2010 December Pairings and Holiday Gathering

It was that time of year when people make much of good food and good cheer and GULP was not an exception!
Andy hosted this month at his home.  Thank you Andy!
The theme for December was a potluck menu of each person's favorite pairing.  Some of the match ups were classic tastes while others were new both in the wine and the food.  We ate, drank and made merry until there was nothing left in the bottle or on the plate!  In fact we ate and drank so much some of us needed to take a cat nap between courses!

This months attendees were:  Charles Williams, Dorothy Segaloff, Scott Simmons, Debbie Knepp, Krystina Parker, Wally Lurz, Adriel Wright, Coreen Gottschalk, LeBeau Kpadenou, Jeff and Cat Margel, and Anthony Sinesi.

And here are the match ups:
(click here for recipes)
Krystina -
spinach artichoke dip with Kremser Goldberg KELLERMEISTER PRIVAT

Vintage: 2009, Grüner Veltliner, Austria
Dorothy -
olive tapanade with Riondo Preseco Spago, Italy
Deb -
Vegeterian Panini, Sausage Panini, and stuffed olive on grilled baby bella mushrooms with Reserve St. Martin Chardonay 2008 france
Andy -
Beery Cheese Soup with Criminally Bad Elf Barleywine style ale england

1st Intermission - Alfio Moriconi Savignon Blanc

Greg and Cat -
Mongolian beef sliders, Past Salad with POV 2007 Robert Sinsky California
Charles -
Lasagna with Black Fox Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 California
Note: Charles' lasagna recipe can be found in Marcella Hazan’s The Classic Italian Cookbook


2nd Intermission - Kiwi Cuvee Savignon Blanc 2009, don't let the name fool you, this wine is from France

Mame - Baked Apples with Fetzer Gerwurtztraminer 2009  California
Tony - Cheese course of Machego and bleu with Chateu Megyer Tokaji Hungary
Wally - Chess Cake with Villa Wolf Gerwurtztraminer 2009 Germany
Debbie - Grand Marnier Cake with Renwood Muscat and Graham's Porto 10
Adriel - Oreo Chocolate Balls

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2010 November Pairings South American Reds with Recipes

(Click on the image to get all the pictures from this event)

Attendees: Cat and Jeff Margel, Andy Segaloff, Krystina Parker, Christine Giordano, Mame Burkett, LeBeau Kpadenou, Michelle Getty, Thalia White, Deb Knepp, me and Athina Holmes.

Krystina gets props for the name tags!  It was a great help to remember the names of my favorite winos I only see once a month!

On to the Wine!


Santa Rita Medalla Real Carmenere 2008  Chile
Anakena Carmenere 2008  Chile*
Rio De Los Pajaro Tannat/Syrah/Viognier  2007 Uraguay
Rio De Los Pajaro Tannat 2008 Uruguay
Chateau Los Boldos Mementos Merlot 2009 Chile
Misterio Malbec 2009 Argentina
Chateau Los Boldos Mementos Carmenere 2009*
Tapena Garnacha Spain  (This wine was the blind tasting this month)
*website reflects the wine and winery if not the actual year we tasted so tasting notes may vary.

Now for the Food!
Click here for full recipes of the paired food


Bacon Wraps from Argentina paired with Misterio Malbec
(recipe from cooks.com)


Cheesy Corn Casserole from Paraguay paired with Santa Rita Carmenere


Black Bean Flatbread with Chimichurri Drizzle paired with Château Los Boldos Merlot

Empanadas paired with Rio De Los Pajaro Tannat/Syrah/Viognier

www.epicurious.com/recipes

2010 October Pairing Beer - American craft- and home brews

This pairing was held at the Bx Beer Depot in Lake Worth.  They are a home brewing store which features craft beers for your drinking pleasure as well as classes and supplies so you can make your own beer, lager, ale and the list goes on.

The Depot hosted a delicious feast.  LeBeau and Coreen selected the beers and provided the ingredients for Corey's amazing brisket and Thai Chicken Curry.  Coreen and Lebeau also provided herbed goat cheese and smoked cheeses.  Roast chicken rounded out the savory selections.  Joy made pumpkin bread while Cheryl brought her homemade Cheesecake.  I loved the cherry topping!  Sally and Corey supplemented Lebeau's beer talk with information specific to the beers we were tasting.  Craig gave an awesome tutorial on home brewing and made us all excited to taste what he's got brewing!  If you love the pictures then thank Michelle.  She is the official camera phone photographer.
 (Click on the image for more pictures from this pairing)

2010 September Pairings South American Whites

The Wine

Anakena Late Harvest 2008 from Chile
Anakena Sauvignon 2009 Blanc from Chile
Chalton Reserva Chardonay 2009 from Patagonia, Argentina
Ropiteau Pinot Noir 2009 from France
Anakena Ona Reisling/Viogner/Chardonay 2009 from Chile
Pisano Rio de Los Pajaros Torrontes - 2009 from Uraguay







(click on image for more pictures from this pairing)

2010 August Pairings ---Sparkling Wines

Attendees: Coreen Gottschalk, S. LeBeau Kpadenou, Andy Segaloff, Dorothy Segaloff, Deb Knepp, Michelle Getty, Barry Imhoff, Kristina, Adriel Wright, Lorie Glass, Joy Dietz, Arlene Dietz, Cat Wofford and Mame Burkett (click on Attendee List for more pictures from the pairing)

The Wines

Blanc de Blanc - Charles De Fere $12
Blind Tasting Zinfandel - Sobon Estate $13
Prosecco - Santi Nello - $15
Cava - Conde de Caralt - $9
Shiraz - The Chook - $17
Riesling - Deinhard - Lila -$13
Lemongrass Infused Riondo Prosecco



Now For The Food
Click here for full recipes of the paired food 

Peach Salsa

Parmesan and Garlic Popcorn

Truffle Popcorn - Cat will probably give us the recipe if we ask nicely

Stuffed Mushrooms

Spicy Thai Noodle Salad

Bacon Wrapped Figs

Ceviche 

Shrimp and Chutney - Charles will probably give us the recipe if we ask nicely

Polenta, Sausage and Veggies - Deb will probably give us the recipe if we ask nicely

Strawberries and Grapes

Chocolate Filled Croissants

2010 pairings for January through July

January - Pinot Noir
February - Cordials
March - Cab vs. Merlot
April - Sangria
May - 
June - Albarino/Vino Verde
July - Blind and structured tasting

2009 Year of Pairings

January - Viognier
February - Ports
March - Meade
April - Red and White Bordeaux 
May - Red vs. White Varietal
June - Wedding Wines with Jamey
July - Sauvignon Blanc/Prosecco
August - Field Trip to Lakeridge Winery
September -
October - Beer Oktoberfest and  5 course dinner pairing
November - Thanksgiving at Andy's
December - 

2008 Our Inaugural Year of Pairings

January - Riesling/Sauvignon Blanc
February - Sparkling 
March - Sangiovese/Chianti/Tempranillo 
April - Cabarnet Sauvignon
May - Sake
June - Sangria/Glass Painting
July - 
August -
September -
October - Beer with Weare
November - Pinot Noir  
December - Social/Party