Hot Topic: Wine Dinners in Williamson County ~ What to Expect

By Bryan Robbins, Cool Springs Wines & Spirits

Published in VIP Franklin Magazine, October 2006

When mulling over menu selections at a fine restaurant, the diner is presented with a maze of options ��� appetizers, salads, dressings, entrees, and sauces. And those are just the food choices. A whole different dimension of the dining experience is the wine list, with its dozens of brands and varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and more. You crave a red wine--does that mean you can���t order the fish? What do you select for surf and turf? Where to begin?

One of the great pleasures of fine dining is the bevy of flavors available to appease your palate. But learning to match food with wine is a skill that is honed by experience. Wine (or Vintner) Dinners are great way to gain that experience and top restaurants in Middle Tennessee are leading the way by entertaining and enlightening their guests with events built around wine.

Fine restaurants have the advantage when it comes to pairing wine with dinner. An accomplished chef and a wine director can work together like a composer and conductor to create a symphony of food and wine. The menu is usually built around the wine--often a flight of wines from a particular region or winery--and some of the best wine dinners are even hosted by the winemaker.

The goal of a wine dinner is to create chemistry between food and wine. In a superior wine dinner, the result is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Some general guidelines apply--with consideration given to the style and number of wines to be served. It is always interesting to try combinations of food and wine that are out of the ordinary.

At a recent wine dinner at Criallo���s Bistro & Bar, winemaker Stephen Black of the boutique Australian winery Small Gully, paired his portfolio of wines with a special 6-course meal prepared by chef Jos�� Hernandez. An Arugula salad with sliced pears, candied pecans and Gorgonzola cheese was matched with Small Gully Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre, a red wine blend. The combination worked beautifully and after several of the other perfectly paired dishes, the brilliant Australian winemaker toasted the talent and creativity of the chef for making the wines even more exciting.

Food & wine connoisseurs will have a tough decision to make on October 19th during the Franklin Wine Festival, presented by Cool Springs Wines & Spirits. The three-day wine event kicks off with three amazing Vintner Dinners on Thursday evening: F. Scott���s Restaurant (Moet-Hennessy portfolio of champagnes/wines), Criallo���s Bistro & Bar (Torbreck Winery portfolio) and The Red Pony (Martine���s Wines, which specializes in French Rhone and Burgundy). Proceeds benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. For more information, call 615-522-5665, or visit the event web site at www.franklinwinefestival.com.