Tuesday night we braved the elements and enjoyed every minute of it. The 5th Avenue cafe hosted an "elemental" wine tasting that put quite an Eastern twist on pairing wine with Asian-inspired food. Every course was matched with one of the 5 elements: Water, Wood, Fire, Metal & Earth.
The evening was not only entertaining, but turned out to be educational as well. We sipped wine while keynote speakers Dr. SaTerra Vishnu (Florida Center for Holistic Medicine) and Gina Cassisi (Phyto Institute) guided us through the nature of the five elements and how they relate eastern medicine, beauty, and of course ... food.
All of the wines featured during the dinner were derived from 100% organically grown grapes. Wine Speaker, Craig Bissell, coached us through each of the wine pairings and enlightened the group with the toils and aspects of organic wine production.
The wine that really charmed me was the True Earth Chardonnay. With hot summer looming just around the corner, I could definitely imagine myself sipping this wine while relaxing on the front porch.
Overall, my favorite course was the Bitter Berry Salad representing the element of fire and paired with a RED wine, a Parducci "True Grit" Petite Sirah. The reason this one was my favorite is because it surprised me. I was a little skeptical about having red wine with my salad. My initial thoughts had me wrinkle up my nose. But Chef Jesse Thomas really pulled it off well. I think everyone was impressed by how well he paired the flavors of the roasted tomatoes & berries, Gorgonzola, and dressing with the wine. Kudos to Jesse!
--Cheers from the Elemental Wine Tasting
Rachelle, Brian, Jim & Beth
Wine Tasting Photo Gallery:
http://www.whattodoinmtdora.com/photo-gallery/20080318_Wine_Tasting/
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