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Round Lake Vineyards & Winery hosts wine pairing dinner
Flavor is king.
Wine and food paired together make each taste better. It’s this lesson that the owners of Round Lake Vineyards & Winery will be seeking to share with their upcoming Wine Pairing Dinner at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15.
“Wine consumed with food makes food better. The basic tastes that make up all foods: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami consumed with the sensory enhancements from wine: acid, bitter (tannin), sweet, sour and fruity provide for a fascinating culinary experience,” said Scott Ellenbecker, the co-owner of Round Lake Vineyards & Winery.
The journey to learn what foods and wines enhance each other is one that the Wine Pairing Dinner will help led their guests on.
“We all eat. To understand what to combine to make food and wine better together is a discovery process. It’s not often you’ll eat dinner with five wine bottles open or five gourmet food options put in front of you,” Ellenbecker said. “So, one could say the goal is to have fun while expanding your palate!”
There will be a number of options on the menu for people to try along with the wines. The menu will be a surprise to both the guests and to Ellenbecker.
“I like to have a diverse menu. We sit down with the chefs and discuss five wines. Then discuss tastes and flavors we’d like to bring together,” Ellenbecker said. “I don’t know the final menu. I like to be surprised the night of the event, then I can discover the tastes with the guests so we can discuss it together as it’s being experienced.”
And while this experience is all about the learning process, Ellenbecker wants to assure everyone that when it comes to wine there is no right answer.
“To be a true wine connoisseur you’re not a drinker of just dry or just red wines, but rather a person who enjoys what wine does for the moment. With wine there is no right or wrong just what you taste, and we all taste differently,” Ellenbecker said. “To taste a spicy or sour food with a dry red wine, the spice notes of the wine will be greatly enhanced. Eat those same foods with sweet wine and you may not notice sweetness at all in the wine, but rather fruity notes that balance the spice or sour in the wine.”
The event is open to anyone — even if you aren’t sure you even like wine.
“We have folks who come with friends or spouses who only like beer or spirits but are willing to try wine with food and discover a new perspective on wine and food. I want curious people to come,” Ellenbecker said. “You can come as a group or by yourself. There is no pretension and it’s a relaxing evening.”
