As the weather cools and the time for campfires and backyard grilling returns, choosing the right wine to pair with your outdoor feasts becomes essential. Consider key wine characteristics like acidity, flavor intensity, fruitiness, body weight, and alcohol content when making your selections. High-acid wines, such as Sauvignon Blanc, can cleanse the palate, while fuller-bodied reds, like Zinfandel or Malbec, stand up to bold grilling rubs and sauces. Because wine can often play the dominant role in pairings, balance its flavors against the richness of grilled dishes. This way, each sip and bite enhances the other, making for a perfect evening around the fire.
Tonight, City Vino is hosting Always Flavored for a wine pairing dinner. Rita Witte is a talented chef, passionate about flavors and spices. She has a catering background prior to starting Always Flavor, which we will tap into for this dinner. Food to her is more than just sustenance, it is a way to connect with others and build relationships. Birthed out of an overabundance of hot peppers grown in her garden, she started to create flavorful sauces with the mission to elevate every meal. Always Flavored is at 610 Caroline Street where you can pick up a few sandwiches or bottles of her hot sauces. Go to the Rita power of two!
Hosting a dinner party or social gathering with food and wine can be daunting if you have not done it before. Depending on what is being paired, it is important to consider the components of both—what foods are being served, and what beverages you wish to pair or highlight. The other part to consider is which do you want to showcase, the beverage (in this case, wine) or the food(s). To add more to your decision making, you could also opt to do both, along the course of your agenda, with some pairings to highlight the wine, some showcasing the food and others highlighting the way each compliments each other.
Perhaps this has never been a question for you? It is a timeless debate that speaks to personal preferences and culture traditions. While some may lean toward the classic comfort of a glazed ham, others may opt for the elegance of a tender, herb-crusted lamb roast. Which one speaks to you? Or would you be comfortable with either? And of course, because it is City Vino backing this conversation, what wine would you pick?
This is the big week football lovers, commercial fans and foodies have been waiting for! Whether or not football is the real reason for watching the Super Bowl, it usually instigates a celebration of good party food and drink. Due to the ever-popular Clydesdales, singing frogs, and lovable dogs, the featured drink always seems to center around beer, even though the NFL is now promoting Barefoot Wine as the “Wine of the NFL.” Let us be honest, there could have been a better choice … and while that might be your choice to have at parties where the audience is unknown, now is the chance to sway your audience toward “other” wine, and show them that yes, it is possible to have wine AND football food!
