Guest writer Mark Stine is discovering some interesting facts about wine pairing and food flavors. Read about Mark’s experience then experiment for yourself!

Recently I was invited to a wine tasting at Café Georgio’s in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay shops. The wine tasting group has been meeting weekly for a number of years and the focus for this gathering was Italy...a favorite of GourmetStation with its fine Tuscan-Italian food offerings. As the congenial crowd of 40 wine connoisseurs gathered, the host launched into the Internet broadcast while the food and wine pairings were presented one at a time.

The wine, paired with tastings of special dishes, was a fun and an engaging palate delight…until the last wine. It tasted…well odd…we all agreed odd and musty was an apt description. I commented to an attendee next to me that it was like a musty old mushroom…not so great for drinking. Well, when the paired dish was brought out, Risotto with Fungi mushrooms…suddenly the wine and the food exploded in concert in a wonderful taste sensation.

The point…exploration of unusual wine and food combinations can lead to an exciting outcome. If you are stumped for gift ideas for friends and family, try this concept for yourself. You can order a selection of appetizers or gourmet meals from GourmetStation for yourself and then consult your local wine store with about your cuisine selections. Try wine pairings from around the world. The wine may or may not be from the country of the food you’re sampling…the idea is to be creative with combining wine and food flavors.

Buy a couple of bottles of each wine then try them at home. If you hit on a combination that you truly love, then you can order up a food selection from GourmetStation for friends or family. For starters you can begin with Italian like my recent wine food pairing in Las Vegas.  GourmetStation offers wonderful appetizer selections..Tuscan inspired Roasted Tomato Bruschetta, Italian Veggie Tarts or for added flavor Kalamata Olive and Artichoke tarts, (see my prior Olive Blog to see how much I love kalamata Olives), or Sundried Tomato in Phyllo Pastry. What a great way to start on your food and wine gifting adventure. All of these earthy and flavorful dishes combine wonderfully with a great array of wines.

You’ll accomplish two things...you’ll have fun researching the food and the wine. You can even create your own home event and invite friends. Secondly, you’ll be able to give a truly unique gift…food and wine…paired together that YOU have experienced and enjoyed….sharing yourself and your experience. Food and wine feed the soul…salute!

You can only wish to be a part of such a dream-world.

Posted by: John at Jan 31, 2007 9:51:30 AM

nice site
http://www.celebritiescelebs.org/

Posted by: celebritiescelebs at Feb 14, 2007 3:12:21 AM

Thank you for keeping your comments relevant to this post. Comments that are significantly off the subject for this blog entry may be removed. Click here for more on our comments policy.