“A great wine education class. I was amazed by the instructor's wealth of knowledge, the great wines to taste and talk about, and the small, intimate class size. A fun way to learn a lot about wine.”

—Will, Ritchie Creek Vineyards

Food and Wine Pairs

Some ideas:

Salty foods (like chips or nuts) with dry sherry.

A fatty, hunger-deferring appetizer such as foie gras or a truffled pate with cold Sauternes or aged Auslesen-quality Riesling.

Chiles or brackish (mildly metallic foods such as spinach, artichokes or oysters) with Sauvignon Blanc

Spicy Latino foods with slightly sweet, fruity wines (such as Grenache, Gamay, Pinotage, or the French-American red hybrids like Norton, Chambourcin, and Foch) served chilled.

Aromatic Asian cuisine with floral, perfumey wines such as young Viognier, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris.

Fish cooked simply with fruit-driven, cooler climate Chardonnay.

Rich, savory pastas and risottos with aged Semillon.

Root vegetables with aged, white Mediterranean varieties such as Viognier and Trebbiano.

Roast chicken dishes with Cabernet Franc.

Egg or garlicky dishes with big, woody Chardonnays.

Pinot Noir with mushroom dishes, especially in pastry, or with duck...

Tomato-based sauces with high acid reds such as the Italian wines from Piedmonte.

Slow cooked pork, such as BBQ ribs, with Syrah and with Zinfandel.

Grilled meats, aged cheddars and blue cheeses with red wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, that have received extended barrel age.

Milk chocolate with Sauternes; bittersweet chocolate with Port or Cabernets.

Stonefruit desserts (no chocolate) with fruity scented LH whites such as Riesling or Muscat.

Sparkling wines and Champagne with anything.