While January is usually a slow month for most folks, it's a busy one for brides who have set their wedding dates for this upcoming spring, summer, and even fall! On the Dot and their clients are occupied with their brides by helping them select anything from their ideal florist to their perfect photographer! In honor of the new year and the start of the upcoming wedding season...On the Dot is offering a limited time offer of 25% off day of services for weddings in January through April. Book us for day of coordination and forget about the stress! : )
For the month of January, I'd like to introduce our first in a series of blogs featuring Kevin, On the Dot's in-house wine consultant. His tips are not only great for hosting your in-home parties, but also fabulous if you are one of the lucky few that have chosen a venue that allows you to bring in your own wine and champagne.
Kevin is a good friend of ours and an amazing wine connoiseur. Our wine expert spends his weekends at the "office" (or rather, any local wine shop) researching his craft...and serving as the leader of a wine club he founded in Orange County. ; ) He's already provided wine pairing recommendations for several weddings, and the demand for his services continually grow. You can read his blog, Bread & Water, at http://nervouskitchen.wordpress.com/. Kevin was nice enough to answer some of our questions.
When did your appreciation for wine
start?
I don’t think I really appreciated wine until roughly ten
years ago when I enrolled in a "Wines Of the World" extension
course at the University of California in Irvine. Our
instructor was a lot of fun and his enthusiasm for the subject was
infectious. That was when I started to understand wine as an
accompaniment or enhancement to a meal, rather than just an alternative
to beer or spirits.
What
are your favorite wine varietals and why?
That’s a tough question, because there are too many
varietals, too many geographic regions growing world class wine and too many
good winemakers. Ultimately, I have to look at this subjectively and say
in the white category, I love Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and Albarino
from Spain. They are both very unique white wines. On the red side
of things, I really enjoy a Pinot Noir from Oregon, or a Syrah from the Central
Coast of California. Also, I love Malbecs from Argentina and Cabernet
Sauvignon from NapaValley. I’m excluding favorite wine blends and thus I
haven’t really talked about Bordeauxor red wines from
Tuscany. As for why I like these, I guess it brings back good
memories of a dinner I had or the company I drank the wine with.
For brides that don't know that much about wine, what are
your recommendations for a red wine and a white wine that would go with
just about everything?
I think you want to have the combination of an elegant,
versatile and cost-friendly wine. Elegant, because you want your guests to
say “Mmmm. This is good wine!” Versatile, because you want
something which will taste good with what you’re serving your guests for lunch
or dinner. Cost-friendly, because you really shouldn’t be worried about
the wine overly impacting your wedding budget. As a result, I’m always
inclined to recommend a Riesling or an unoaked Chardonnay for white wine,
because they fit these categories. Pinot Noir, Barbaresco from
Italy and a French Gamay from the Beaujolais region of France are also
versatile reds.
For brides who are holding weddings
that are more ethnic in nature, perhaps a Chinese wedding or Indian
wedding, what would you recommend that they pair with their food?
The type of food served offers really fun pairings. Both
types of food benefit from a Riesling or Gewurztraminer as far as good white
wines. Zinfandel is a robust and slightly spicy red varietal which
is very successful with heartier dishes.
What's the difference
between Champagne, sparkling wine, and prosecco?
The difference is primarily geographic. Champagne is made
in a region of Franceof the same name. Only wines from this region can
legally be called “Champagne.” “Prosecco” hales from Italyand is named
after the grape from which it is made. “Cava” is a name given to
sparkling wines from Spain. “Sparkling wine” is what you name bubbly from
places where there is no geographic designation. California and Oregon
make world class sparkling wine.
For brides that decide to go the more casual route in cuisine,
say a barbeque or comfort food, what would be the best wine to serve with
that type of food and what brands would you recommend that would be at
a reasonable price?
You definitely don’t want to invest in a complicated, high end
wine, because the subtleties in flavors in these bottles will be lost when
paired with a burger or with ribs. It’s generally a good idea with casual
lunches and dinners to get wines which emphasize fruit. In wine lingo,
they’re called “fruit bombs.” It’s difficult to give one or two suggestions,
because of the variety of food and wine combinations. One
recommendation is to look in the Southern Hemisphere. For example,
Argentina produces an amazing white wine varietal called Torrontes which is
aromatic and refreshing. Most wines retail for less than $15 a
bottle. Australia is well known for producing Semillon, which goes great
with vegetables and salad. Again, you can find relatively inexpensive
wines. Chilean red wines like Carmenere ar e an even better value.
You can find excellent Carmenere which goes exceptionally well with hamburgers
at $10 or less.
Thanks for stopping in visiting with us at On the Dot Event Planning! We hope to feature Kevin in future blogs. Please send us your wine related questions to info@onthedoteventplanning.com and we would be happy to help you pick the best wine pairing for your wedding menu!
Cheers!
-Angie
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