The 11 Best Things to Do When Attending a Wine and Food Pairing in Provence, France

Provence, France, is a haven for wine and food enthusiasts, offering a delightful blend of scenic vineyards, exquisite wines, and delectable cuisine. Attending a wine and food pairing event in this picturesque region is a sensory experience like no other. Here are the 11 best things to do to make the most of your wine and food pairing adventure in Provence.

Some of Our Best Experiences of Wine, Wealth & Travel

DocVinoDinero Presents A Perfect Blend Enjoy a Hike & Wine Getaway in the Smokey Mountains

HISTORIC WEDDING AND EVENT VENUE

Located in the former Odd Fellows Home in Liberty, Missouri, Belvoir Winery has become one of the best unique wedding destinations in the Kansas City area.  Offering no-frills pricing, beautiful vistas, overnight rooms and exquisite architecture, the location showcases the past while offering a fantastic location for events of all sizes.

The venue is open seven days a week for free wine tasting and allows visitors to view all the historic features and artifacts that the winery has to offer.

WINE TASTING

We offer free tasting of all of our wines, featuring local Missouri grapes that highlight all that Missouri vineyards have to offer.

SPECIAL/PRIVATE EVENTS

Paranormal investigations, Easter Egg Hunts, Murder Mystery Dinners & more!  Belvoir offers a plethora of options for our guests!

How to order wine in a restaurant: Five Golden Rules

How to order wine in a restaurant: Five golden rules

Do your research

If you really want to appear like a pro to the rest of the room, do your research beforehand. Most fine dining restaurants have a wine list and menu available online, so scope out potential wines for the meal and identify any dishes that present wine pairing triumphs or hazards ahead of time.

If there’s no wine list available online, begin by thinking about possible cuisine pairings. Is the restaurant known for its oysters and shellfish? Dry sparkling and white wines are a good place to start. Are you heading out for a curry night?

Aromatic off-dry whites, such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer, would offer an easy pairing; or for heavier meat curries perhaps a juicy Gamay or a spicy Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvèdre blend. Plan ahead and you’ll save time hesitating at the dinner table.

Think about value and price

Restaurants mark their wines up anywhere between 50% and 400%, although this varies across the list and between venues.

A smart wine buyer will look at which wines offer greater value within their category. For example if you find a Muscadet Sur Lie for £35, you know you’re likely getting swindled; whereas if you find a Condrieu AOC for £35, chances are you’ve found an absolute steal.

Eye up the wine list, assess the price and think about how it compares to its retail value outside the restaurant doors. If this is a special occasion, paying that extra bit more will likely secure you much more quality in the glass.

Do consider what you are eating – and what everyone else is

A foodie would decide on their menu first and then pick the wine to match. A wine geek might do the opposite. Whether wine or food choice comes first, make sure the other one matches up. You can complement wine and food by flavour and texture, or through a balance of sweetness and/or acidity.

If you’re going for a light fish dish for a starter and then a heavy lamb shank for a main course, it will be hard to find a bottle of wine to suit both. This is when you could explore the by-the-glass options.

If you’re dining with a companion, or a few, let them pick their food choices, discuss their wine preferences and then order a couple of different suitable bottles. It may be that some of the party should start on a red wine (if they order steak tartare, for example) and then move onto a white for the main course (maybe with creamy cod). If you are a large table, order a few bottles so that each guest can pair with their course accordingly.

Don’t panic

If you’re being asked for your wine order and haven’t even finished reading the first page of the 12-page wine list, don’t panic! Take your time, there’s no need to rush. If your dinner companion looks thirsty, how about ordering a glass of house Champagne to kick off the evening? Sipping on bubbles, you can now take your time to muse over that wine list and consider what bottle will work best with your meal.

Do learn how to talk to a sommelier

A sommelier is there to help. The more information you give, the easier it is for them to help you to make the right decision. It won’t make you look like an amateur seeking advice, in fact quite the opposite. Engage in a conversation about wine. The sommelier has chosen the wines on their list for a reason; let them tell you why and together you can make an informed choice, to suit your own tastes, budget and meal.

Tell the sommelier what you and your companions like and dislike; for example, do you prefer reds that are fruity and light, or full-bodied and spicy? Then discuss what might work best with your meal. If you have a limited budget, challenge them to find the most exciting wine for your money.

Original copy by Amanda Barnes in 2018. Edited by Decanter.com in May 2021.

Somerset Winery

Somerset Ridge Vineyard & Winery is a family-owned Kansas City winery located in the rolling hills of Miami County, KS, about 20 miles south of the greater KC-area. We take pride in making handcrafted, premium wines from our Kansas-grown grapes. Come on in for a wine-tasting or a glass or bottle of your favorite Somerset wine! You can buy our award-winning wines at the winery, Somerset Wine and Cider bar in Martin City, or at over 350 fine retail liquor stores and restaurants in the greater KC-area.

We are proud to serve you our award winning wines and hard cider out at our vineyard or at our Martin City location inside Rosehill Gardens. Come live that vineyard lifestyle! Take a walk through over 8,000 of our vines while sipping the wine that those grapes produced. You can even help us harvest the grapes that make your favorite wines! Enjoy live music every weekend and the company of those you love. Check out our calendar for all events happening at the vineyard and get out here for some fun!

Stone Pillar

Stone Pillar Vineyard & Winery, Johnson County’s original farm winery, is located 20 minutes southwest of Kansas City in Olathe, Kansas and is owned and operated by the Hoff Family who has farmed this land since before the Civil War.  George and Brandi Hoff were inspired to begin a vineyard and winery of their own while on vacation in 2004. The luscious grain fields that surrounded the beautiful family owned vineyards and wineries that they saw while on a winery tour at Niagara on the Lake reminded them of the family farm in Kansas and the seed was planted.