I had company yesterday

We did some tasting as usual.
We had Pinot Gris from California 2008.
It's  fruity on the nose, fuzzy peach on the palate.Very nice!


Also Riesling from Niagara's Konzelmann estate winery 2009. Lovely, off dry, green apple on the nose.Very tasty Riesling.

Beringer's Cabernet Sauvignon from California.Wonderful, balanced, medium bodied with a lot of black berries on the palate.



And Zinfandel.
Our appetizer was salad caprese, first entree-shrimp in marinara sauce with feta cheese.
Second-chicken alfredo and mushrooms with leek.
The desert was individual apple tartes with french vanilla ice cream.The wine, Spatlese, late harvest. Sweet, but not too sweet. Fresh and aromatic, very good with the apple tartes.



Some of my friends don't drink wine at all. Some prefer only certain types of wine.
So I introduced the wines I had picked out. I like California wines more and more. The south sun gives the grapes a very pleasant richness and aroma. A balance and good level of acidity.
Pinot Gris was lovely and fizzy. The Pinot Grigio is a grape mutated from black grape Pinot Noir.
Pinot Gris itself is dark grape too, but white wine is made from it.



In every region Pinot Gris tastes different. You can try to compare wines from Alsace and Italy and taste the distinction for yourself.
And so, after tasting wines we started tasting food with all the wines. And again new sensations surprised my friends.The varieties in food and wines worked in contrast for everyone.
My friends were interested very much. So I think our tasting was a success!

Life is full of surprises!

We are always learning.
After I started courses at International Sommelier Guild, I realized that I was always looking in the wrong direction! 
I found a new world-wine world!It's so big, has so many sides, so many angles!And so much history!
Every time I go to the wine store I always know,that I will find there something new and something exiting.
Even an old name can bring new taste!
For example-Zinfandel.

I loved pink Zinfandel.Then I learned about red Zinfandel and I fell in love!
Zinfandel is a very old grape.It is originated in Croatia.Who knew!For most of people Zinfandel is THE Californian grape.But if you are in Italy and drinking Primitivo-there is your Zinfandel.
It's one of my favorite wines.It is rich,flavorful,aromatic.
When berries are in the vine,and if there too much heat,grapes can become raisins.There is not much acidity and a lot of sugar.
Try the wine and open for yourself new aromas and taste!Cheers!

About rules

We live at times,when everything is changing. Some well known rules are now found to be very old fashioned.Some rules,are not rules at all.Just guidance.
I'm talking about the wine and food pairings.When you make rule for yourself,it's becoming very complicated to follow it.
If one say-drink white wine with white meat only,that means they close for themselves very big variety of taste.I say-don't be afraid to experiment.There is a guidance,but you can be your own guide.
Try something,you never even thought of attempting.See for yourself how your favorite food tastes with a new wine or vice verse.
Well,the wine should taste great on its own,as well as food.But when you combine-wine makes food taste better.And I find that wine opens palate every time in a new way with different food.
Good tastings!Cheers!

You may be interested

http://www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher/

There are wonderful advices!

http://boschendalwines.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/simple-rules-for-food-and-wine-matching/

I invited my friends to share my ideas and my vision.They were skeptical at first. After they tried wines,and then they could taste for themselves the difference in their palate,they loved the idea!
There is my menu:

The idea is to try different wines with different food and find what works personally for you.Every one has a unique palate.And very rarely people buy wines specially for certain type of food. I wanted to show to my friends and to my guests,that various wines can have surprise, when one is not even expecting it.
We tasted wines first.They were very different-fresh and crisp Chardonnay,aromatic Gewurztraminer,very nice and mild Merlot and full bodied Pinot Noir.All wines were from France except for Gewurztraminer.It was from Niagara's Jackson Triggs -very fruity! 
And after wine tasting we started trying wines with food.And as I expected everyone has their own preferences.Wine and food.That was a very interesting experience for everyone.