Wine with Fishies
A classic accompaniment with flaky fish, shellfish, or meatier, oily fish is wine, and not always white wine. One of the signature events at the annual International Pinot Noir Celebration is a 40-foot long line of 4-lb wild-caught salmon filets smoking and cooking above a hot fire. Yes indeed, the days of eating fish with white wines only is passee.
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Kelly is reknown for bringing together the images, wines and foods of Enotria (Italy)--the lightening rod of the Meditteranean--and will be eager to share & taste through it all with you. >>>> More Info

Taste Like a Pro (67% Booked)
Wednesday, April 14th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: P. Kelly Wheeler

Join Kelly Wheeler for some in-depth cues, pointers, and methodologies for the proper analysis, evaluation, and ultimately the conclusion of wine's identity--blind.

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For Beginners ONLY (25% Booked)
Tuesday, April 20th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

Sure you can drink it, but can you pair it? Can you speak it? Come to terms with it in a special tasting that helps you express yourself in the world of wines. Don't be left standing there holding the bottle--get more confidence and find more pleasure in every sip.

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The Italian Wine Academy (25% Booked)
Wednesday, April 21st (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructors: Michael Bryan

Immerse yourself in a country known for "familia", exceptional wines, tantalizing cheeses, and a diversity unparalled in the wine world. Each of the four classes will feature regional cheeses with the wines. >>>> More Info

Reserve Wines (Just Posted)
Tuesday, April 27th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

Time to bring out the big-guns. What makes a $100+ wine so alluring? The approach? The complexity of flavors, or perhaps the 90-second finish? A great one brings all of those sensory-overloaders onto you at one time. Join us for a once-a-year course. >>>> More Info

Ten Under $10 (Just Posted)
Thursday, April 29th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructors: Michael Bryan

This course is about gem-hunting, finding wines at next to nothing prices that give you a surprising result. We kiss a lot of frogs to find a few princesses. Come enjoy the list of ten with us. >>>> More Info

• (2) Wine Position Postings
  Con Vinum, a Georgia wine wholesaler, headed up by AWS Senior Instructor P. Kelly Wheeler, is looking for 1-2 Sales Representatives. Con Vinum will soon launch a new exciting line of Italian and Spanish wines from SV Imports. Experience and solid wine knowledge preferred. For more information please contact: Kelly@ConVinumWines.com
  
  Jackie's Fine Wine & Spirits is seeking a part-time wine consultant for evenings, 5pm to close, 3-4 evenings per week. If interested, contact Paul Kimmick at (770) 998-6151 before 4pm.
• The 2010 Tybee Island Wine Festival
  Enjoy more than 100 wines at the second annual Tybee Island Wine Festival at the Tybee Light Station (lighthouse). Craft beer is an added component of this year's event along with a silent auction. Local restaurants bring samples of food to enjoy with the wines and beers. Also new this year is "An Evening of Oysters & Wine" on Friday, April 16, 2010, from 6 pm to 8pm at Marlin Monroe's. Tickets are $20. This is an excellent opportunity to sample various kinds of oysters and oyster-based preparations and pair them with wines. Non-seafood items also will be available. The event is a fundraiser produced by Friends of Tybee Theater for the renovation of the Post Theater, a 1930s military theater, into a community multi-use theater and art center. Tickets for the Saturday tasting are $45. >>> More
• Wine, Women & Shoes Seeking TWO SHOE GUYS
  A small event held April 22nd at Saks 5th Avenue for 50-60 ladies demands that they have, in their service of course, two wine-savvy "shoe guys" for the evening. The shoe servitude pays a stipend of $75. Please contact Master Shoemmelier Katie Hamilton Shaffer for more info. katie@winewomenandshoes.com
• Karen MacNeil Launches NEW Website
  Known for her passionate storytelling and unique voice in the world of wine, Karen has created a new “post-modern” form of wine communication, with features like The Elegance Report™ – a don’t-miss, one page insider guide to the most refined wines of the world, and When? Where? Why?™ – the fast-track take on what wines to have – when, where, and why to have them. >>>Visit her website
• Spanish Wine, Summed Up in One Page!
  Greg McCluney, our Wine & Travel Writer, wrote an article on Spanish wine, and took an entire diverse country and summed it up rather concisely. >>> Read On
• Georgia's 2nd Largest Wholesaler of Wines Purchased by Warren Buffet
  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. announced that its subsidiary, McLane Company, has entered into an agreement to acquire Kahn Ventures, Inc., parent company of Empire Distributors, Inc and Empire Distributors of North Carolina, Inc. Kahn Ventures, Inc. and its subsidiaries are wholesale distributors of distilled spirits, wine and beer in the state of Georgia and North Carolina. "We are excited about the opportunity to have Empire become part of our portfolio of outstanding businesses. We expect that the Empire acquisition will provide us with a solid platform for potentially acquiring other similar high quality wholesale distributors."

Jane's Monthly Dozen: Wine with Fish
by Jane Garvey

More than 20 years ago, wine gurus David Rosengarten and Josh Wesson penned a ground-breaking book, “Red Wine with Fish” (1989). This slim tome (new ones today cost $141 on Amazon) set the stage for breaking faith with the old shibboleth that dictated white wines with fish and red wines with meat. The title also operated as something of a metaphor for exploration and discovery, more of a personal quest for what works.

Many of the pairings in the book were too exotic to replicate in most households, even in most restaurants, but the concept was groundbreaking enough to set consumers off in new directions to explore unconventional pairings. Good on ‘em, I say.

Preparing to attend the opera recently, a friend and I had dinner in a nearby restaurant. The restaurant’s wine list was—and is—a display of careless corporate laziness. Especially bad was the wine by the glass list.

My friend and I decided to share a dish of roasted sea bass, and I called the manager over and begged him to bail us out of the intemperately chosen set of by-the-glass choices. He offered an Argyle Pinot Noir, unavailable as a by-the-glass selection. How wonderful it was with that dish!! (Even though when the bill came, he charged us $17 per glass of wine, the wine’s retail price per bottle!) One step forward, two steps back.

So what made it work?

That choice wasn’t just a whim. It was a good calculation. There are several reasons why, and they form a good foundation for what wines to choose with fish.

Many consumers go for BIG bold wines, both red and white, that show high alcohol, substantial oak and hefty tannins no matter what dish is on tap. This is the time to abandon that notion. Big, bold Chardonnays with little acidity (thanks to malolactic fermentation and high Brix at harvest), huge oak and alcohol, and a big, oily texture are death to fish dishes. So are big, high alcohol, heavy, oak-filled, tannic red wines. Tannic young red wines may be fine for fish after they’ve aged, but not at the outset. Big forward fruit doesn’t do fish or shellfish a lot of good either.

You’ll find in all the wines listed this month as doing well with fish and shellfish that many have seen no oak at all, or at best neutral (French) oak. This isn’t politics; American oak is too aggressive in most cases to make a wine that will go well with fish. Do you want coconut, caramel and vanilla on your fish? Nah.
Perhaps because so much of Italy is coastline and so much Italian food relies on ingredients from the sea, white Italian wines are simply splendid with fish. They tend to be done in stainless steel rather than new oak, and their good acidity cuts through richness while their moderate alcohol steers clear of the delicacy often associated with fish and shellfish. Especially if the dish is sauced, you want good acidity to cut through any cream or richness.

Rose' with its good fruit will pair well with fish if the finish is dry. The ample fruit will pick up on any spice, while good acidity will cleanse the palate and make it ready for the next bite—all being important when pairing one with a fish dish. Look for rose's that are dry yet brimming with fruit. Buy them from a retailer who’s a rose' enthusiast—as are all the good ones—and ask for guidance accordingly. That retailer also will keep fresh inventory, an important consideration with most of the genre.

And what about the reds? Red wines that behave more like white wines are the ones to target. A big juicy Washington State Merlot might not do as well with fish as a lighter one (see the Merlot listed here). Some might say, “Oh, this Merlot is a little light,” as if that in itself were a flaw. Not so fast! That‘s the one you want with your fish!

Pinot Noir is highly touted with fish, especially grilled salmon, halibut or tuna. And that‘s a good thought, but it depends on the style. You‘ll do better with those that are more savory over those that seem like they‘re chasing grape Kool-Aid as a benchmark. Look for Pinot Noirs that have more evolved fruit (such as the one listed here), from Central Otago or Martinborough, New Zealand; from Yarra Valley, Australia; and of course from Burgundy. Some German Spatburgunder and some Chilean Pinot Noirs (Chilensis, for example) will do well with grilled fish.

Besides avoiding overt fruit, for pairing red wines with fish, keep the tannins soft and the acidity high, especially when pairing red wines with those oily fish, such as salmon and tuna.
See if these choices don’t shed some light on how to work with wine and fish by choosing unfamiliar varietals and wine styles that could be outside your normal wine experience. Have fun!