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 Pairing Food & Wine

There are no hard and fast rules.  I like to abdicate choice on this topic.  Drink what you want with food that you like.  There are, however, some great winning combinations out there as well as some awful clashes.

A few good guidelines to eat and drink by:

Start on the lighter side. Begin your evening of wine drinking with a light-hearted wine and graduate to your heaviest wine at the close of the meal.  It's hard to appreciate the spectrum of wines if you taste them heaviest to lightest.  Non-vintage Champagne or sparkling wine is a great (and festive) way to start.  If you are serving zesty hors d'oeuvres such as olives or seasoned nuts then Dry Sherry is a classic choice.

Match 'mouthfeel.'  You never want a wine to overpower your food or your food to overpower your wine; attempt to balance your match.

 A lighter dish usually works best with a lighter wine.  A nice, crisp white such as Sauvignon Blanc pairs beautifully with prawns, shrimp, lobster, and crab.  The natural acidity of this wine also balances the fattiness of classic shellfish accompaniments like emulsified cold sauces.  (Cocktail sauce is beastly to try pairing with a wine. Consider a mayonnaise or butter based sauce instead.) 

Full-flavored dishes call for broad, full-flavored wines.  A hefty sirloin can stand up to a big, beefy Cabernet Sauvignon while a less flavorful tenderloin cut may be best with a well-aged or mid-weight wine.		   We have composed
a seasonal menu
complete
with recipes
and wine pairings.
Click here to view.
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