08/23/2025
Today I did a very special test run of an event that has been a brain child of mine for a while. I actually got into cooking because I was into wine pairings first. But when you realize you have a long list of food restrictions, going to a prix fixe menu event is fairly impossible.
Today I took a small group of people with food restrictions and created a personalized flight of bites to go with each wine we tried at two wineries. These food boxes are free from dairy, grains, legumes, eggs, refined sugars, some nuts (almonds, pistachios, pecans), seafood, seed and vegetable oils, and a couple of other specifics. We tasted the wine and the foods together to enjoy a full pairing experience… no one was left out. A huge shout out to Josie at Lemelson and Jacob at Domaine Divio for allowing us to come and play today!!
Box One:
1. Watermelon stack salad with dairy free feta, basil, and pickled onions, paired with the 2024 Rosé of Pinot Noir.
2. Orange honey glazed chicken wing, paired with the 2024 White Pinot Noir.
3. Potato soup, paired with the 2021 Meyer Pinot Noir.
4. Zucchini baba ganoush with cassava seed crackers, paired with the 2021 Stermer Pinot Noir.
5. Roasted Fresno peppers stuffed with dairy free cream cheese, paired with the 2021 Jerome Reserve Pinot Noir.
6. Collard green wrapped spring roll with ginger cashew sauce, paired with the 2022 Barrel Select Chardonnay.
Box Two:
1. Moroccan lamb meat ball with saffron coconut yogurt sauce, paired with the 2024 Passetoutgrain.
2. Raw turnip ravioli with creamy pine nut and herbs filling paired with the 2022 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir.
3. Roasted sweet potato with basil pesto, paired with the 2022 Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir.
4. Konjac noodles with cherry hazelnut sauce, paired with the 2022 Willamette Valley Chardonnay.
5. Zucchini cheese with cassava seeded crackers as an extra snack but paired particularly well with the 2021 Gabriel Block Pinot Noir.
6. Mini cherry pie, paired with the 2022 Clos Galia Estate Chardonnay.
