Each Friday we turn to the wine community for news, tips and recipes for great food and wine pairings . . .
via austinist.com: Food + Drink: Fonda San Miguel’s Brad Sharp On Pairing Mexican Cuisine + More
On Wednesday, September 14th, Fonda San Miguel will begin their fall 2011 event season with a tasting dinner pairing the North Loop stalwart’s interior Mexican dishes with Sonoma’s Copain Wines. Copain Wine Cellars is a highly regarded, low-production ‘cult’ winery that focuses on Syrah and Pinot Noir, and also dabbles in Viognier and Rosé. Eric Asimov of the New York Times is a fan, as is the Emperor Of Wine Robert Parker. In spite of this, you can still pick up a bottle of Copain’s entry-level wines for around $20, so they’re well worth exploring.
When reading of the dinner, it seemed appropriate to chat with FSM sommelier Brad Sharp about both the logic behind the dinner and the challenge of public perception regarding pairing beverages with Mexican cuisine. Our recent chat with him touched on these topics and more.
Being a sommelier at an Interior Mexican restaurant must be challenging – I’m guessing many guests arrive with beer or tequila on their mind rather than wine. How do you combat the idea that those are better pairings for Mexican food?
