Category: Food

Learn about wine for fun or profit

Wine on Main is not only a cozy storefront where shoppers can acquire locally created artisanal crafts or boutique bottles of wine from New Hampshire and beyond. It’s also a place where people can quench their thirst for knowledge about wine.

Wine on Main, at 9 N. Main St. in downtown Concord, is owned by Emma Stetson. “My job is to pick the best wine for the customers at the store,” Stetson said.

Two courses from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust will be hosted here later this month. WSET, which sets industry standards for wine and spirits across the globe, selected Wine on Main as an official location for its Level I & II certification courses.

“There are only a handful of those around the world, so it is exciting that they are coming to Concord,” Stetson said. “They want to make sure we are following all the rules since this is an industry standard certificate.”

Stetson said “the WSET was invaluable” in deepening her understanding of wine.

The Level I course takes two evenings to complete and will run Tuesday, Feb. 20, and Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m.; the cost is $399 per person. Level II will take place over that weekend of Saturday, Feb. 24, and Sunday, Feb. 25, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and costs $899 per person. Wine enthusiasts who participate in Level II will have an option to take the exam at another time if needed. Both tests, for levels I and II, are multiple choice.

“If people want to do the two courses together, there is a discount,” Stetson said. Participants may skip Level I and go straight to Level II as well. Group discounts apply too.

This is not the first time these courses have been offered at Wine on Main. The inaugural classes held last August were an enormous success with a 100 percent passing rate for both levels.

“A lot of people who took the Level I course were customers who were interested in learning more,” Stetson said.

She said the course “is not just a fun wine class that you take with your friends on a Tuesday night” — Wine on Main has many of those, such as a recent wine-pairing collaboration with New Hampshire Doughnut Co. But participants regardless of their level of wine knowledge should expect a good time. This course “caters to wine enthusiasts who want to know more,” as well as those in the wine business, “to put on their resume.” With WSET courses, participants “walk away with a certificate that is internationally recognized.”

The courses are taught by Master of Wine and New Hampshire native Lindsay Pomeroy, who also taught the courses at Wine on Main in August. There are only around 400 people in the world able to claim the Master of Wine title.

Pomeroy, a lifelong teacher who started a wine education company called Wine Smarties in San Diego in 2006, welcomes students of any level of expertise to Wine on Main this February. “Some of my best students are not even in the industry. Level I is very fun,” she said. The course “gives you a perspective, grounding, and a foundation,” she said, noting “you can’t be a great wine taster without any knowledge.” Pomeroy exudes joy about helping anyone willing to sign up “to be able to unlock and explain the wine. It is a fun puzzle.”

Stetson, a Level II & III WSET certificate holder herself, explained that those signed up for the Level I course “learn how to taste the wine and you learn how to describe the wine. You learn about the grapes, and you learn about the region.” The Level II course is longer and builds on Level I. Participants learn to decipher wine labels and select the best wine for the occasion. Level II delves into “more specific regions and more atypical grapes and wines,” Stetson said. The registration deadlines are Feb. 3 for the Level I class and Feb. 9 for Level II.

Wine and Spirit Education Trust classes
Wine on Main, 9 N. Main St., Concord
Level I

Tuesday, Feb. 20, and Wednesday, Feb. 21, 6 to 9 p.m.
$399 per person; $340 group rate
Level II

Saturday, Feb. 24, and Sunday, Feb. 25, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
$899 per person; $801 4+ group rate

More info: wineonmainnh.com, winesmarties.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Classes create pairings for dinner and dessert

Other than red roses, nothing says “valentine” more than chocolate and wine, and LaBelle Winery will capitalize on this tantalizing pairing with two classes in February, available at LaBelle’s Derry and Amherst locations. Classes will meet from 6 to 7 p.m. and admission for each session is $40.

Chocolate Desserts & Wine Pairing is described as a special wine pairing event for lovers of decadent chocolate desserts.

“This is one of my favorite classes,” said LaBelle Winery Sommelier Marie King. “We pair four delicious wines with four specially made desserts made with white, milk, dark and spiced chocolates made by our amazing pastry chef, Sara Mercier.” The wine menu for the evening will include White Chocolate Mousse paired withLaBelle Cranberry; Milk Chocolate Pot de Creme paired withLaBelle Americus; Dark Chocolate Brownie paired withLaBelle Dry Blueberry; and Chocolate Cayenne Truffle paired withLaBelle Petit Verdot.

“I like to keep the class informal, fun, and have guests leave with a little more knowledge about wine and how to pair it,” King said.

Cooking with Wine & Chocolate, facilitated by Amy LaBelle and Executive Chef Justin Bernatchez, is an entertaining interactive cooking class demonstration. Guests will have the opportunity to sample fried chicken with chocolate BBQ sauce, steak with The Winemaker’s Kitchen Cocoa BBQ Spice Blend, Mexican mole sauce, and Chocolate Decadence Dessert — each paired with a LaBelle wine.

One of the surprising things people learn about cooking with chocolate is that it can be used to make savory dishes.

“Think of Mexican mole sauce,” King said. “The sweetness is an underlying note to the savory spicy notes of the dishes. Cocoa powder and dark chocolate, which are most often used for cooking, are actually quite bitter. The sweetness we equate with chocolate is from the sugar, milk and flavorings added to the bitter cocoa.”

What makes wine and chocolate compatible?

“Everything is better when paired well,” according to King. “We like to say that pairing wine and food well elevates the enjoyment of both. Finding what is compatible or contrasting between the wine and chocolate makes for fantastic pairings that neither the food or wine can create separately.”

Although many people tend to think that red is the only wine that can be paired with chocolate, King disagrees: “It does not have to be red wine with chocolate. It especially does not work well with white or ruby chocolate. Fruit or dessert wines are also fun to pair with chocolates.”

“Milk chocolate is sweeter, has less of a perception of tannins and is creamier on the palate. Dark chocolate is more bitter; you can perceive the tannins more easily and [it’s] less creamy on the palate. You might be able to pair both with a wine that is fruit-driven but also tannic, but one chocolate will generally pair better than the other depending on which characteristic dominates,” King said.

Which wines are best paired with white chocolate? “We like to use our Cranberry and Cranberry Riesling, but I have also had success with Seyval, riesling and Shimmer. If the white chocolate has citrus notes, it makes it even easier,” King said.

King noted that rosés have “more tannins than the average white and more acidity than the average red.”

“I am a sparkling girl, so I always try to find foods to pair with sparkling wines,” she said. “Our Tempest sparkling wine is great with milk chocolate as it has raspberry notes and the bubbles help to cleanse the palate from the buttery texture.”

Chocolate Desserts & Wine Pairing
Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 6 to 7 p.m.
LaBelle Winery, 345 Route 101, Amherst
$40

Chocolate Desserts & Wine Pairing
Wednesday, Feb. 14, from 6 to 7 p.m.
LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111, Derry
$40

Cooking with Wine & Chocolates
Thursday, Feb. 15
LaBelle Winery, 345 Route 101, Amherst
$40

Cooking with Wine & Chocolates
Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 6 to 7 p.m.
LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111, Derry
$40

For more info or to register, visit labellewinery.com/public-winery-events

Featured photo: Wines paired with chocolates. Courtesy photo.

High school nonprofit hosts event with eateries

If you like to eat, then Taste of Bedford is where you and your appetite will want to be on Tuesday, Jan. 30, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Bedford High School Commons, 47 Nashua Road in Bedford. The food-filled fundraiser, featuring numerous area eateries, benefits DECA, a nonprofit organization that prepares youth to be academically ready, community-oriented, professionally responsible and experienced leaders. Admission for the food fest is $15 for individuals, $45 for a family of four, or $60 for a family of five.

“Taste of Bedford is a great fundraiser for our students because it enables the community to come out and taste food from different restaurants all at the same time,” said Betsy Doyle, a business teacher and six-year faculty advisor for Bedford High School’s DECA.

“Participating restaurants serve samples of a selection of their cuisine,” Doyle said, so “it is an easy way to have dinner for a family taken care of.” The icing on the cake? “They sometimes also hand out coupons to encourage attendees to try out their business.”

According to Doyle, last year’s Taste of Bedford was very successful in promoting new businesses that weren’t even around in 2020 or 2019.

Joining the culinary celebration this year will be Alas de Frida, serving authentic Mexican food; Ben & Jerry’s ice cream; Carly’s Custom Cakes, offering pastries; El Rincon Zacatecano Taqueria; Hannaford Supermarkets; Lighthouse Local, home to dozens of local vendors and artisans who prepare everything from sweet to savory baked goods and delicatessen delights; Sweet Ginger, whose Thai cuisine includes a variety of vegetarian options; Taj India, dishes from mild to hot; The Inside Scoop, specializing in ice cream and other frozen desserts; Thousand Crane, known for Chinese and Japanese cuisine, including high-quality fresh sushi, and more.

“The Bedford High School DECA club members sell tickets to the Taste of Bedford event,” Doyle said. “All of the ticket sales get attributed to the individual student who sold the tickets, and those funds reduce their own expenses for future competitions.”

An international nonprofit career and technical student organization, DECA has more than 224,000 members throughout the United States. The Bedford High School group is one of the largest chapters in New Hampshire.

DECA’s mission is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs by holding business competitions that assess business knowledge and presentation abilities and emulate atmospheres like those of professional business conferences. Students compete through business exams, case studies, interviews and sales presentations. After competing at the New Hampshire level, winning students move on to DECA’s International Career Development Conference, a global competition held at major metropolitan areas across the United States.

“The students gain valuable experience in organizing the event and recruiting the businesses to participate,” according to Doyle, one of three faculty advisors for Bedford High School’s DECA chapter. “All of the advertisements and publicity is taken care of by the students. The running of the event itself — each is done by a student leader. This year the event is led by Brenda Sacramento Cortes, a junior at BHS. Participating restaurants will have one or two student volunteers that will help them set up, serve and break down and load up after the event concludes.”

Aside from giving DECA students real-world hands-on experience with interviewing, problem-solving, and evaluating business situations, Doyle is gratified by her involvement in Taste of Bedford. “My favorite part of the event is seeing the community come together to see what the students are doing. We often have a very high level of participation from our own faculty and staff … and the DECA students love to see them and their families at the event.”

When: Tuesday, Jan. 30, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bedford High School, 47 Nashua Road, Bedford
Admission: individuals $15; family of four $45; family of five $60
Visit: sites.google.com/bedfordnhk12.net/bedford-taste-of-bedford/home

Featured photo: Taste of Bedford from previous year. Courtesy photo.