One of my biggest passions in my life is learning all there is to know about wine. But one thing I have figured out as my wine journey continues is, drinking wines with friends makes it so much better. Either at home, at their house, traveling to a wine bar, or restaurant, going to a winery, taking a trip to wine country, or just getting on zoom and being a part of the Wine and Dine Show. We get together every Wednesday night and enjoy picking wines and matching food to go along with those wines.
One week at the end of August we celebrated “Eat Outside Day” in celebration of the end of summer and good weather. This was a favorite of mine because it challenged my mind to use different wines that would go with lots of different foods. You have to think of flavors in the foods, along with the style and type of wine. Then I take those wines and think about all knowledge I know about them so I can teach others all about them. Well we are back at it, only this time I get to travel to Dallas and be with these friends I mention.
The beginning’s of Wines With Friends
I started drinking wine when I was about 30 years old. I normally stuck with either a good stout/porter or a whiskey on the rocks. But when my friends brought the bottle of wine to dinner, I decided to have a go with it. It wasn’t anything fancy, a Malbec from a local place down the street in Vista California made in the owners garage. I instantly loved it. Now, the difference between myself and my friends was I drank very slow and they liked to consume rather quickly. It didn’t matter because we were enjoying the night and having wines with friends.
This started my passion for wine, going from drinking with them to traveling to wine country to do wine tastings. I started buying books to get more knowledge on the subject and looking for ways to take classes.
Wine Destinations
I have been lucky enough to have visited Napa and Sonoma, Temecula, Lodi, Clarksburg, Yakima, Walla Walla, Woodinville, Champagne, Portugal, Spain and many places in the UK. But the best places are with friends and family. I am traveling to Dallas for a convention and I get to spend some time sharing wines with the friends I am talking about. Like I said before, if you want to see what I mean, check out our Wine and Dine Show every Wednesday at 5:30 pm PST / 6:30 pm MST / 7:30 pm CST / 8:30 pm EST at www.thewineanddineshow.com. We will pair wines and food together to make a big event, it’s like magic.
Of course, going to a vineyard is amazing. Hitting up the local wine tasting room or bar is a night of fun. But one thing I love is hearing my doorbell ring knowing that it’s my Fine Wines from Napa and Sonoma Valley being delivered from my wine club. I just returned from a trip to Napa where I had the pleasure of visiting the Vineyard and having dinner after sunset. It is a dream come to, or a check mark on my bucket list. I will be doing this every September during Labor Day weekend with my wine club.
Now to the fun stuff…..Let me give you an idea of how our night is going to look.
Wines for the show
We would normally just pick one or maybe two (white/red) for the show but this one is a special occasion. When we all get together we have so much fun so I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to open several bottles so we get the idea of what different wines taste like with different foods. Now, I wouldn’t try this at home if it is just you and the better half. Good chance you aren’t going to be able to finish all the wines and we don’t like wine going to waste. But if you have several people, I highly recommend opening at least two bottles.
Appetizer
Starting off the night we are going to go with some light wines that should pair nicely with the appetizer. A Fried Apple Fritter, made by our very own Shelia or as we know her Mama Chief. I chose More Than Muse 2016 Sauvignon Blanc for the first wine. The second our Parables in White (Chenin Blanc, White Blend), which will really bring out the apple fruit flavor in the wine. These wines will also cut through the greasy fried fritter.
Entrée
The next meal is the big one, and many different flavors to go along with it. Shrimp Gumbo and Shrimp/Steak Kababs. I was back and forth on which wines to choose, but very happy with the ones that I ended with. The first big wine of the night is going to be a Discoveries Grenache. The reason I picked this wine is because it’s a lighter wine but with a little spice. It will pair great with the shrimp but can still taste wonderful with those BBQ steak kababs. The second wine, the Discoveries Tempranillo, this one will pair great with the steak kababs. Notice two Spanish grapes to go with the smokiness of the BBQ.
Dessert
Last and definitely not least, the dessert (I always think we should start with this one). Our friend Linda is making a homemade family recipe pumpkin pie. I am really looking forward to this because I have some great wines that I think will go very well with. We will start off with a Moonlight Sonata 2019 Chardonnay, and I know you might be thinking why. If we choose the right Chardonnay that’s not crisp but has some yeast or bread flavors to it then it will pair nicely with the pie crust and spices of the pumpkin pie. The next wine will be a the Nile Eddy Pinot Noir. This is not a sweet wine but really pairs well with a wide variety of foods. This is a great wine to have at a Thanksgiving dinner when you have so many different types of foods and spices.
A bonus for Wines with Friends
I am throwing in a few extra wines for the entrée and dessert which is a little treat. With dessert we didn’t have a sweet wine so I wanted everyone to experience the magic of a pairing of sweet dessert wine with Pumpkin Pie. One of the best wines to pair with Pumpkin pie is a 2010 Sauternes from France, Grand Vin De Bordeaux. This wine was absolutely amazing and would recommend to anyone. The group loved it and was very pleased with the experience.
It’s not just a Club, it’s a Family
I am so excited to see everyone and get to experience wine and food with my friends. And check out their recipes so you can experience what we are enjoying ourselves. We get to do this once or maybe twice a year and we have a blast. Also, a lot of these wines that we show you will go great with a Holiday meal. I hope to see you on The Wine and Dine Show!
If you are interested in learning more about our Wine Club or the types of wines we have, take a look at this page for more information. Or if you don’t need to know more and you just want to get the wine because like me, you are a lover of wine, here is the quickest way to get it!