deVine Table

Sips and Bites at Canlis Seminar

The food and wine pairing seminars at Taste Washington offer more than just a lecture on what to pair with chicken or steak. They offer guidance from a well-qualified and engaging panel, questions from an inquisitive audience, and the opportunity to actually taste several pairings. The Canlis Food and Wine Pairing seminar offered last Saturday was no exception.

With custom food creations by executive chef Jason Franey, and wines hand selected by wine director Nelson Daquip, the Canlis team offered up captivating pairings. Jordan Mackay from San Francisco Magazine joined Chef and Somm on the panel (I like a guy who says that he and his wife treat wine pairing like a team sport at home). Sara Schneider of Sunset Magazine moderated.

The seminar was peppered with useful comments and suggestions regarding food and wine pairing: (more…)

For those of you heading out to Taste Washington today, here is a quick rundown on some of my favorite food and wine pairings from yesterday. Note that my wine picks aren’t always at the table right next to where the food is being served. However, I’m a believer that if you take the time to find the right wine, you’ll enjoy your food so much more!

Ray’s Boathouse Bay Shrimp Cocktail with Treveri Cellars Extra Brut.

Act 3 Catering Smoked Salmon Mac + Cheese Poppers with Tranche Cellars Pink Pape Rose.

Tulalip Bay Fine Dining Dungeness Crab Cakes with Karma Vineyards Methode Champenoise Brut de Brut.

Last but not least, don’t forget dessert. Just be sure to have it last because you don’t want to drink dry wines right after consuming so much sweetness.

The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. Pancakes and Bacon (uh huh a cupcake that tasted like, well…) with Tieton Cider Works Tieton Frost (actually a cider, not a wine, but every bit as wonderful).

Tom Douglas and Me

Last Saturday, Washington wine lovers from near and far could be found at the Taste Washington Seminars in Seattle. My seminar of choice? Food and Wine Pairing with Tom Douglas.

Tom guided the audience and panel through a tasting of four classic dishes from his Seattle restaurants. The panel not only included Tom Douglas, but also Stephanie Izard of Top Chef fame; Leslie Sbrocco, NBC’s Today Show wine correspondent; and Dawn Smith, sommelier of Heavy Restaurant Group. Michael Teer, owner of Pike and Western Wine Shop, moderated.

So, the audience got to hear about great pairing principles from some truly experienced experts. How? The dishes served were paired with a wine selected by Tom as well as a wine picked by Dawn. All panelists commented on which wines they felt paired well and why. Then the audience voted for the pairing they decided worked best. It was a “Tom vs. Somm” throwdown!

 Here are some observations from the panel regarding wine and food pairings:

 Tom Douglas

• Do focused matches before dinner.
• When pairing, select the wine first because you can’t change the wine; it is what it is. It’s easier to change to food to go with the wine (this was made as a counterpoint to Stephanie’s comment below).
• Sometimes it’s better to go with opposites, for example choose a sweet wine to go with spicy food.

 Leslie Sbrocco

• Match textures, just like how you match items in your wardrobe. You know, like if you’re wearing a light linen jacket, you put on something else lightweight that complements that. Apply that same principle to food and wine.
• Proper temperature is the Spanx of wine.

 Stephanie Izard

• Select the food first, then select a wine. As Dawn pointed out, that thinking is more progressive rather than the standard. However, Stephanie says that sometimes she’ll taste something and think that it is just made to go with a certain wine.

 Dawn Smith

• Let your own palate be your guide.
• The higher the alcohol, the sweeter the wine appears.
• Spice raises your perception of alcohol.

 There you have some tips to improve food and wine pairings around your table. For more details about the wine and food served, check out my review on Wine and Beer of Washington State.