Food with Wine Pairing, not Wine with Food Pairing

This week I have been experiencing a bit of writer’s block. So, I sent out a lifeline and one of my Facebook Friends (thanks, Hillary) suggested that I write about a dinner circle where the food is paired to the wine. I like this idea quite a bit! In the past, a group of our friends have gotten together and we have had dinners where we chose a theme (ie: Eastern European Cuisine) and then found wines to pair with our dishes. But, this puts a new spin on things.

Especially for an enophile, wine should be the focus, right? If anyone has ever attended a winemaker dinner, you know that the food is paired to the wine, and not vice versa. So, this will be a new theme for my dinner parties, a theme that I should have had all along! I will first choose the wine (or better, wines) and then come up with interesting fare to compliment them.

I am going to practice this new concept of pairing dinner with the wine right now. I am feeling like a Gamay- tonight I am opening the 2005 Chateau des Capitans Julienas from Georges DuBoeuf. This wine is wonderfully fruity on the nose with a smooth body of dark raspberry, plum and a silken coco characteristic on the finish. I think I will have a pizza to top it off... I know, that may sound disappointing to you, but I am thinking that pizza is just what is going to hit the spot. The fruitiness of the wine will match well with the bright acidity of the tomato sauce and the acid backbone of the wine will nicely cut through the creaminess of the cheese.

If you are in Tampa and looking for some dinner guests, let me know what wine(s) you are having and I would love to join you and bring something wonderful to compliment it!