One of my favorite things to do is to attending food and wine pairing dinners. In Northern California I used to attend many food and wine events and the most exciting were the dinners where each course was deliciously prepared, each to pair with a world class wine. These magical events were an evening full of great food, interesting wines shared with other like minded food and wine lovers. To this day I have meaningful friendships with people I met at these various events where our love and appreciation of food and wine brought us together.

These events are what ultimately inspired me to take my food and wine knowledge and passion and start my food & wine pairing events business. Having had such magical dinners where everything comes together in a food and wine symphony is something I wanted to share with others. And while the Umpqua Valley is still a world class wine region very much in its infancy where these kinds of events are few and far between, they can be found occasionally and when they are, they are not to be missed. This Saturday, Pyrenees Vineyard & Cellars will be hosting a five course Basque inspired dinner paired with five of their most food friendly wines at their south location in Myrtle Creek. And as the chef for this event, I am excited to present my original recipes created specially for some of my favorite Pyrenees wines.

The dinner will begin with a salad of delicately dressed mixed baby greens topped with marinated, baked, herbed goat cheese topped with arugula pesto. The mouthwatering tangy flavors of the goat cheese and vinaigrette pair perfectly with the crispness of Pyrenees Vineyard & Cellars 2010 Sauvignon Blanc. The second course is a Basque inspired shrimp scampi. This takes shrimp scampi to a whole new level and combines potatoes and shrimp with a herb, bread crumb crust. Pyrenees Vineyards 2009 chardonnay will accompany this seafood dish and with its neutral oak treatment and balance of creaminess and acidity is just the right wine to showcase the flavors of this rustic scampi plate. The third course is a wild mushroom soup paired with Pyrenees 2005 pinot noir. This soup which is a labor intensive recipe that takes hours to prepare in order to finesse the most intense flavors from the wild mushrooms is a perfect match to the earthy, savory pinot noir. The main course is grilled lamb chops with a meritage, pomegranate reduction sauce. Lamb is a big part of the Basque diet and when prepared properly hands down my favorite meat. Pyrenees Vineyard's meritage is a classic blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon and ideal to match with the lamb as a sauce ingredient and as a wine pairing. This is my favorite way to prepared lamb and I have converted many people with a trepidation for eating lamb with this recipe. And finally for dessert I will serve a flourless chocolate cake with blackberry coulis and Basque custard cream. This will be served with the Pyrenees "Apodaca" a dessert wine done in a port style. Truly nothing better than port and chocolate and this cake and custard cream packs an intense punch of richness that is taken to another level with the fruitiness of the blackberry coulis combined with the boldness of the port. Yum!

Once you attend a wine and food pairing dinner where everything comes together as it should, I guarantee it will be a culinary experience you will not soon forget. And leave you clamoring for more. For more information about this dinner you can call Pyrenees winery at 541-863-7797. I will see you there!