Pick your pairings at The Art of Food and Wine in Lynnwood
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 5, 2020
At most food and wine tastings, the pairings are decided for you.
That’s not the case at The Art of Food and Wine, set for 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Lynnwood Convention Center. It will feature 60 wines from Northwest wineries and 12 dishes from restaurants, caterers and markets.
It’ll be up to attendees at the 21-and-older event to decide how to pair wine with what they’re eating, but fear not — winemakers and chefs will be on hand to give tips.
“It’s not set up as a tasting class,” said David LeClaire, a sommelier and event producer in Seattle who curated the wine selection. “You can try anything you want in any order you want. There will be many ways to experiment.”
The event, inspired by wine walks in downtown Edmonds, also will include art demonstrations and live music. Fred Wong, community programs coordinator for Lynnwood, said the setting will be informal and sociable.
“We want people to keep walking around, keep tasting and talk to wineries,” said Wong said. “There are just not that many of these things to do in Lynnwood. It’s also February, cold and rainy, so I think people are just looking for something to fun and different to do indoors.”
The Art of Food and Wine is a fundraiser for the Lynnwood Arts Commission, which organizes it with the Lynnwood Parks and Recreation Foundation. Last year’s event attracted about 300 people and raised $2,000 for public art projects in Lynnwood, such as murals and art on traffic signal boxes.
Restaurants and caterers serving food will be Anthony’s Seafood Grill, Chef Dane Catering, Navi’s Catering Kitchen and Lynnwood Convention Center, Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant and Town & Country Markets Inc. The dishes will include Hawaiian ahi nachos made with traditional poke served on homemade taro chips, smoked salmon canape, braised oxtail pie and lamb meatball on a polenta crouton with smoked tomato sauce and fried mint.
There will be 20 wineries with three wines each, all of which will be available for purchase. LeClaire, who organizes social events for wine enthusiasts as the founder of Seattle Uncorked, said the event is a good chance to learn insights from winemakers — and, of course, socialize.
“If you’re new to the area, it’s a fantastic way to get an overall feeling of the wine industry,” he said. “It’s also a great way to meet some friends. It’s so social. When you go to a restaurant, you tend to stay in a chair and talk to the person you came with. Here, everyone is talking about what they like or don’t like.”
LeClaire said part of the fun will be figuring out how different flavor profiles will mix and mingle, even if that means failing a few times. He offered a few tips to keep in mind:
Taste the wine before the food, so you know what the wine is like without the food. Then, try the wine again after the food to see if it’s just as good, better, or worse after the food.
Avoid overly simplistic pairings. It’s not just white wines go with white proteins, and red wines should go with red meats. It’s more about the dominant flavors, which could be the sauces or accompaniments.
Analyze the character of the dish. If it has an earthy and meaty taste, such as chicken with mushroom sauce and wild rice, pair it with a lighter, red wine. If it’s spicy, try something fruity and slightly sweet.
Start with a couple of white wines, then switch to reds. Use neutral white wines to cleanse the palate, then repeat the process.
Have fun. It’s OK to fail. Mistakes lead to better understanding of how pairings work — or don’t work.
Evan Thompson: 425-339-3427, ethompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @ByEvanThompson.
If you go
The Art of Food and Wine takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th St. SW, Lynnwood. Tickets are $50 for 10 food bites and 10 wine tastings, $30 for 10 wine tastings and $20 for 10 food tastings. Additional tickets can be bought throughout the evening. More at www.lynnwoodfoodwine.com or call 425-778-7155.
