Well, how about taking that seriously and giving my input on “at home” wine
dinners?
Recently, I did some thinking. “Okay, I have written about wine dinners at venues. I mentioned home wine dinners as a future thought. Now what?”
Well, how about taking that seriously and giving my input on “at home” wine
dinners?
I have to admit, I am a sucker for planning meals and matching wines with them.
In fact, my personal recipe website does that for many holidays or events
throughout the year.
How does one decide on a menu and wines to match? Well, it is really a matter of experimenting taking notes.
When I first started wine tasting, I would take notes on what food I had with each wine. Then, as I learned more about wine, I would find a recipe and pair a wine with it (or visa versa as sometimes the wine cried for a certain dish.)
I belong to a wine group. I am the only “industry” member of the group, the rest are consumers. I tend to use my wine group as guinea pigs…and so far..they have loved it! Whew!
We meet monthly at a different home. When the event is at my home, I either prepare the entire meal (with their financial assistance) or give them an idea as to the dishes that go with the wines to be tasted.
Planning a wine dinner at home can be easy or complicated. It all depends upon what you want. You can make the meal easy with an appetizer, main course and dessert…or go crazy with a welcome wine, appetizers, amuse bouche, soup, salad, intermezzo, entrée, cheese course and dessert. Yikes! Are you tired yet?
I love doing both types of events and everywhere in between.
My wine group consists of ten people (we used to have 12 and when two couples left, we decided that ten fit into all of our homes far better than 12, so we downsized and had one new team join in.) Some are into food and wine pairings, some are into wine only and some just love to be with the group and have fun.
So, how do I decide what to prepare as a meal and how to I pair it with the wines? Well, I tend to taste a particular wine (or dish) and get an impression about it. There are some dishes, or wines, that immediately remind me of a flavor. What I do is “go with that”. If I taste a white wine that gives me the feeling of being at the beach, I will pair it with a seafood dish. If I taste a big, tannic red, I am going to look for a rich cut of beef.
Remember that all of this is subjective. You may love Merlot with shrimp and an oak-y Chardonnay with steak. That is not wrong, it is simply what you like! Do not let anyone tell you that your tastes are wrong, wine is a personal “thang”. What you like is what you like.
I love to make multi-course dinners. I love to theme them. I have done menus for Holiday events, seasonal events and birthday dinners. It is so much fun!
One time, I had a former co-worker come to dinner with her husband. They are great
people who love good food and are learning about wine. I am the type of person
who loves to cook for others in my home, so I went overboard on the meal, but we
all loved it. I made the food and had a few of the wines…..they wanted to know
what they could bring and I gave them two wines to purchase. The meal was great,
the food lovely and the company the best! Here is the menu we enjoyed:
Dungeness Crab Dip
St Innoncent Brut
Salad
Riverhouse Salad
Le Bete “Le Fete: white wine
Soup
Wild Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil and Crème Fraiche
Intermezzo
Grapefruit and Mint Sorbet
Entrée
Beef Tenderloin Stuffed with Morels
Hasselback Potatoes
Sugarsnap Peas
Terra Blanca Cabernet Sauvignon
Dessert
Panna Cotta
Prunier Pineau des Charentes
This couple invited me to their new home this year and I brought the wine while they made the dinner. They prepared and Italian dinner with one of the best salads I have tasted, vegetable lasagna, fabulous garlic bread and for dessert Turtle Pie. Another excellent meal with great friends!
I brought the wines to match. Joy told me that the theme was Italian and I brought a white, Marchetti Verdicchio and a red, Fratelli Barba Montepulciano.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, this year (2006), I made an indoor picnic. Many
of my friends tend to go out on those three day holiday weekends to wine taste.
Being “in the biz”, I tend to avoid those weekends. So this year I challenged
my friends to find a wine that they really liked while touring on that Saturday
and to bring it to my house for dinner, where I would have dinner waiting.
As it turned out, only one couple went wine tasting, the rest either brought
something from home or bought something at a local shop that day.
Appetizers
Blue Cheese Dip with assorted vegetables
Vietnamese Style Salad Rolls
My guests brought assorted cheeses, breads and one guest brought a very simple, tasty treat….she took tiny breadsticks and wrapped them in salami that had been kissed with cream cheese. Like I said, simple, yet really good.
Entrée:
Slow Roasted Pork
Cole Slaw
Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad
Dessert
Marshmallow Mudcake
The pork and salads were from Gartners Meat Market on NE Killingsworth. Let me tell you that this was the best pork that I have ever tasted! So good that as I write this, I have had yet another of their delicious roasts in my oven for the past four hours.
We enjoyed a little Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Petite Sirah. The bottom line to hosting a wine dinner at home is to have fun, include your favorite foods and favorite wines. If you are not sure which wines to match with your menu, ask your local wine merchant. They are a wealth of information.
I would love to hear of dinners that you create!
Until next time,
Cheers!
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