July 4th Wines

July 4 is almost upon us. If you're looking for some wine and food pairings, look no further!

Recommendations:

Hamburgers, steaks and other red meats: These foods pair well with red wines that are medium to full bodied and have a little spice to them. Look for a wine made with Cabernet Franc grapes, a Cotes du Rhone red from France (usually a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes), or a Zinfandel.

Scallops, shrimp, crabs, white fish, other seafood: A curveball suggestion is a Soave Classico, a dry and light-bodied white wine from Northern Italy's Veneto region made with the Garganega grape. Classico means it is made in the most traditional style and more tightly regulated. Since this region was once mainly for bulk grape production, the designation is a good indication the wine will be of higher quality.

Soave is similar to Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris but has a little something extra, and is certainly a great conversation piece.
Bonus: If you see a "Superiore" on the bottle, it means it was made with higher quality grapes and aged for at least eight months. 

Another unique white wine from Italy is made with the Vernaccia grape, a dry acidic white wine that also pairs excellently with seafood.

All-around crowd pleasers: Dry sparkling wine pairs well with salty food because the bubbles cleanse the palate, similar to the way that beer does. It also pairs well with almost anything aside from a dessert (go for a Demi-Sec or Sec, which means partially, or wholly sweet). 

I would suggest Champagne from the region in France, or Cava, a sparkling wine from Spain, made with native Spanish grapes, also in the same method. 

Look for the words Brut, Extra Brut or Brut Nature (the driest) on the label. With Cava, look for 'Reserva' on the label, and a green sticker on the bottle. The aging requirements are similar to Champagne, producing a higher quality wine. 

Rose wines are also a great choice and go with almost anything. For heavier dishes, go with a darker colored rose, so it can stand up to the food, like one made with Garnacha grapes from Spain. Or for lighter dishes, a lighter rose pairs nicely. And sparkling rose is always an excellent choice.

These are just some of the possible combinations. Throw the rule book out the window and start sipping and eating. Its the only way to find out what you like. Cheers!

Wine Conversations: Amanda Page, Kysela Pere et Fils, Part One

Amanda Page works for a fine wine importer and distributor, Kysela Pere et Fils, and teaches wine classes at Screwtop Wine Bar, too. As one of her students at several of these classes, I could see her passion for the subject matter and loved how she made the classes super fun and interesting! After learning that she started out as a chef, my curiosity got the better of me and I just had to know more about her story. She was nice enough to sit down with me over a few glasses of Zweigelt rose at Screwtop and fill me in. This is part one of my interview with her!

Amanda said it all started with a cooking class in high school, which led to attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York City, where she met her now husband, who also used to be in the restaurant industry. 

She moved to DC in 2004 to help open the restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental. But some changes in the kitchen and a tough schedule left her wanting more. She decided to try her hand in the beverage business and got a job at a now-closed wine store in Clarendon called Best Cellars. Her goal was to someday return to the kitchen, but...that never happened.

However, she does still cook. She said her favorite thing to make is coconut curry broths, with chicken or tofu. She also teaches cooking classes: ranging from sushi making, to food and wine pairing, and she comes up with all of the recipes herself. 

Amanda ended up becoming the general manager at the Clarendon store and then she moved to the company's Dupont Circle store in DC. She said she loved the concept of making wine something everyone can relate to, not something snobby. When the store was sold to another chain, she found herself replying to an ad for Screwtop, and was part of the team that opened the wine bar for the first time during a winter snowstorm about 7 years ago! 

Now, Amanda works in distribution as a fine wine sales rep, and holds a DWS, or a Diploma of Wine & Spirits, which is the highest level of certification from Wine & Spirit Education Trust, which is based in London. (These courses are no joke, I just finished my level 2 exam and it was not easy at all)!

She said at first she was hesitant to enter a sales-related job, but she ended up loving it because of the flexibility of the schedule, which has brought her more of a work life balance, and the part about establishing and building relationships with her customer base. And obviously, because she gets to deal with awesome wine for her job!

Her career has also taken her all over the world to places like South Africa, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, in the Cotes du Rhone region of France and to her favorite place of all so far, Champagne, France, which she referred to as the happiest place on earth.

Part two of my interview with Amanda will be coming soon, as part of a new project.Cheers!