The goal of this “Somms Under Fire” was to associate a wine to a dish. Unlike the actual Somms Under Fire contestants, we were given an advantage and allowed to taste each wine before eating the food. We then looked at the dishes and thought about what may make a good pairing based upon what we tasted in each wine. Then, on our sheet, we drew a line connecting what we thought would be our favorite pairing. It was not an easy exercise, because to choose a wine without tasting the food can be very difficult. For example, without tasting the food, we do not know if the food will be spicy or sweet.
Once, this initial exercise was done, we tried the food with our pairing. It was very interesting to see what each person chose as the wine they imagined would pair the best.