On June 26th of 2008  I was lucky enough to get a seat at the table for one of Durhams Wine Authorities Food & Wine Pairing classes. It was held at the Wine Authorities store, a locally owned shop that specializes in small vineyards that produce small quantities of very good wine at very good prices. Hosted by owners Craig Heffly and Seth Gross the event was catered by the wonderful and talented chef, Tom Ferguson, of Durham Catering Co.

I had not been to a food and wine pairing class before, or at least an official one. I guess I can’t count the evenings at certain friends houses who would bust out a bottle of red from their wine rack and say something like, “Hey, this would be awesome with that cheese!” Our Wine Authorities friends explained WHY a wine works or doesn’t work with various foods.

First, each table accommodated 4 students with 4 place settings. Six wine glasses sat upon a piece of paper at each students setting. The paper had 6 circles in which was written six different types of wine that was to be poured. Also, there was a sheet of paper with “The Challengers” written at the top and the list of what wines were going to be tested against the six courses of food. It was really exciting!

We began with Seth breaking down the five senses of taste; sweet, sour, salty, bitter & spicy. (That is Craig pictured above) Then he explained the power of taste cancellation or manifestation when wine and food are paired. An example of this might be sipping a sweet Riesling while eating a something spicy, like Jambalaya. What occurred in my mouth was that the sweetness of that wine cooled the spice from the dish. Then I tried the same dish with a Cabernet Sauvignon which tasted tart against the spice. It was a great experience and forced me to really taste, and savor, and think about what was going on with my taste buds.

The food was served on small plates in six courses and beautifully plated in miniature. There were poached oysters in tarragon, apricot brie mini tartlets, spicy jambalaya, lamb (one of my least favorite things to even look at, unfortunately), salmon in butter and chocolate souffle’.

We made notes after each tasting and discussed what was going on in our mouths.  It was fun to hear how everyone was perceiving each wine and how varied every ones tastes were. And as Craig and Seth pointed out, there are no WRONG choices when it comes to each persons tastes. If you liked the Muscadet with that sweet brie then so be it! It’s your mouth and your taste. Who can argue with that?

After the class we bought a few bottles and talked with the other guests. It was a great event and I would highly recommend attending their next class if you can.

Craig and Seth are masters, truly, at their art. They are passionate teachers and really love what they are doing. To have the knowledge that both of them posses takes years of tasting and traveling and we, here in Durham, reap the rewards of all their hard work. If you have not visited them you should make an all out effort to go. You will find two friends who are more than willing to guide you through the wines in a completely non-stuffy atmosphere, and hey, where else in Durham can you try wines in various amounts from a machine called the “Enomatic”! If nothing else, visit them just to check out that sleek, sexy European wine dispenser.

I would again like to say “Thanks guys for having me” and here’s to you,  Salut!

“Hi everyone. My name is Shirle’ and I am a cookbook addict.”

If there were a Cookbook Addicts Anonymous I might have had to find a meeting because I was a true Cookbook junkie. I would join cookbook clubs, buying tons of books, with the hope that I would somehow make every dish in its pages, only to have the book sit on the coffee table, or better yet, my desk, collecting dust. This went on for a few years until one day I realized I had barely touched a recipe in any of them.

I then had to stop and think about how to manage the task of figuring out what I wanted to make from all the books I had acquired. It was as if I had a huge mountain before me and didn’t bring the proper shoes to climb in.

Then my friend Sarah Daily brought me the climbing boots I needed.

She had this idea, born from The Wine Authorities, our friends Craig and Seth’s Wine store here in Durham, and how they label their wines. The have this system where each bottle is labeled “Daily”, “Weekly” or “Monthly”. It’s a brilliant way to help the shopper know whether the wine should be paired with Monday nights leftover pizza or paired with something that takes all day to braise for that party of 12 you are throwing.

Sarah took their insight and easily transferred it to my dilemma. “Why not look through each recipe quickly and label it with either a “Daily” tag, one that you could whip up in 30 minutes or less; a “Weekly” tag, a recipe that you might want to make for a nice weekend dinner or a “Monthly” tag, one which would require considerable time to make something very special.”

When she came up with this idea, seemingly out of the blue while we biked along, I was instantly fixated on the details. “What kinds of post-it notes should I use? I don’t like the boring yellow ones. They need to be 3 different colors. Maybe I can print something on my computer.” The ideas were rushing in so fast. I went to Staples the next day and found this 3 pack of multi colored with flower ones that fit the bill. I then took a Sharpie marker and labeled each one with a D, W and M and got busy on the latest book I had received in the mail. (It was the Splendid Tables, “How to Eat Supper”…Hey,it was a thank you gift from WUNC’s Spring telethon…)

This has changed how I now look at all my cookbooks. Instead of having this insurmountable task (and guilt) of not ever using that “Vegetarian Table of North Africa” book that sits about my desk I now have a new and exciting way to deal with it-whether I cook anything out of it is another question, but at least it will be picked up, given the once over and tagged.

Then it’s on to joining another cookbook club