Like learning the metric system or flossing daily, pairing wine with food is one of those things you know you should do, but it just seems hard. And tiring. And confusing. I mean, what kind of food do you pair something with notes of pencil shavings and eau de barnyard?
Which is why you leave such things to the professionals. Really, take the stress off.
Win Two Tickets for A Wine & Food Affair
Enter for a chance to win by telling Biteclub your favorite wine and food pairing in the comments below (feel free to get creative!) Or, stump us with an impossible pairing…
CONTEST CLOSED: Congratulations Cynthia!
This weekend, dozens of wineries throughout Dry Creek, Russian River, Green Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Rockpile (aka the collected wineries of the Wine Road) host two days of eating and drinking in perfect synchronicity, aka A Wine and Food Affair, Nov. 7 and 8, 2009 from 11am to 4pm.
Top chefs from around the county are matched up with wineries to create delish dishes served up with wines that you’d think are their long-lost soul mates. Like Zinfandel-braised duck and mascarpone polenta with Carol Shelton’s Karma Zinfandel, braised lamb stew at Locals; Braised Short Ribs at the Kendall Jackson Wine Center or Pumpkin soup at Camellia Cellars. See a full list of wineries and what they’re serving (PDF).
Exactly which chefs have been paired with which wineries remains a closely-guarded secret until the last minute, when the annual cookbook “Tasting Along the Wine Road” is released in conjunction with the event. And this year’s a doozy, with nearly 100 recipes from many of Wine Country’s Top Toques. But you’ll need to carefully plan your attack, whether you’re going for the whole weekend or just on Sunday.
Wanna go? Tell me you perfect pairing…no worries if its not sommelier-worthy. Just a food you love to eat with a favorite wine. Or, stump us with your most challenging food to pair wine with. Your comment gets you entered to win.
Not that hard, right? Now go floss your teeth.
I wish the winner had been posted as promised, and i wish that winner had been me…….
OK, who won? it’s afternoon…. thanks!
Homemade salsa with any sparkling wine (its the poor persons pairing instead of cavair as the chips/salsa bring the same saltiness)
On a less serious pairing I love any good glass of wine with buttered popcorn. Good wine and comfort food always pair perfectly
A good Zin with Pasta & Garlic bread
Homegrown Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Creme Fraiche and a nice Hartford Russian River Chardonnay, delightful!
I think I will make that for dinner tonight. Thanks for the inspiration.
A 2006 J Rochioli Little Hill Pinot with collard greens, truffle polenta, and ham hocs mmmm The earthy tones from the Pinot bring out the smoke from the Ham and the earth of the greens and truffle.
St. Andre Cheese with fresh figs and Grenache Blanc from Preston.
For an appetizer, I created this one; enclose a chunk of water chestnut w/ whipped cream cheese, roll into a ball and in grated parm-reg cheese; place on marinated artichoke crown; sprinkle with a little cayenne and broil until puffed. addicting. Delicious with a Sparkling Rose or Blanc de Noir.
Al Pastor burrito with a rich Dry Creek Zinfandel.
mmm…dinner anyone?
Artichoke parmesan salad made with arugula and candied walnuts nicely pairs with Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc.
A Grilled New York Steak paired with a Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel.
Domaine Chandon Etoile Brut paired with roasted asparagus and a teleme cheese platter sprinkled with fresh, finely chopped rosemary and covered with a generous amount of lemon olive oil, served with whole wheat crackers…yum!!
Sauvignon blanc with natural peanut butter on wheat toast! Perfect simple breakfast.
J Brut sparkling wine with chocolate lava cake.
My favorite food & wine pairing is filet mignon beef strogonoff served with a Clos du Bois Merlot. Free tickets would make a great Birthday present.
Make this dish frequently as it really is very easy although it has the soundings of a complicated event.
Turbans of sole with smoked salmon moose in a lemon/ginger beurre blanc. I’ve had this with many whites but one recent hit was an Arrowood Pinot Blanc. Food & wine bliss!
My wife and I got into a habit, after visiting Venice (not the California one!)of having plain, well made potato chips paired with a good dry Champagne. Like Mumm’s Carte Classique, Roderer Estate, or Gloria Ferrer. A good way to calm down after a busy day.
Last night, I made balsamic glazed pork chops, garlic mashed potatoes, and sautee’d green beans. I paired it with Chateau Ste. Michelle’s sweet Riesling. Very tasty!
Being a bit of a sommmelier I have had some of the worlds best wines. The perfect pairing you ask…I remember it like it was yesterday. The wine is very hard to come by these days, for some reason it has fallen out of favor but in the 80′s it was all the rage. Me, Ya-Ya, and T-Bone were behind the old Polyes Market in Windsor sharing a 1982 vintage of some Bartles & James…and its perfect companion to accent its citris overtones…a bag of extra spicy pork rinds!…Now that was a “perfect pairing!”
One of the best I’ve ever paired is Osso Buco with a Shafer 2002 Relentless, but my favorite is my Grandmothers recipe for Chicken Cacciatore with Mazzocco 2006 Dry Creek Zin. Excuse me, I gotta go cook now!
Sparkling Wine & Wasabi Peas…ya gotta try it!
Any glass of wine paired with whiney kids goes phenomenally well together.
A 1997 Staglin cab paired with lamb shanks over mushroom rissoto. Mmm. Good mid fall flavors.
Navarro dry gewurztraminer with spicy thai chicken curry with lemongrass and basil
crab season is coming up. I want to pair mine with any brand of chardonnay. shrimp, mussels, clam, squid even my favorite seafood paella!
try just about anything from alsace or Gewürztraminer,
Pinot Gris, Riesling, and some sav blancs from here.
I know there’s an answer to this, but pairing with spicy food confuses me. I always want a beer, so any wine pairing is welcome!
Bite girl,
if you want to talk rose,
radio coteau, county line, rose yummm
w/ my the same salad as before, world series, and taco from the truck in sebastopol!
I was helping a friend at the Harvest Festival and poured Viansa’s Thalia Sangiovese, on a break a friend brought me small dish of Pasta Kings award winning Polenta…it was yummy with the wine. An old school pairing and simple, but boy was it good.
Yes. I did on the last one (Pinot on the River). We’re still working on the hot dog verdict (sorry, but it will be worth it).
Promise to post the winner on this one. Yay.
Heather, all these contests, but you never post who won! Would you?
I prefer some Rodney Strong Merlot with a nice homemade pasta dish….seems like merlot goes well with just about anything!
well i saw you mentioned wild mushroom risotto and almost exploded! yeah gotta get some. i would pair a gritty, dirty, earthy truffle or mushroom risotto with a blended Rubicon – ohhhhhh man yeahhhh
My immediate thought on the salad is a nice crisp rose with a little strawberry in it. I love the Eye of the Toad from Toad Hollow. But I’ve yet to meet a rose I don’t like.
half a bottle or so of Ledson’s California Mes Trois Amoures and all the dark chocolate I can eat = the best pairing of all time!
Nice to see the salad-pairing there, gator!
spinich salad with sugared nuts, strawberries and goat cheese…what wine would you pair with that?
My favorite wine to food pairings would have to be Geyser Peak Cabernet Sauvignon with any dark chocolate dessert or Lynmar Russian River Chardonnay paired with Savory Bacon Shortbread with Smoked Mozzarella and
Quail Hill Estate Chutney. Yum
halleck vinyard 2007 Little Sister Sauvignon Blanc, my home grown pot, left-over chicken gumbo aka dirty bird gumbo and the saints on monday night football.
How about a nice fun sparkler like J Vineyards Brut paired with my Sonoma style hot dog from the last contest (caramelized onion and apple compote with brie and candied pecans)! Ha ha!