Features
TOC
Events
Costumes
RestaurantsWine
Books
Movies
Calendar
Links
Previously
<
Books
DVD
VHS
Search by keywords:
In Association with Amazon.com


What food goes with this wine?

It was a beautiful January day and Crystal and I decided to go wine tasting. We found ourselves late that afternoon at the Ferrari-Carano winery in Dry Creek Valley just north of Healdsburg, CA. The winery itself was gorgeous - a sumptuous Italian villa nestled in the Dry Creek valley. But when we got inside, we were treated to some of the finest wines we had tasted in many a trip to the wine country. In particular, the 1998 Chardonnay struck us at superb. From the first sip, we could tell this was a wine meant to be drunk with a fine meal. So right there in the winery, we started to plan the meal to go with the wine.

Once the wine was purchased and lovingly placed in the wine cellar (aka our hall closet with a 40 bottle wine rack in the bottom), we plotted when to have the Dinner. We didn't want to rush it, but we didn't want to wait for our goodies either. We choose a special weeknight (Tuesday is Buffy night) and refused all other invitations. Next came a quick trip to the store so that all our ingredients would be fresh. Then Crystal watched while I cooked (Crystal hates cooking). 

The menu for the dinner was simple and elegant. First, I washed and dried fresh spinach leaves. Then added smashed walnuts (don't try this with the store's produce bag - not tough enough), dried cranberries (Crystal's idea), Granny Smith apple chunks, and chopped hard-boiled eggs. The dressing was a mixture of Carneros black fig vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. For the main course, I sautéed scallops and shrimp in butter with lots of minced garlic and stirred them into angel hair pasta with a parmesan sauce. 

We lit candles, set the table with our finest plates and silverware, and served the salad chilled, the pasta hot, and the wine at room temperature (we like it that way). It was a fabulous meal and the perfect way to enjoy a wine of uncommon quality.

 
Main Page | Links | About Us | Contact Us | Map of the Bay Area
Contents may not be reproduced without the express permission of Life Am Good and author(s). Contact Karen or Crystal with any comments, suggestions, or contrary opinions.