A Perfect Pair: The Wine (and Food) Showcase

The Virginia Wine Showcase was at the Westfields Marriott this past weekend, bringing with it an exciting selection of food pairings and demonstrations.

Thirteen hours simply isn’t enough time to peruse the more than 300 wines presented at the fifth annual Virginia Wine Showcase this Valentine’s Day weekend.

Spread over two days, the showcase took over both floors of the Westfields Marriott, lining the rooms with booths, which were lined with wine bottles, which had thousands of people lined up for unlimited tastings of award-winning Virginia wines.

“We’re going to overtake California one day!” said Joe David, one of the organizers of the event.

When the industry first began on the east coast in 1973, it was thought that the conditions would only successfully produce hybrid grape varietals. Now, Virginia Cabernets and Viogniers are winning awards, and Chardonnays and Merlots were displayed at nearly every table. Each year, the Farm Wineries Council sponsors four Virginia wine events, including the Virginia Wine Showcase.

Although not officially, this year’s gala was actually a wine and fine foods showcase. According to David, they’re “edging in that direction.” Well, it’s hardly a subtle edge. The two seminar rooms were as packed as the wine tables, offering a full schedule of chefs and other experts demonstrating food and wine pairings, with everything from cheeses to peppered steak to sushi.

Others kept their presentations limited to food – though serving samples with wine – such as Warren Brown, founder of CakeLove and host of the Food Network show Sugar Rush. Brown prepared his apple pie purses, answering questions, giving tips and even handing out the recipe. (Of course I have it for you! And check out his theory on dicing rather than slicing apples for your pie in the video.)

The wine tastings had something for everyone, with dry reds, semi-dry whites, and sweet dessert wines. At Unicorn Winery, they even had a wine for the person who doesn’t like reds but wants to. They call their Crimson Sunset “red wine on training wheels.”

At Chateau Morrisette’s booth, the server pulled out a bottle of Blushing Dog to pour. She leaned forward with a conspiratorial look and said, “This is our straw wine: open the bottle, insert straw, and to hell with the glass!”

Most servers offered suggestions of which foods each wine might pair well with. But at First Colony, my server took it a step further. The Claret, he said, which has flavors of black cherries and strawberries, adds a lot of flavor when substituted for water in Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix. Just in case I was thinking about using a different mix, he said seriously, “It’s got to be the dark chocolate.” Yes, sir.

Chocolatiere Mary Schellhammer, one of the seminar presenters, brought samples from Spice Rack Chocolates, where she creates intriguing combinations of chocolates with natural flavors and spices, such as Mango Black Pepper and Grapefruit Lavender. The tastes come in waves, first the fruit, then the chocolate and finishing with the spice, almost with a delayed reaction from your tongue, which lingers on your palette long after you swallow.

It has a lot to do with associated memory, said Schellhammer. We taste certain foods in the chocolate because we have a memory of eating that food which is triggered by the name. We taste grapefruit because the chocolate is called Grapefruit Lavender. She let a couple of us try a piece without knowing the name. I tasted tangerine. Another tasted bubble gum. Not even close. It was Apple Coriander.

Whether you’re a wine connoisseur, a foodie, or just looking for a lively atmosphere where you can't help but make new friends, the Virginia Wine Showcase is sure to please.  

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