A Night Of Food And Wine

With the popularity of wine growing, sales are sky rocketing. Now, there are several wine clubs that have sprouted up in Sioux Falls.

Once a month, members of the Hy-Vee Wine Club meet for a night of good conversation, food, and wine.

"I'm more of a red wine kinda person, but I do like some whites since they're not overly sweet,” Denny Pierson said.

Denny Pierson is one of about 60 people at the monthly wine tasting.  The Hy-Vee Wine Club meets the second Wednesday of every month.  And Pierson says although he and his wife have been coming to these events for the past two years, no two dinners are the same.

“It's a different night out with people we didn't know before, which is really fun,” Pierson said.

Even those who have been taking part for years agree. Jim Winker and his wife have been regular attendees since 1985. Winker says he always learns something new.

"We wouldn't have known about all the wines that come from South America and South Africa and so forth,” Jim Winker said.

Winker says he's noticed more interest and he's excited to see how popular wine tastings and wine clubs have become.  Winker says it's a great opportunity to try something new without spending big bucks at the store.
 
"If you go to the wine stores, of course it's there, but you don't know what you're really getting until you've had a little chance to sample it,” Winker said.

Organizers say this exposes people to a variety of wines and examples of what food and wine taste best together.  For some, that can be half the battle.

"A lot of people that start with a real dry red, for their first one, they're turned off of wine forever, and not give it a chance. So, we don't wanna see that; we wanna see people start where they're comfortable,” Scott Ramharter with the HyVee Wine Club said.

There are five different wines for people to try; organizers say they always try to find a mix of either two white and three red or vice versa.

Also on the agenda is a presentation from wine specialist Elaine Elias.  Elias has been around wine all her life and says she loves to share her knowledge of the drink.

"Wine makes food taste better and food makes wine taste better, so you can't get any better than that,” Elias said.

Elias is with Cask and Cork Distributing. Her job is to find great wine and bring it to Sioux Falls.  She says part of the growing interest lies in the stories behind the wine.

"People love to hear the story and how his wife is a cardiologist, so she basically brings home the pancetta, so he's free, to, his two loves are wine making and art, so Botticelli's art, the art on the bottle, and so it's a whole story,” Elias said.

Elias says there's something for everyone here and you don't have to be sommelier, or wine expert, to join a wine club.

"There's so many different wines now.  There's so many people who wanna learn more and more about wine,” Elias said.

Organizers agree that the possibilities are endless.

"There's sweet white.  There's dry white.  There's acidity white.  There's dry red.  There's a sweeter red.  There's a fruity red,” Ramharter said.

Which is why anyone can find a flavor to savor.

"I do enjoy wine; I'm certainly not a connoisseur.  If it tastes good, I'll buy it,” Pierson said.