What we’re about
“A real friend reaches for your hand and puts a wine glass in it.” – Unknown
The Perfect Pair aspires to aide group members in making better choices when buying wine from a favorite retailer, ordering wine when out with friends, or matching a favorite dish with a tasty wine selection.
Pairing food and wine is not magic or an art. It’s part chemistry, part physical, and part psychological. We’ll explore how our brains synthesize hundreds of datapoints through our five senses: taste, aroma, touch, sight, and sound. And how instantaneously, our brains let us know if we’ve “hit it out of the park”, if the pairing is just “OK”, or if it’s “nice try, but better luck next time”.
We’ll learn to utilize common industry tasting notes and scoring systems like the Davis 20-point tasting scale. We’ll develop our wine and food description vocabulary. And with this new vocabulary, we’ll apply culinary tools to identify ingredients that should go together nicely.
We’ll call on our creative self to try new ideas and combinations that might surprise us (I know people who swear by Cheetos and Sancerre). We’ll share our observations, perceptions, likes, and dislikes. And we’ll practice.
Along the way, we’ll meet some awesome folks, learn more than we ever thought possible about the foods we eat, and develop confidence in our ability to make great wine choices.
The goal of the meetup is to learn something new, meet like-minded people, and have fun. Whether you’re a foodie newbie or just learning about wine, the intent is to create a welcoming and supportive group. We’ll tend to follow a meetup agenda, but the timeline is, and will remain, loosely structured to allow plenty of opportunities for questions and sharing.
The organizer is a wine industry veteran with stints in sales, winemaking, and executive roles. He served as winemaker for Napa Wine Company where was instrumental in the production of wine for brands like Pahlmeyer, Staglin Family, Benziger, and others. Later, as VP Wine Production for the Jackson Family, he oversaw 30+ powerful brands like Kendall-Jackson, La Crema, Cambria and others. He is currently studying Culinary Arts continuously learning at College of the Desert.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Calling All Desert "Rhone Rangers”75797 Cam Cielo, Indian Wells, CA$40.00
“I drink wine to make other people more interesting.” – Ernest Hemingway
Jeez. Last month we were experiencing 100+ temperatures and everyone was looking for ways to stay cool. Suddenly, Day Light Savings is over, and it seems like we’ve skipped fall and we’re headed straight to winter.
The good news is that means it’s the perfect season to begin enjoying red wines. The redder the better. So, our December Meet Up will be focused on Syrah. That’s right… the inky, meaty, blueberry-nuanced, bacon-fat, grape variety often overlooked, but perfect for fall and winter evenings.
Our evening will begin with a discussion of oak barrels – the history of barrels in wine production, how barrel usage influences wine flavor, and how barrel’s contribution helps showcase many flavors we enjoy in our favorite dishes.
We’re going have the opportunity to evaluate Syrah as it’s produced around the globe. From Washington, to California, to France, Australia, South Africa, and Italy. Each country has its own take on what Syrah can be, but the common thread is dark, intensely flavored, and a great food wine.
We’ll finish the evening by evaluating a food pairing with one of the Syrahs. Meaty, Blueberry, bacon fat… wait “bacon fat? A dish showcasing bacon might be just the ticket. After all… who doesn’t like bacon?
The cost for the event is $40.00. Please RSVP and pay by Venmo to Lynne Ryno@Lynne-Ryno (last four of the phone number are 5172) or mail a check to Jack Ryno, 75797 Camino Cielo, Indian Wells, CA 92210 to confirm your seat at the event. You will be categorized as “not coming” until payment is received. I will confirm your spot once payment is received. There are fourteen seats available.
Please bring your own wine glasses. I highly recommend six (6) glasses for the event based on the comparison format we'll be using. If you don’t have six matching glasses, click on the link for an inexpensive set of eight offered for $19.99 by Amazon https://tinyurl.com/yb455u3w. The box is a handy way to transport the glasses to and from the tasting.
