wine log: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Making of a Wine Dinner

contributed by the VP of Culinary Development for The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Wade Wiestling.

If you have been fortunate enough to attend a wine dinner, you know how it all unfolds…

You decide what you are going top wear, get all dressed up to go out with friends for an exquisite evening of food and wine pairings. You arrive at the restaurant, sit down and for the the next two plus hours you are treated to course after course of food and wine. Everything is in its place when it needs to be, you never have to ask for anything throughout dinner service. It’s all an exceptional experience.

During wine dinners I like develop and challenge my guest’s understanding of wine so when they come back, they order the wines they enjoyed again and again. My advice is don’t go prepared. No,don’t do it… Let the chef and wine buyer do the geekie cork-dork research. Then expect that they will put the time into it and put it into consumer-friendly terms. You want to go to a wine dinner to be entertained. There are plenty of wine seminars to select from if you want a heavy dose of education.

Professional pairing of wine with food takes knowledge, experience and instinct. I prefer to look at pairing as finding the heart and soul of the wine. Seasoning has to match with the fish, poultry or proteins. Likewise wine has to match with the food. You can’t serve an artichoke salad with a heavy red wine, everything has to match and be well balanced. It’s all quite blissful and relaxing… in the dining room. In the kitchen, however, not so much… controlled chaos is more appropriate.

It goes a little something like this… Weeks Out: You taste the wines, you plan the menu, you write the menu and wine pairings and prepare to fill it. Days Out: Scheduling the staff, finalize the menu, ordering the products needed to produce the dinner of this magnitude, receive the wines, plan the seating charts. Prep for a wine dinner begins a few days out in some cases, depending on the dishes being prepared and served. The day of the event – it’s time to shine. Bust a move. It’s a little hectic, a little extraordinary and a lot of fun… Here is a little photo log from “behind the scenes”.

Family meal, crew chew... has to be grab and go. You eat on the fly, and chow on the move. Todays meal - Hot dogs, tater tots, fritos and salad.

Next, you've got to keep motivated, inspired, and caffeinated. Today's beverage of choice. Throwback Mountain Dew. None of that high fructose corn syrup here... REAL SUGAR is where its at!

Then you have to keep hustling. Time to keep moving along, and you have to be able to use certain pieces of equipment as it’s available. So we mark off and put a sear on our products ahead of time. Preparation is key…