In a cozy West Coast home, preparations were in full swing for a Thanksgiving feast that would capture the region's essence. This celebration, shaped by the bounty of the Pacific coast, promised an unforgettable experience filled with seasonal produce, diverse dishes, and wines that showcased California and Oregon’s finest. The gathering brought together family and friends—parents, siblings, cousins, and extended family—all excited to savor the local flavors that defined the holiday meal.
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.
It is pretty typical to say that what grows together tends to be together. The phrase seems not to be confined to just food, but it also seems to extend to food-and-wine pairings. One step further, in the world of making wine, what grows together tends to get blended together. Old World traditions have been formulated to produce the same style of wine with very little interpretation year-to-year, other than how the microclimate had differed.
Once upon a time, in a cozy West Coast home, preparations were underway for a Thanksgiving feast that would capture the essence of the region. The bountiful offerings of the Pacific coast were eagerly anticipated—a unique and delicious celebration. Eventually the family would wander into the house, the son, the daughter, the extended family with aunts, uncles, and cousins. All to be greeted with a myriad of dinner courses, fine conversations, and of course, local wines from California to Washington State to complement the diverse flavors of the meal.
With the back-to-school season upon us, this is a good time to go back to “wine” school and get down to basics; to go back to the root of your wine enthusiasm. Whether you drink wine for sport or edification, it always enriches the experience to get down to the roots. Going back to basics is always a good exercise, to not only enhance your experience, but to refresh the mind and awaken your palate to new experiences.
