“Wine food” is a new way to talk about wine pairing, coined by the evolving breed of wine drinker and cook who wants to discover a wider range of wines and match them to the rustic, casual, global food they love to eat.

Drawing on their new book, Wine Food (Lorena Jones Books), sommelier and winery owner Dana Frank and award-winning cookbook author Andrea Slonecker offer a guide to one of their favorite categories of paring elements, natural wines. While the term natural can be controversial and doesn’t have a solid, agreed-upon definition in winemaking, it generally means that the grapes are grown without the use of herbicides or pesticides and the vineyards are organically or biodynamically farmed. The wines ferment by way of their own wild yeasts and are free of additives, except in some cases, enhancements in naturally occurring sulphur as a preservative.

Frank and Slonecker discuss a range of distinctive flavors that natural wines offer, and how to match intriguing, off-the-beaten-path labels with your favorite foods. Their suggestions include combining dry sparkling Vouvray with Indian flavors, orange wines from the Republic of Georgia with hearty roasted vegetables, and Sicilian reds with rich braised meats. Wine drinkers of all knowledge levels can bring home plenty of tempting natural wine-and-food duets to try.

After the program, enjoy a specially paired bite and sip. Wine Food is available for sale and signing.

Wine provided by Flight Wine Bar.

TASTING MENU

Txakoli paired with Salt and Pepper Fried Chicken with General Tso’s Dipping Sauce

Provencal Rose paired with Roasted Shallot Pissaladiere