Wining and dining
Winter Wine Festival returns to Taos eateries
THE WINE INDUSTRY comprises a long chain of people, each with their own part to play in bringing wine from the vineyard to the table. There are the grape growers and winemakers, the importers and distributors, the wine buyers and sommeliers, and the consumers. And although winemakers may meet with importers, and distributors with buyers, rarely do multiple links in this chain come together to celebrate the beverage at the heart of the industry.
An exception is the wine dinner, when diners, sommeliers, distributors, and winemakers gather to learn, eat, drink, and enjoy one another’s company. As it has many things, COVID-19 has deprived us of this convivial opportunity for nearly two years. There have been various attempts at virtual wine dinners in recent months, with restaurants preparing multi-course dinners with wine pairings that they send home, to-go-style, with diners. The diners then enjoy these meals while tuned into an online video chat that supplies the informational and conversational portion of the evening.
But with this year’s Taos Winter Wine Festival, we rejoice in the return of the real live wine dinner to the restaurants of Taos. Diners and wine lovers can choose from six wine dinners being held throughout the festival. The participating restaurants include Aceq, Lambert’s of Taos, The Love Apple, and medley. as well as the Blonde Bear Tavern and Hondo Restaurant in Taos Ski Valley. Although this is a smaller number than in years past, the caliber of the restaurants and wines represented promises to carry on the festival’s tradition of excellence.
Some dinners feature the presence of winery owners and winemakers, and others are hosted by representatives of wineries and importers; all have superb knowledge about the wines they’re pouring, and each brings something unique and charismatic to the table.
A wine dinner is an inviting opportunity to immerse oneself in all aspects of the wine experience. You hear details about the how the grapes were grown: the aspect of the hillside on which the vineyards sit, the climate and the weather of that particular vintage, and how the grapes were harvested and turned into the wine in the glass in front
Even if this year’s Taos Winter Wine Festival dinners deviate from the norm, we can still revel in the experience: the new knowledge, the expertly prepared dishes, a wine we’ve never before tasted… or just the experience of enjoying a night off from cooking.
of you. You also learn about the people who took the grapes through every step of that process. There are some truly interesting characters who gravitate toward the wine industry, so this is often a particularly entertaining part of the evening.
With all this in mind, you taste the wine and envision for yourself the sunny vineyards and the various hands that have brought the wine to your table. You’re also served exceptional dishes prepared by Taos chefs, paired
perfectly with each wine to enhance your enjoyment of both food and drink. This year, the restaurants are matching their cuisines with wines from France, Italy, and Spain as well as California and Oregon. As “real” travel is still a complicated prospect these days, this Taos Winter Wine Festival could present a bit of an armchair travel opportunity. A trip to Spain may be on the far horizon for many of us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t experience its flavors right here at home, in the company of like-minded wine lovers.
The synthesis of food, wine, and togetherness is the spirit of the wine dinner. Of course, this year, conviviality may be somewhat of a foreign concept to us. We’ve spent the better part of two years avoiding contact with groups of people, especially in an unmasked state. With the current spread of the Omicron variant and unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 cases in Taos, one might wonder whether now is the time to be shedding our masks and sitting down to dine with strangers.
Ultimately, each diner must make that judgment for themselves, and each restaurant may have different amend
ments to the typical wine dinner format to keep guests safe. For example, at a “normal” wine dinner, guests are often seated at large, communal tables to encourage broad conversation. But this year, we may see parties seated separately at more widely distanced tables. “We didn’t know if people would want to sit with strangers,” said medley. restaurant manager, Antonia Bowden. Although this may diminish the social aspect of the dinner somewhat, it may also provide the more circumspect guest with a measure of reassurance.
Even if this year’s Taos Winter Wine
Festival dinners deviate from the norm, we can still revel in the experience: the new knowledge, the expertly prepared dishes, a wine we’ve never before tasted… or just the experience of enjoying a night off from cooking. If we’re ready to do so, the Taos Winter Wine Festival dinners are an invitation to dust off our finery, leave our houses and our COVID-induced routines, and experience something just a little bit special.
Molly Steinbach is a certified sommelier and certified wine specialist and the beverage director and sommelier at medley.