Sommeliers share experience

Put three sommeliers in a room, the light bulb won't get changed but chances are you'll be much more illuminated about the wine you're drinking.

Or put a wine expert and a chocolatier in a room together, and it's one holy cow moment after another.

Two wine seminars at the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival filled glasses and raised knowledge for those who came to swirl and sip Saturday afternoon.

"We're all about sharing our wine experience, not about selling you a $250 bottle of Cabernet."

So said Patrick Emerson, who is working toward an advanced level in certification for Master Sommelier. He's the top wine professional with Maverick Southern Kitchens in Charleston, which includes Slightly North of Broad and High Cotton restaurants.

A sommelier is the person at a restaurant in charge of ordering the wines and their service. They can be certified at certain level of knowledge or not, but a good one should be a trusted guide that will match a diner's taste and wallet to the ideal wine.

Emerson, Clint Sloan of McCrady's and Brad Ball of Social Restaurant + Wine Bar led the Top Sommelier Panel and Tasting at McCrady's. The three presented eight of their favorite wines to the 40-some people in attendance.

First, throw out the notion that a sommelier is a pretentious know-it-all. Sloan said being in the world of wine is a continuous learning experience. "Sommeliers need to take the position of utter humility."

Second, don't be afraid of being clueless -- these guys like being teachers.

For example, how can you tell the difference between a sweet riesling and a dry riesling? Look at the label -- sweeter ones will have 11.5 percent alcohol or less. More alcohol means less sugar.

To decant or not to decant? Mixed opinions. Ball always does and Emerson likes to, even Champagne -- "It loses its bubbles but allows the fruit to expand." Sloan said it's a fallacy that all wines have to be decanted.

They gave a thumbs up to aerators -- small, pour-through devices that quickly expose wines to oxygen.

And what wine region is currently flying under the radar? Look to Rhone, especially southern Rhone. Emerson said it's the place to find "super red wine at really great prices."

At the Wine + Chocolate Pairing, participants got an education in the nuances of pairing wine with food. The canvas was seven gourmet chocolates, a glass of milk and six wines.

"Break down a dish and find out the dominant flavor, and play off that with a beverage," said wine expert Paul Grieco of Hearth Restaurant and Terroir Wine Bar in New York.

Sometimes opposites attract, like salty snacks with beer. But with desserts, "Sweet with sweet is the easiest match to do," he said. "The wine has to be sweeter than the food."

Which is why most red wines, particularly big reds, don't work well with chocolate, in spite of people's repeated attempts to match them up.

One red that did work was a 2006 Domaine la Tour Vieille Vendanges Banyuls, a fortified port-style French wine. It was paired with a piece of dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt from Christophe Artisan Chocolatier-Patissier in Mount Pleasant and Charleston. Heads in the audience bobbed with approval.

Then to the big guns -- Madeira, sweet sherry and port.

A raise of hands showed that most of the tasters had never tried Madeira.

"Charleston was one of the great hubs of Madeira in the world because of its connection to the slave trade," Grieco said. Madeira not only has a great affinity for chocolate, he said, "with pecan pie it would be insane."

But Grieco's true love is sherry, which he called the most "underappreciated wine on earth ... You are going to have to get over the hump."

While the majority are dry, "the sweeties are very sweet." Encouraging the audience to swirl and smell, he said, "Is this not a liquid version of a Fig Newton?"

The final pairing was port with the surprise chocolate of the night: blue cheese. French-born Christophe Paume, the chocolatier, said he makes the chocolate with 5 percent to 10 percent Roquefort in the mix.

What would he suggest for someone who doesn't like cheese at all, one woman asked.

Paume offered: "Chocolate with caramel, rosemary and bacon?"

For more information

Go to postandcourier.com/wineandfoodfest and charlestonwineandfood.com

Editor's note: Earlier published versions of this story gave the incorrect title for Patrick Emerson and contained a misspelling. The Post and Courier regrets the errors.