Zesty Mustard Viognier Dressing

We attended the DC's Wine Country Food & Wine Festival this past weekend and what a weekend it was. I was fortunate to only have to work two days of the event and enjoy one day. While I was out tasting some fabulous Loudoun County wines, I came across Endless Summer Harvest, offering salad samples with an awesome dressing made with our Viognier. So...Mary Watson and myself got a glass of Corcoran Viognier, a plate of salad and did the food & wine pairing. All I can say is YUM!! So when pairing foods, including veges, it is nice to add some wine to your favorite recipe.

We also found some wild Wine Berries growing on the property at Whitehall, picked some and did a wine & berry pairing. It went very well with our Cabernet Franc, which has hints of raspberry. What I realized is that you don't have to think steak, chicken or pasta when doing your wine & food pairings...you can use simple herbs, fruit or veges to enhance the flavor profiles of a wine.

I thought everyone should try this pairing so here is the recipe...

Zesty Mustard Viognier Dressing

Ingredients:

1 c. Mayonnaise

1/4 c. Dijon Mustard

1/4 c. Viognier Wine

1 Tbsp. Sugar

1 tsp. Honey

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt

Yeild: Approximately 1.5 Cups

Instructions:

Wisk all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Enjoy!

DC's Wine Country Food & Wine Festival 2009

This weekend we are getting in our 4th of July barbecues but what happens after all the fireworks are over? Make plans for the first annual DC's Wine Country Food & Wine Festival next weekend (July 10th -12th). Here is the website http://www.vafoodandwine.com/ But let me tell you why this is going to be the wine festival of the summer and why I am going to be there.

Not only is it being held at the historic Whitehall Manor in Bluemont, VA with 20 local wineries doing tastings, but never in this area has there been such a social wine appreciation event (how wine should be celebrated!) I am so excited that Mary Watson (a well known DC Sommelier) will be there showcasing her ingenious take on simplistic wine pairings in which she takes only herbs and pairs them with a particular wine. There will also be exotic hand blown wine glasses, scrumptious handmade chocolates and a book signing by Ellen Crosby who is very popular with her Wine Mysteries such as The Merlot Murders, The Chardonnay Charade, The Bordeaux Betrayal, and others. You have to check out the website to be able to see ALL the things that are going on. I would be typing for pages if you let me.

Remember when you go online to purchase tickets to type in the word corcoran as it will give you $5 your ticket price. Hope to see you there!

Eat Well & Drink Well (at the DC's Wine Country Wine & Food Festival!)
Kim

Ideas for Summer Time Fun

School is almost out so that means summer is about to begin. Everyone starts coming out of the houses and making more of an appearance outdoors. What better way to gather people together than to host a wine tasting party. There are so many themes to choose from:

By Country
By Varietal
By a Letter in the Alphabet
GET CREATIVE!

Most of us are still not made of money so a neat idea is to have someone bring a dish their pairs with the wine they are bringing or if selecting wine by a country then have them make a dish whose origins are derived from that particular country. Also, there are TONS of trivia wine games that are fairly inexpensive and really break the ice.

In any case, wine is meant to be shared socially, so invite your neighbors, friends, and family and start a trend. The number of wine lovers are growing so you are bound to find that a passion for wine is something that most people will enjoy.

Drink Well! Eat Well!
Kim