Wine is not simply about opening a bottle –
it’s the experience of creating and sharing something special that gives wine its true flavor.
it’s the experience of creating and sharing something special that gives wine its true flavor.
Spring Wine Open House
Spring Has Sprung - What are the best wines to serve with spring fare?
This is a fun open house to introduce our customers to great wines that are perfect compliments to their Easter or Passover dinners.
Prepare some of the dishes from the recipes provided or purchase small dishes so your customers can sample the suggested food and wine pairings.
Attached you will find recipes that you can give to the guests that attend the open house. Make 2 or 3 dishes to sample with the wines during the open house. Please make sure that the wines are at their proper temperature for sampling.
Print extra recipe cards on white card stock and trim in half. Give recipes cards to the guests that come and encourage them to try the recipes and then post their comments or their own pairings on facebook.
Wine Pairing Suggestions for some popular main dishes:
Ham Dinners:
The common ingredient in curing is salt, giving this meat its salty character. The pre-cooked hams found in most grocery stores are the city style. These hams are often prepared by adding a sweet glaze before reheating at home, to counter the ham’s inherent saltiness.
To help balance the saltiness of ham, a well paired wine should have good fruit flavors upfront and not be tannic (tannins are typically found in big, bold red wines). An easy rule of thumb in wine pairings is to match the color of the meat with the wine’s color.
For a pink ham, a good choice would be a Rosé wine. A medium dry Rosé would pair well, as some sweetness is needed to offset the ham’s saltiness. For white wine lovers, both Kabinett Rieslings and Gewürztraminers are a good pairing, as they offer good fruit flavors and acidity to counterbalance the ham’s saltiness.
If you add cloves to your ham, Gewurztraminers pair particularly well. For the red wine lovers, there are many fruit driven, low tannin wines to choose from. American Zinfandels, Barbera wines from the Piedmont region of Italy, Nero d’Avola wines from Sicily and French Beaujolais all would pair well with ham.
Lamb Dinners:
Lamb is characteristically both robust in flavor and fatty. To stand up to this combination, a big, bold and tannic wine is in order and Cabernet Sauvignon fits the bill.
The tannins found in Cabernets will help cleanse your palate, by cutting through the fatty flavor of this meat, allowing you enjoy the other side dishes of your dinner. The flavors found in Cabernet will compliment the lamb’s robust flavor. If you are seasoning your lamb with Rosemary, some wine lovers like to pair this dish with Oregon Pinot Noir, as this picks up earthy notes in both the food and wine.
Turkey Dinners:
If you are a red wine drinker, try a Pinot Noir. It's a nice flavored red wine that will pair well with turkey. Pinot Noir has very little tannins which means it won't overwhelm the meal. If you like white wines, try a Chardonnay or even a Pinot Gris. This is where the turkey is really adapatable. Almost any good white will work, but stay away from the sweet dessert style whites. Light and crisp Chardonnay's along with most Sauvignon Blanc's will work. If you want to be a little more adventurous, include a Viognier. It has a floral, peach, apricot, pear, fruity flavor and is medium in body. Sparkling Wine also works as well, and brings a festive note to the meal. There are some powerful, yet affordable brut Champagnes that have sufficient weight and structure to stand up to a rich meal. Again, stay away from the sweeter Champagnes.
Brunch:
A perfect light, festive beverage for Easter brunch is a sparkling wine. Depending on your personal preference, an Italian Prosecco or a Spanish Cava will give you a bit of sparkle at an affordable price. These can also be mixed with orange juice for a crowd pleasing mimosa.
Kosher and Non Kosher Wine
There is not a tremendous difference between kosher wine and non kosher wine. In general, because kosher wine is used in the Sabbath blessing, as well as holidays, it can only be handled by Sabbath observant Jews. Additionally, no animal products can be used in the winemaking process, such as gelatin or egg whites to fine the wine (remove particulates). The difference in Kosher for Passover versus Kosher wine is that they make sure no grain yeasts are used, since during Passover Jews do not eat any grains (no bread, for example).
Spring Has Sprung - What are the best wines to serve with spring fare?
This is a fun open house to introduce our customers to great wines that are perfect compliments to their Easter or Passover dinners.
Prepare some of the dishes from the recipes provided or purchase small dishes so your customers can sample the suggested food and wine pairings.
Attached you will find recipes that you can give to the guests that attend the open house. Make 2 or 3 dishes to sample with the wines during the open house. Please make sure that the wines are at their proper temperature for sampling.
Print extra recipe cards on white card stock and trim in half. Give recipes cards to the guests that come and encourage them to try the recipes and then post their comments or their own pairings on facebook.
Wine Pairing Suggestions for some popular main dishes:
Ham Dinners:
The common ingredient in curing is salt, giving this meat its salty character. The pre-cooked hams found in most grocery stores are the city style. These hams are often prepared by adding a sweet glaze before reheating at home, to counter the ham’s inherent saltiness.
To help balance the saltiness of ham, a well paired wine should have good fruit flavors upfront and not be tannic (tannins are typically found in big, bold red wines). An easy rule of thumb in wine pairings is to match the color of the meat with the wine’s color.
For a pink ham, a good choice would be a Rosé wine. A medium dry Rosé would pair well, as some sweetness is needed to offset the ham’s saltiness. For white wine lovers, both Kabinett Rieslings and Gewürztraminers are a good pairing, as they offer good fruit flavors and acidity to counterbalance the ham’s saltiness.
If you add cloves to your ham, Gewurztraminers pair particularly well. For the red wine lovers, there are many fruit driven, low tannin wines to choose from. American Zinfandels, Barbera wines from the Piedmont region of Italy, Nero d’Avola wines from Sicily and French Beaujolais all would pair well with ham.
Lamb Dinners:
Lamb is characteristically both robust in flavor and fatty. To stand up to this combination, a big, bold and tannic wine is in order and Cabernet Sauvignon fits the bill.
The tannins found in Cabernets will help cleanse your palate, by cutting through the fatty flavor of this meat, allowing you enjoy the other side dishes of your dinner. The flavors found in Cabernet will compliment the lamb’s robust flavor. If you are seasoning your lamb with Rosemary, some wine lovers like to pair this dish with Oregon Pinot Noir, as this picks up earthy notes in both the food and wine.
Turkey Dinners:
If you are a red wine drinker, try a Pinot Noir. It's a nice flavored red wine that will pair well with turkey. Pinot Noir has very little tannins which means it won't overwhelm the meal. If you like white wines, try a Chardonnay or even a Pinot Gris. This is where the turkey is really adapatable. Almost any good white will work, but stay away from the sweet dessert style whites. Light and crisp Chardonnay's along with most Sauvignon Blanc's will work. If you want to be a little more adventurous, include a Viognier. It has a floral, peach, apricot, pear, fruity flavor and is medium in body. Sparkling Wine also works as well, and brings a festive note to the meal. There are some powerful, yet affordable brut Champagnes that have sufficient weight and structure to stand up to a rich meal. Again, stay away from the sweeter Champagnes.
Brunch:
A perfect light, festive beverage for Easter brunch is a sparkling wine. Depending on your personal preference, an Italian Prosecco or a Spanish Cava will give you a bit of sparkle at an affordable price. These can also be mixed with orange juice for a crowd pleasing mimosa.
Kosher and Non Kosher Wine
There is not a tremendous difference between kosher wine and non kosher wine. In general, because kosher wine is used in the Sabbath blessing, as well as holidays, it can only be handled by Sabbath observant Jews. Additionally, no animal products can be used in the winemaking process, such as gelatin or egg whites to fine the wine (remove particulates). The difference in Kosher for Passover versus Kosher wine is that they make sure no grain yeasts are used, since during Passover Jews do not eat any grains (no bread, for example).
Page last modified on Friday 02 of March, 2012 09:50:27 PM GMT
