Provisions Wine and Food pairing

Officially, I attended the second Provisions Wine and Food pairing hosted by @STLWineGirl, otherwise known as Angie. I felt bad for missing the first one so I made sure to come to the second one.

Having a class at Provisions was very different than other classes at Whole Foods and Wine Merchant because we're in the cafe section of the store. With the high ceiling and 30 people in the class, it just didn't have an intimate feel and it was hard to hear. Angie is a little bit soft spoken and so the environment just didn't cater to her voice.

Luckily it was easier to talk to the people sitting at my table even though I couldn't discuss the food with anyone else. Discussions were pretty limited and that's usually what makes a class more fun when they're more intimate.

Anyway, on to the food! I will say that wine and food pairing classes are a little more enjoyable in that you get a full meal for your money and get to try incredible meals. These are meals you'd have to be pay top dollar for in a restaurant. So I always feel like it's a very unqiue experience.

This class' theme was Tour of Europe so each course had a theme from a different European country. We started out with the most amazing Austrian Potato Pancake. It was more creamy than like hash browns, as I am used to. It almost was a dessert it was so smooth! Then with the caramelized onion-pear chutney....to die for!

This was served with a Kurt Angerer Gruner Veltliner Kies. I forgot that I'd had a Gruner Veltliner before...it's also known as the "asparagus wine" because it's got a mineral flavor to it and it is the best wine to take on the strong taste of the veggie. Although it is a crisp wine, the mineral after taste isn't my favorite.

My favorite wine was definitey the Vouvray. I hope to keep saying it until I remember!

Here are the other menu items;

Sea Scallop in a Puff Pastry - so rich! But a little fishy
Chanterelle Risotto with Lamb - Excellent
Spanish Paella with Monkfish and Chorizo
Portuguese Chocolate Tart - TO DIE FOR!!!!!

The chocolate tart was SO tiny...I licked it in small portions so as to savior it. Of course it came with a port, which I just cannot drink.

But Angie's class definitely taught me a lot. Usually I think, light food, light wine...such as serving white wines with fish and then red wines with beef, veal, or lamb. But Angie taught me that contrasts can sometims work too. So if the wine is a bit too harsh or too much tannin...then the food will bring it down. So the combination of the two is better than the portions separately!