Perfectly paired.  Perfectly wonderful.  

Buy local, pair local

Wines and foods from the same region naturally go together.  Think Natural Pasture Cheese with 40 Knot's Wine and you have a winner... chicken dinner.  Just think about that last vacation you were abroad and how well the regional wine went with the regional food... however when you returned home, and bought that bottle, it just wasn't the same.  Think Vancouver Island with all the beautiful farms and oceans.  We have a huge food and beverage movement here and it is no wonder.  

The next time you are shopping, ask yourself, "what is in this for me?"  When buying local you can actually talk to the farmer and find out how he farms, view it for yourself, and strengthen our economy.  

Now, some basic rules of food paring - however all rules are made to be broken! So be brave and experiment.

• Acidity in wine pairs well with fatty and sweet foods.
• Fatty foods need either an acidic or high alcohol wine, otherwise the wine will taste flabby.
• Bitter (aka Tannic) wine can be balanced with a sweet food.
• Salty shouldn’t compete with acidity in wine. Use sparingly as necessary to keep sharpness in the meal.
• Sweet food/wine benefits from a little acidity.
• Alcohol can be used to cut through fatty foods or balance a sweet dish