Food and drink
Wildwood’s Reserve Dinner pairs wine with five-course feast
Ernest Hemingway once referred to wine as “one of the most civilized things in the world.” And the pairing of foods with wines has evolved as an art whose goal is the optimum dining experience.
That’s certainly not lost on Wildwood Park for the Arts, which held its third annual Wine Reserve Dinner, a fivecourse feast that took place Nov. 1 in the Grand Hall of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.
Guests were greeted by co-chairmen Debbie and Stephen Northington, Ginger and Gov. Mike Beebe, and Wildwood director Leslie Golden. They proceeded downstairs to the Great Hall, where they sampled cheeses and fruits served with Toso Brut sparkling NV from Mendoza, Argentina.
Attendees were seated at formal dinner tables to enjoy selections prepared by mansion chefs Patrick Herron and Tyler Steelman and wines by O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor: winter squash soup with nutmeg foam, paired with a 2012 Grayson Cellars chardonnay from California; an arugula and spinach soaked salad with pancetta-wrapped shrimp, paired with a 2011 A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir from Oregon; and marinated flank steak with herbed truffle butter and roasted root vegetables, served with a 2011 Charles Smith Wines “Chateau Smith” cabernet sauvignon from Columbia Valley, Wash.
The meal concluded with a spicy pecan and sweet potato creme brulee. Jonathan Looney, certified sommelier and specialist of wine, introduced each wine as courses were served.
Renee Shapiro, co-host of KATV-TV, Channel 7’s Saturday Daybreak, was master of ceremonies for an evening that also included musical entertainment and silent and live auctions.