https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/food/2013-07-12/food-for-every-wine-wine-for-every-food/

Food for Every Wine, Wine for Every Food

By Margaret Shugart, July 12, 2013, 10:15am, On the Range

Wednesday night, we attended the first wine dinner at Central Market's week-long Food for Every Wine - Wine for Every Food celebration. Chehalem Wines and their winemaker, Wynne Peterson-Nedry, partnered with Central Market to host a knock-out six course tasting dinner at the Cooking School.

A petite young blond full of genuine enthusiasm for the wine business, Peterson-Nedry led us through five wines from her family’s small-production, high-quality winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Chehalem wines are made in a generally Old World style, celebrating the local terroir and natural expression of the grapes. And they are affordable. Peterson-Nedry explained why: “When I was small, my brother and I were playing outside, talking to our dad about wine. We asked him, ‘Dad, would you ever sell a wine that costs $100?’ and he said ‘No. If I ever do, I will buy you all Lamborghinis.’ And guess who never forgot that? The highest we’ll ever sell our bottles is for $99.”

Between she, Seth Pollard, head of the North Lamar Central Market wine department, and Giovanni Bridgeford, chef instructor, we were led through vintages across Oregon, terroirs across Chehalem’s vineyards, and food pairings that brought out various aspects of the wine (menu and pairings below). Pollard and Peterson-Nedry tag-teamed to answer questions and provide informational descriptions of all we were tasting and experiencing. Their delivery was approachable and entertaining. Both Pollard and Peterson-Nedry had the knack for clarifying complex terms and keeping everyone laughing. In addition to the verbal guidance, we received booklets with in-depth information about Chehalem Winery, step-by-step recipes for the dishes, and statistics and descriptions for each wine. It was a class that could appeal to anyone, from the beginning wine drinker to the experienced taster.

Menu for the evening

- 2012 Gruner Veltliner paired with green vegetable salad with lemon crème fraiche dressing

- 2011 3 Vineyard Pinot Gris paired with shrimp with red chiles, ginger, garlic, and scallions

- 2010 INOX Chardonnay paired with corn chowder and jalapeno puree

- 2010 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir paired with quinche roasted pork with procuitto (bonus course)

- 2010 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir also paired with beef bruschetta

- 2009 Ridgecrest Vineyards Pinot Noir paired with stir-fry ginger beef

Food for Every Wine, Wine for Every Food continues through July 16th, with many more tasty, educational sessions to come. Details and schedule are below.

July 12 from 4-7 p.m. (Westgate Wine Department) - Meet the winemakers: Chef Lucas Bustos and Winemaker Pablo Cuneo from Ruca Malen Winery. Free

July 12 from 4-8 p.m. (North Lamar and Westgate locations storewide) - Sip & Stroll Food and wine samples from seven countries at over nine stations throughout each store. Cost $10.

July 12 from 6:30- 9 p.m. (North Lamar Cooking School) - Terroir of Chile with Macelo Retamal, winemaker at De Martino in Chile. Cost $55

July 13 from 6:30-9 p.m. (North Lamar Cooking School) - Wine dinner with Chef Lucas Bustos and Pablo Cuneo, Winemaker for Ruca Malen in Argentina

July 14 from 4-7 p.m. (North Lamar Wine Department) - Santiago Deicas, Winemaker for Familia Deicas, demo and tasting. Free.

July 15 from 4-7 p.m. (Westgate Wine Department) - Anthony Scotto of Heavyweightt wines demo and tasting. Free.

July 15 from 6:30-9 p.m. (North Lamar Cooking School) - Wine dinner with native Texans Adam and Diana Lee, now living in Sonoma and making Siduri wines. They present their twenty-five single vineyard pinot noirs made with grapes spread across California and the Willamette Valley; paired with warm weather dishes. Cost $55.

July 16 from 4-7 p.m. (North Lamar Wine Department) - Anthony Scotto of Heavyweight Wines, demo and tasting. Free.

For complete information and to register, visit www.centralmaket.com.