where lots open at just a buck. Handling charges nudge up the total but are still quite reasonable. Tip: Watch auctions in the "Closing Today" section and pounce on them, eBay-style.
Jon Bonné is the wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Cheers, Eddie!
Just back from China where I conducted a dozen programs in 5 different cities….fascinating! I met so many new, "under 40" millionaires who want to display their wealth by entertaining with wine and food. They like Bordeaux best because it is the most expensive, the color red in China is lucky and they understand it is good for one's health. My observations of many drinking it with fish (out of shot glasses) indicated that there's a lot of room for improvement (LOL).
I am often asked "where do you shop for wine?" Allow me to shed some light on this subject. You may recall that I break my wine tasting occasions into 3 levels.
1. Beverage (Everyday wines…up to $15 a bottle)
2. Better (Wines for weekends with good friends….up to $35 a bottle)
3. Best ( Wines that take your breath away for your "foodie" friends who recognize excellence…$75 and up a bottle)
Beverage wines are easily found at the large chain liquor stores. If you are fortunate to have a Trader Joe's in your area, you are lucky. Their buyers are very skilled and their selection and value of International wines is spot-on. Better wines are found at your favorite wine shops. COSTCO has the best prices of all….they are the largest wine retailer in the US.
Best wines are the challenge. Some wines are severely allocated. Wines with high scores or those "collector items" vanish the day any press comes out. That said, you need to act fast whenever you taste or hear of something great. One of my favorite websites is www.wine-searcher.com . Here, you simply type in the desired wine, and just like Google it will show you where these bottles exist. It is free, but I suggest you invest $29.00 for the pro-version and you will get a better selection from around the country…this is a "must-have" for any of you who want to get in on the wines that stun your guests.
More than 80 % of my cellared wines are from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy and Germany and here is where I buy them.
Wine Exchange: www.winex.com
Premier Cru: www.premiercru.com
The Wine Club: www.thewineclub.com
K & L wines: www.klwines.com
The Burgundy Wine Company: www.burgundywinecompany.com
This store is operated in a similar fashion as do British wine merchants and has an incredible selection from Burgundy, Rhone and Oregon. You must check them out if in New York City. Get on their email list!
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant: www.kermitlynch.com. Here is one of my favorite wine merchants. What's fabulous about this store is that Kermit sources Old World wines that range from $10 - $30 that offer uniqueness (do you drink AOC Irouleguy or St. Chinian?) and superb value. Get this guy's monthly catalog and you will always have stuff that will impress and educate your guests.
Truly Fine Wine: www.trulyfinewine.com. One of the greatest food wines in the world is Rielsing from Germany. The best of these food wines are the dry style "halb trocken" and "trocken". Here is a new company that has some of the finest selections of these wines at extremely reasonable prices. Check out their website and order a sampler pack from Damon.
These wine companies supply me with most of my wines. I love shopping with Wine-searcher.com to find the most competitive prices. Don't overlook your local wine shop owner who will call you to remind you of your favorites and when they will be released. If these aren't enough, I am including a great article by Jon Bonné from Food & Wine magazine who mentions some of his favorite online wine shops as well.
Remember to buy wines "in pairs" for comparison. Serve wines that most people have never had so that they learn something from your efforts. Chill your reds (65°) and make sure they taste the best foods and wines within the first 30 minutes and you'll own them!
From 10 Best Online Wine Shops
From mega-Web sites to tiny, quirky specialists, these e-merchants can procure great wines in top condition.
By Jon Bonné
Despite years of shopping for wine on the internet, I still can’t quite get used to the idea. Wine, after all, isn’t like a book or CD. Holding a bottle, inspecting its label—you just can’t replicate that experience inside a browser window. Yet I do most of my wine buying online. Why?
For starters, the comparison shopping is unbeatable. With search engines like Wine-searcher.com and Google (which most retailers love), you no longer have to go to the Montrachet; the Montrachet will come to you. Cross-referencing the latest scores and top recommendations is blissfully easy, and especially pleasurable when you can do it at home in your bathrobe on a Saturday morning.
Certain things separate the top Web sites from the also-rans. Ease of use and good customer service matter, for a start; so does price. But ultimately, what really counts is selection. Maybe that’s why so many of the 10 terrific sites below are established retailers with online divisions: They have the best access to a wide range of wonderful wines.
The Top 10 Online Wine-Buying Web Sites
Appellation America
appellationamerica.com
This four-year-old site is the ultimate source for obscure American wines—Merlot from North Yuba, California, say, or Ohio River Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It also offers wines directly from more than 120 wineries. One to try: the appealing 2005 Bowers Harbor Vineyards Semi-Dry Riesling ($14) from Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula. Tip: A search tool parses each state’s shipping laws to determine which wines shoppers can buy.
Avalon Wine
avalonwine.com
Run out of a modest Corvallis, Oregon, wine shop of the same name, this is a comprehensive source of top Washington and Oregon wines from producers like Beaux Frères and Leonetti Cellar—though it sells great wines from obscure producers, too. Tip: Avalon’s wine clubs, like the Northwest Big Reds Club and the Reserve Pinot Noir Club (membership costs $90 per month), are a great way to access up-and-coming stars, like Oregon’s Daedalus Cellars and Washington’s O-S Winery.
Bounty Hunter Rare Wine & Provisions
bountyhunterwine.com
Mark Pope’s Bounty Hunter is a restaurant in downtown Napa, as well as a catalog and Web site featuring top Napa and Sonoma wines. One recent find: the rare 2002 Mount Veeder Progeny Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) from Marco DiGiulio, who also made the cult Lokoya wines. Tip: Download the catalog; it’s an always-enjoyable read.
Brown Derby International Wine Center
brownderby.com
Great deals in Missouri on California wines? Brown Derby owner Ron Junge uses his long-standing connections to bring great California wines like Copain Syrah home to the Show-Me State. He also offers hard-to-find gems such as the 2002 Diebolt-Vallois Blanc de Blancs Champagne ($60). Tip: Many, but not all, of the wines here have low markups. Low inventory numbers ("Only 6 left!!") are often a guide to bottles that are going fast.
Chambers Street Wines
chambersstwine.com
Owners David Lillie and Jamie Wolff are consummate wine geeks who have assembled an impressively esoteric inventory in their Manhattan store, and on their Web site, which includes lots of Loire valley wines and biodynamically grown Bordeaux, like the 2004 Château Peybonhomme-Les-Tours Premières Côtes de Blaye ($13). Tip: Check out the "Pre-Arrivals" section for Lillie and Wolff’s latest finds, like the 2001 Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay Clos des Chênes ($78).
K&L Wine Merchants
klwines.com
Serious wine lovers have been turning to this California retailer for more than 30 years. K&L’s wine buyers not only hunt down the best from nearly every region in the world, but also sell hundreds of direct-import wines at great prices. The Web site shows real-time inventory of just how many bottles of, say, 2004 Domaines Schlumberger Saering Grand Cru Riesling ($20) are still available. Tip: Direct-import sparkling wines include terrific bargains such as Tarlant Brut Zéro Champagne ($28).
Napacabs.com
wine-club-central.com
This no-frills site isn’t actually in Napa but Chino, a small city between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Owners Tom and Kris De Grezia have access to highly allocated wines, which they offer at excellent prices. These include famous names like 2003 Ridge Monte Bello ($105), as well as lesser-known ones like 2005 Rusack Santa Barbara Pinot Noir ($19). Tip: Check out the "90+ Under $20" section for bargains like the 2005 Bodegas Castaño Monastrell Yecla ($6).
Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants
2020wines.com
Los Angeles-based owner Bob Golbahar specializes in hunting down impossible- to-find wines for impossible- to-reach clients like Jack Nicholson and Sandra Bullock. The informative and easy- to-use site includes prestige bottles like the 1997 Harlan Estate ($1,695) and the 1996 Denis Mortet Clos de Vougeot ($995), but also great deals such as the 2005 Two Hands Angel’s Share Shiraz ($29). Tip: The site contains lists of 99- and 100-point wines for those buying bottles to fill out their collections.
Vinfolio
vinfolio.com
This California wine-storage company’s recently launched Web store is packed with more than 1,500 hard-to-find wines, like the 2004 Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos ($47), along with scores and average retail prices based on online data and recent auction sales. Specialists offer to help anyone looking to build a killer collection—and buy at least $10,000 worth of wine. Tip: The site lists great older bottles, like the sought-after 1989 Dominus Estate ($129).
Winecommune
winecommune.com
This is eBay for wine lovers, where frenzied bidders vie for wines like a 1979 Château Pétrus ($650) or a 1999 Screaming Eagle ($1,800). Modest bidders can score bargains, too—there’s a no-minimum section where lots open at just a buck. Handling charges nudge up the total but are still quite reasonable. Tip: Watch auctions in the "Closing Today" section and pounce on them, eBay-style.
Jon Bonné is the wine editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Cheers, Eddie!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Food & Wine Pairing Made Simple
The 10 Commandments Of Food & Wine Pairing
Commandment 1 - MATCH QUALITY
When pairing wine and food, you must always take into account the quality of the wine and the quality of your dish. A complex dish made for special occasions deserves a complex and special wine. On the other hand; simple, everyday dishes match best with simple and easy to drink wines. Putting a simple wine with a special dish would be as unsuccessful as squeezing ketchup on to a Filet Mignon.
You must always attempt to match the relative quality of your wine to the quality of your dish. If you are going all out on a meal, with the highest quality ingredients turned into a dish possessing intensity and complexity; you owe it to yourself to find a wine that also fits the bill. If your food comes out of a box, well then, your wine probably should too.
Special Occasion Dishes with Special Occasion Wines
Everyday Dishes with Everyday Wines
Commandment 2 - MATCH POWER & WEIGHT
Imagine you are at the dinner table and served a dish of delicately seasoned scallops; along with a peppercorn encrusted, smoked venison chop. As you begin to eat, you take a bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop. A bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop… What will the outcome be? Very quickly, you will no longer taste the scallop. The same thing will happen if you pair a wine to a dish with the same inequality in power. If you pair a Cabernet Sauvignon with those scallops, all you would taste would be the power of the wine. If you pair a soft Riesling with the smoked venison chop, all you get is the smoky meat.
Always take the relative power and weight of a wine and dish into account when making a pairing. The whole point of food and wine pairing is to make both the food and the wine taste better. If you cannot taste one or the other, then you are defeating the purpose.
Heavy Dishes with Heavy Wines, Robust Dishes with Robust Wines
Light Dishes with Light Wines, Delicate Dishes with Delicate Wines
Commandment 3 - LOOK INTO THE MIRROR
One of the easiest ways to make a wine and food seem like they have a natural affinity for one another is to use mirroring when you pair. Mirroring involves pairing two similar characteristics together to bring out that shared characteristic. If you have a peppery dish and want to emphasize the spicy pepper flavors, then pick a wine that has peppery characteristics like a Zinfandel. If you have an earthy, mushroom dish; and want to bring out that essence, pick an earthy wine like a Red Burgundy. It is no mistake that a rich, buttery California Chardonnay has a natural affinity for lobster; which is also rich and buttery.
One of the easiest ways to guarantee mirroring in a pairing is to use the wine you are serving as an ingredient in the food as well. It makes pairings seem like they are meant to be together.
Mirror Flavors and Characteristics that a Dish and a Wine Have in Common
Commandment 4 - FIGHT FAT
While fat is what gives a piece of meat a lot of its flavor, it gets in the way of flavor when eating. Practically every dish has a certain amount of fat in it, and when pairing wine, you should always take that fat into consideration. There are two ways to neutralize fat in a dish. Use a wine that has a high tannin content, a high acid content, or both.
Lighter dishes with high levels of fat such as salmon, poultry, cream sauces, and pork; are best paired with wines high in acidity. Think Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The acid in these wines will act like a knife that cuts through the fattiness in a dish, revealing more of its flavor. At the same time, the fat in the dish neutralizes much of the acidity in the wine, "dulling" the knife and making the wine less tart.
For heavier dishes with high levels of fat, we need heavier wines; and typically, the heavier the wine, the lower the acidity. Therefore, we need a different way to contrast fat. These types of dishes are best paired to wines high in tannins; such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The tannins in the wine act like a brick wall that stands up to fat. As tannins settle on the surface of the tongue, they physically block fat. While this is occurring, the fat also helps to lessen the presence of the tannins, so the wine will soften.
Use Acid and Tannins to Contrast Fat in a Dish
Commandment 5 - UNDERSTAND HOW FLAVORS WORK TOGETHER
Our sense of taste is a very interesting thing, indeed. Flavors on the palate change the perceptions of flavors that follow them in a dramatic fashion, and can make or break a food and wine pairing. One experience with the way flavors work together that everyone can understand is what happens when you brush your teeth and then make the mistake of drinking orange juice. Yuck! The sweetness of the toothpaste actually changes the perception of how we taste the orange juice, effectively stripping it of any sweetness. By understanding how flavors work together, you can feel confidant choosing certain wines for certain foods.
In its simplest terms, salty and sour flavors bring out the positive characteristics and flavors of a food or wine. Bitter, sweet, and savory flavors bring out the negative characteristics and flavors. Chefs understand this, and it explains why almost all sauces are either salty or sour. We season with salt and squeeze lemon on a vast assortment of different foods. There is a reason that they serve salty cheeses at a wine tasting - they are trying to sell wine!
Use these changes in perception to your advantage. To make wines taste better, pair them with foods that have salty or sour flavors. To make foods better, wines that are high in acidity and sour flavors work best.
Salty and Sour Flavors Bring Out the Positive Characteristics of Flavor
Sweet, Bitter and Savory Flavors Bring out the Negative Characteristics of Flavor
Commandment 6 - THINK LOCALLY
Wine has been around for thousands of years; and throughout most of its history, people were not as mobile as they are today. If you were born in Tuscany a hundred years ago; then most likely you would live your life in Tuscany, and die in Tuscany. You lived your entire life eating the foods of Tuscany and drinking the wines of Tuscany. Common sense dictates that the wines and foods of a region pair together well. Just because we live in a time when you can jump on a computer, book a ticket to Paris, and be in Europe tomorrow; does not mean that we should forget about the roots of wine and food. If you are serving a regional dish, pair it with a wine from that region. They were both made to go together.
Pair Regional Wines with Regional Dishes
Commandment 7 - SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE
How many times have you heard, "pair Pinot Noir with duck or Cabernet Sauvignon with lamb?" While for the most part, these can be good suggestions; a good wine pairing takes into account more than just the meat or protein served in a dish. How many different ways can duck be prepared? How many recipes could you find for lamb? When pairing food and wine together, you need to see the big picture. Pair the wine not only to the protein, but also the sauce, vegetables, and starch in a dish. By taking the entire dish into account, you will be selecting a wine that will pair much more successfully with the whole plate.
Take all Components of a Dish into Account (Meat, Sauce, etc.) when Selecting a Wine
Commandment 8 - SUCCESS WITH SPICE
It can be tricky to select a wine to go with a spicy dish. This is because spiciness in a dish is not something we taste, it is something we feel. A jalapeno pepper is hot because it physically irritates the surface of the tongue. When pairing wines with spicy dishes, you always need to take this into account. Your best bet with spicy foods is pairing them with a slightly sweet wine. The sweetness in the wine will tame the heat of the dish and bring out more of its flavor.
Wines to avoid with spicy dishes are those wines that also irritate the surface of the tongue. Tannins are a component of red wines which irritate the soft tissues in the mouth causing a sense of "dryness" on the palate. By adding this irritation to the irritation caused by spicy foods, it will actually make the food hotter and the wine more tannic. Stay away from the atomic hot wings and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon!
Spicy Foods Pair Best with Slightly Sweet Wines
Spicy Foods are a Bad Match for High Tannin Wines
Commandment 9 - THE SWEET LIFE
Thinking back to our earlier conversation about toothpaste and orange juice, you need to be careful when pairing wines with desserts. The simple rule of thumb is to always make sure that the wine you are serving with a dessert should always be sweeter than the dessert itself. Most sweet wines have a very intense level of acidity to them to balance out their sweetness. If that sweetness is stripped away from the wine, all that will show is that stark, raw acidity. By ensuring that your dessert wine is sweeter than you dessert, the wine will retain its natural sweetness and complement, rather than turn into battery acid.
Dessert Wines Should Always be Sweeter than the Dessert they are Served With
Commandment 10 - RULES WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN
The best thing about pairing wine and food is that it is always an interesting experiment in matching things together. Sometimes it works so well that you will remember the match and speak of its greatness forever. Other times, you end up with a decent match, but nothing special. Realize that there are no perfect food and wine pairings out there. Everyone tastes things differently, and not everyone likes the same combinations. Have fun with pairing, be willing to break any of the rules, and most importantly - drink what you like. The truth about pairing wine and food is that most wines go with most foods. In reality, it is easy to match them together. Be willing to experiment, try new things, and turn defeat into victory.
Happy Pairing!
Commandment 1 - MATCH QUALITY
When pairing wine and food, you must always take into account the quality of the wine and the quality of your dish. A complex dish made for special occasions deserves a complex and special wine. On the other hand; simple, everyday dishes match best with simple and easy to drink wines. Putting a simple wine with a special dish would be as unsuccessful as squeezing ketchup on to a Filet Mignon.
You must always attempt to match the relative quality of your wine to the quality of your dish. If you are going all out on a meal, with the highest quality ingredients turned into a dish possessing intensity and complexity; you owe it to yourself to find a wine that also fits the bill. If your food comes out of a box, well then, your wine probably should too.
Special Occasion Dishes with Special Occasion Wines
Everyday Dishes with Everyday Wines
Commandment 2 - MATCH POWER & WEIGHT
Imagine you are at the dinner table and served a dish of delicately seasoned scallops; along with a peppercorn encrusted, smoked venison chop. As you begin to eat, you take a bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop. A bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop… What will the outcome be? Very quickly, you will no longer taste the scallop. The same thing will happen if you pair a wine to a dish with the same inequality in power. If you pair a Cabernet Sauvignon with those scallops, all you would taste would be the power of the wine. If you pair a soft Riesling with the smoked venison chop, all you get is the smoky meat.
Always take the relative power and weight of a wine and dish into account when making a pairing. The whole point of food and wine pairing is to make both the food and the wine taste better. If you cannot taste one or the other, then you are defeating the purpose.
Heavy Dishes with Heavy Wines, Robust Dishes with Robust Wines
Light Dishes with Light Wines, Delicate Dishes with Delicate Wines
Commandment 3 - LOOK INTO THE MIRROR
One of the easiest ways to make a wine and food seem like they have a natural affinity for one another is to use mirroring when you pair. Mirroring involves pairing two similar characteristics together to bring out that shared characteristic. If you have a peppery dish and want to emphasize the spicy pepper flavors, then pick a wine that has peppery characteristics like a Zinfandel. If you have an earthy, mushroom dish; and want to bring out that essence, pick an earthy wine like a Red Burgundy. It is no mistake that a rich, buttery California Chardonnay has a natural affinity for lobster; which is also rich and buttery.
One of the easiest ways to guarantee mirroring in a pairing is to use the wine you are serving as an ingredient in the food as well. It makes pairings seem like they are meant to be together.
Mirror Flavors and Characteristics that a Dish and a Wine Have in Common
Commandment 4 - FIGHT FAT
While fat is what gives a piece of meat a lot of its flavor, it gets in the way of flavor when eating. Practically every dish has a certain amount of fat in it, and when pairing wine, you should always take that fat into consideration. There are two ways to neutralize fat in a dish. Use a wine that has a high tannin content, a high acid content, or both.
Lighter dishes with high levels of fat such as salmon, poultry, cream sauces, and pork; are best paired with wines high in acidity. Think Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The acid in these wines will act like a knife that cuts through the fattiness in a dish, revealing more of its flavor. At the same time, the fat in the dish neutralizes much of the acidity in the wine, "dulling" the knife and making the wine less tart.
For heavier dishes with high levels of fat, we need heavier wines; and typically, the heavier the wine, the lower the acidity. Therefore, we need a different way to contrast fat. These types of dishes are best paired to wines high in tannins; such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The tannins in the wine act like a brick wall that stands up to fat. As tannins settle on the surface of the tongue, they physically block fat. While this is occurring, the fat also helps to lessen the presence of the tannins, so the wine will soften.
Use Acid and Tannins to Contrast Fat in a Dish
Commandment 5 - UNDERSTAND HOW FLAVORS WORK TOGETHER
Our sense of taste is a very interesting thing, indeed. Flavors on the palate change the perceptions of flavors that follow them in a dramatic fashion, and can make or break a food and wine pairing. One experience with the way flavors work together that everyone can understand is what happens when you brush your teeth and then make the mistake of drinking orange juice. Yuck! The sweetness of the toothpaste actually changes the perception of how we taste the orange juice, effectively stripping it of any sweetness. By understanding how flavors work together, you can feel confidant choosing certain wines for certain foods.
In its simplest terms, salty and sour flavors bring out the positive characteristics and flavors of a food or wine. Bitter, sweet, and savory flavors bring out the negative characteristics and flavors. Chefs understand this, and it explains why almost all sauces are either salty or sour. We season with salt and squeeze lemon on a vast assortment of different foods. There is a reason that they serve salty cheeses at a wine tasting - they are trying to sell wine!
Use these changes in perception to your advantage. To make wines taste better, pair them with foods that have salty or sour flavors. To make foods better, wines that are high in acidity and sour flavors work best.
Salty and Sour Flavors Bring Out the Positive Characteristics of Flavor
Sweet, Bitter and Savory Flavors Bring out the Negative Characteristics of Flavor
Commandment 6 - THINK LOCALLY
Wine has been around for thousands of years; and throughout most of its history, people were not as mobile as they are today. If you were born in Tuscany a hundred years ago; then most likely you would live your life in Tuscany, and die in Tuscany. You lived your entire life eating the foods of Tuscany and drinking the wines of Tuscany. Common sense dictates that the wines and foods of a region pair together well. Just because we live in a time when you can jump on a computer, book a ticket to Paris, and be in Europe tomorrow; does not mean that we should forget about the roots of wine and food. If you are serving a regional dish, pair it with a wine from that region. They were both made to go together.
Pair Regional Wines with Regional Dishes
Commandment 7 - SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE
How many times have you heard, "pair Pinot Noir with duck or Cabernet Sauvignon with lamb?" While for the most part, these can be good suggestions; a good wine pairing takes into account more than just the meat or protein served in a dish. How many different ways can duck be prepared? How many recipes could you find for lamb? When pairing food and wine together, you need to see the big picture. Pair the wine not only to the protein, but also the sauce, vegetables, and starch in a dish. By taking the entire dish into account, you will be selecting a wine that will pair much more successfully with the whole plate.
Take all Components of a Dish into Account (Meat, Sauce, etc.) when Selecting a Wine
Commandment 8 - SUCCESS WITH SPICE
It can be tricky to select a wine to go with a spicy dish. This is because spiciness in a dish is not something we taste, it is something we feel. A jalapeno pepper is hot because it physically irritates the surface of the tongue. When pairing wines with spicy dishes, you always need to take this into account. Your best bet with spicy foods is pairing them with a slightly sweet wine. The sweetness in the wine will tame the heat of the dish and bring out more of its flavor.
Wines to avoid with spicy dishes are those wines that also irritate the surface of the tongue. Tannins are a component of red wines which irritate the soft tissues in the mouth causing a sense of "dryness" on the palate. By adding this irritation to the irritation caused by spicy foods, it will actually make the food hotter and the wine more tannic. Stay away from the atomic hot wings and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon!
Spicy Foods Pair Best with Slightly Sweet Wines
Spicy Foods are a Bad Match for High Tannin Wines
Commandment 9 - THE SWEET LIFE
Thinking back to our earlier conversation about toothpaste and orange juice, you need to be careful when pairing wines with desserts. The simple rule of thumb is to always make sure that the wine you are serving with a dessert should always be sweeter than the dessert itself. Most sweet wines have a very intense level of acidity to them to balance out their sweetness. If that sweetness is stripped away from the wine, all that will show is that stark, raw acidity. By ensuring that your dessert wine is sweeter than you dessert, the wine will retain its natural sweetness and complement, rather than turn into battery acid.
Dessert Wines Should Always be Sweeter than the Dessert they are Served With
Commandment 10 - RULES WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN
The best thing about pairing wine and food is that it is always an interesting experiment in matching things together. Sometimes it works so well that you will remember the match and speak of its greatness forever. Other times, you end up with a decent match, but nothing special. Realize that there are no perfect food and wine pairings out there. Everyone tastes things differently, and not everyone likes the same combinations. Have fun with pairing, be willing to break any of the rules, and most importantly - drink what you like. The truth about pairing wine and food is that most wines go with most foods. In reality, it is easy to match them together. Be willing to experiment, try new things, and turn defeat into victory.
Happy Pairing!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Power Entertaining Made Easy
"I haven't seen anyone hold an audience spellbound like Eddie Osterland."
- Chris Edmonds, Maitre'd (The Rainbow Room)
As you know, I work with organizations that want to offer their clients something a little extra special. Here are some of the highlights from a client appreciation event hosted by Australian National Bank where I was the featured during-dinner entertainer.
Beginnings and endings make the most impact!
Just like any business presentation, people usually remember the first things and the last things. It's no different with entertaining. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS serve your guests something spectacular first while their appetites are still sharp. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER allow them to graze on dips, chips and nuts before dinner. Afterwards, finish with a "flaming" dessert for maximum impact.
Start with Champagne to make your event really special!
Most Americans rarely drink Champagne with dinner, relegating it instead to celebratory events like weddings, birthdays and New Year's Eve. Make your event stand out by ALWAYS starting with champagne.
Offer something different!
Treat your guests to something other than the typical Chardonnay and Cabernet dinner. Educate their palates by serving them some of the following "food-friendly" wines.
"Food-Friendly" Whites
2002 Riesling (One of Germany's finest vintages, high, racy acidity)
Kabinett, Spätlese - slightly sweet
Halbtrocken - dry
Trocken - bone dry
Food pairing suggestion: Try sweet Spätlese from 2002 with sweet spare ribs. The acidity cuts through the fat and the sweetness and blends the two like magic!
Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand, South Africa, France (Loire Valley)
Food-pairing suggestion: Try with any goat cheese creation for another magical combination!
Pinot Grigio
Italy - Pinot Grigio Alsace - Pinot Gris
Food-pairing suggestion: Perfect with pan-fried sole or trout. The wine is light and crisp and doesn't overwhelm the fish like so many heavy- hitting Chardonnays.
"Food-Friendly" Reds
Pinot Noir
California, Oregon, France, New Zealand
Food-pairing suggestion: Pinots have a wonderful affinity for duck or mushrooms … or marinate salmon in a fruity California Pinot and you'll have a red wine with fish that truly works.
Barbera
Italy
Food-pairing suggestion: Try with grilled lamb or beef. The high acidity in the wine becomes less apparent as it amplifies the meat flavors and hence, the fruitiness of the wine becomes more apparent.
Cabernet Franc
France (Loire Valley) Chinon & Bourgueil
Food-pairing suggestion: Cabernet Francs from the Loire valley have just the requisite acidity to cut through fat, consequently they are ideally suited to go with patés and dishes with rich sauces.
Gamay
France (Cru Beaujolais)
Food-pairing suggestion: Both Cabernet Franc and Gamay are the quintessential wines for roast chicken…just make sure to serve all your reds slightly cool. (20 minutes in the fridge is usually perfect)
People's tastes are as uniquely different as their fingerprints. Because of this, rarely does one wine work with each course. Why don't you open several of these food-friendly wines and allow everyone to taste them before dinner with an eclectic assortment of appetizers? Then, when seated for dinner they can choose what they want with their dinner rather than serving them what you like. Try this and you will see people sitting down with red, white and pink (don't discount this color) at the same table.
What I like best is to work these "Power Entertaining" principles into a dinner event or break-out session for groups of all sizes. Please take a look at my website to see some of what I offer. If you would like to know more about how I can make your event more educational & entertaining please call me to request a video.
Power Entertaining Is Always Easy If You...
Plan Ahead, Impress Your Guests & Enjoy Their Company!
Cheers! Eddie
- Chris Edmonds, Maitre'd (The Rainbow Room)
As you know, I work with organizations that want to offer their clients something a little extra special. Here are some of the highlights from a client appreciation event hosted by Australian National Bank where I was the featured during-dinner entertainer.
Beginnings and endings make the most impact!
Just like any business presentation, people usually remember the first things and the last things. It's no different with entertaining. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS serve your guests something spectacular first while their appetites are still sharp. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER allow them to graze on dips, chips and nuts before dinner. Afterwards, finish with a "flaming" dessert for maximum impact.
Start with Champagne to make your event really special!
Most Americans rarely drink Champagne with dinner, relegating it instead to celebratory events like weddings, birthdays and New Year's Eve. Make your event stand out by ALWAYS starting with champagne.
Offer something different!
Treat your guests to something other than the typical Chardonnay and Cabernet dinner. Educate their palates by serving them some of the following "food-friendly" wines.
"Food-Friendly" Whites
2002 Riesling (One of Germany's finest vintages, high, racy acidity)
Kabinett, Spätlese - slightly sweet
Halbtrocken - dry
Trocken - bone dry
Food pairing suggestion: Try sweet Spätlese from 2002 with sweet spare ribs. The acidity cuts through the fat and the sweetness and blends the two like magic!
Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand, South Africa, France (Loire Valley)
Food-pairing suggestion: Try with any goat cheese creation for another magical combination!
Pinot Grigio
Italy - Pinot Grigio Alsace - Pinot Gris
Food-pairing suggestion: Perfect with pan-fried sole or trout. The wine is light and crisp and doesn't overwhelm the fish like so many heavy- hitting Chardonnays.
"Food-Friendly" Reds
Pinot Noir
California, Oregon, France, New Zealand
Food-pairing suggestion: Pinots have a wonderful affinity for duck or mushrooms … or marinate salmon in a fruity California Pinot and you'll have a red wine with fish that truly works.
Barbera
Italy
Food-pairing suggestion: Try with grilled lamb or beef. The high acidity in the wine becomes less apparent as it amplifies the meat flavors and hence, the fruitiness of the wine becomes more apparent.
Cabernet Franc
France (Loire Valley) Chinon & Bourgueil
Food-pairing suggestion: Cabernet Francs from the Loire valley have just the requisite acidity to cut through fat, consequently they are ideally suited to go with patés and dishes with rich sauces.
Gamay
France (Cru Beaujolais)
Food-pairing suggestion: Both Cabernet Franc and Gamay are the quintessential wines for roast chicken…just make sure to serve all your reds slightly cool. (20 minutes in the fridge is usually perfect)
People's tastes are as uniquely different as their fingerprints. Because of this, rarely does one wine work with each course. Why don't you open several of these food-friendly wines and allow everyone to taste them before dinner with an eclectic assortment of appetizers? Then, when seated for dinner they can choose what they want with their dinner rather than serving them what you like. Try this and you will see people sitting down with red, white and pink (don't discount this color) at the same table.
What I like best is to work these "Power Entertaining" principles into a dinner event or break-out session for groups of all sizes. Please take a look at my website to see some of what I offer. If you would like to know more about how I can make your event more educational & entertaining please call me to request a video.
Power Entertaining Is Always Easy If You...
Plan Ahead, Impress Your Guests & Enjoy Their Company!
Cheers! Eddie
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