A Sonoma-Inspired Food and Wine Pairing Menu

How to host a Sonoma wine salon

For those not familiar with Sonoma County, it is a glorious wine region sandwiched between the Napa Valley and the Pacific Ocean. Sounds like a dreamy place, right? It is. But unlike the wine country of Napa, Sonoma County is an expansive, diverse agricultural region with multiple microclimates and micro-cultures. My explorations have led me to countless wine discoveries as well as new food experiences.

As I have explored, it has occurred to me that I need to share my experiences with my local friends and colleagues and this is how I launched a wine salon concept.

Not knowing if it would be a mad success or a flop, I invited some friends to come to the home of Allie and Mark Ketcham, who produce the elegant Ketcham Estate Wines to experience a food and wine pairing menu.

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What is a wine salon?

The purpose of the salon was, in this case, not to discuss literature or philosophy, (although in a setting where wine is the star, these topics often enter the discussion). I brought about my gathering to discuss spectacular microcosms of Sonoma County you weren’t likely to find in a guidebook or blog.

With this first salon, the subject was Ketcham, of course, and the terroir of the Russian River Valley. And, of course, the food. The key to any great gathering of minds who love wine is balancing that wine with food.

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Creating Sonoma dinner wine pairing

I suggested a potluck and Allie countered with “I’ll cook so the wines and food are paired well” and that she did. The first wine salon was an inspiring two hours and camaraderie, new friends, spectacular wines married with food.

The following recipes are the creations of Allie Ketcham and Ketcham’s Director of Happiness Renee Graves. Together, they make an easy and quick wine pairing menu. They are also a perfect starting point for creating your own food pairing with wine at home. Of course, you’ll have to come up with the perfect guest list yourself!

The Food and Wine Pairing Menu:

Rosemary and Garlic Lamb Loins
Cucumber Tzatziki
Greek Bean Salad

Get the wines

Go to www.ketchamestate.com to get inspired with more Sonoma wine pairing recipes and to order wines for your wine salon.

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Barbara Barrielle

Barbara Barrielle is a freelance food, wine and travel writer and guidebook author living in the heart of the California Wine Country. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Palate Press and a member of the Society of American Travel Writers. Barbara is also the producer of the California wine country documentary CRUSHED. Follow her on Instagram, @barbarabarrielletravels.

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