This time last week I was in the middle of Mississippi, camping with a large group of friends. The head of our group is a firm believer that vacations require living it up (even while camping), so no canned pork and beans for this crowd. Stroganoff, coq au vin, steak, teriyaki chicken, mixed-grill fajitas, pork tenderloin--you know, the usual. Simple food, but good. Note: my friend used blood oranges--I think (they were really red inside, but they'd been labeled as navels...go figure)--for his fajita marinade, along with some lime, to back up the spices. They rocked.

And we had wine.

It wasn't the only beverage, of course--an awful lot of Strongbow Cider, Blue Moon, Newcastle, Shiner Bock and Sam Adams was consumed. A couple bottles of single malt scotch. Before you think we went crazy, I should note we had nearly 20 people in our camp, and lots of company.

But, the wine....I brought about a case of mixed wines--mostly reds. A few bottles ...

In case you haven't gotten the news another way yet: Orlando-area readers should mark their calenders for next week's winemaker tasting at our Oviedo store. Rick Boyer, winemaker for Solaire and Robert Mondavi Private Selection wines, will be there from 5:30 to 7:30 pouring wine (an added bonus: if you buy a bottle while he's there, he'll sign it for you) and chatting with us. The day is Tuesday, March 10. You can get bio details and the store address from our special events page. Yours truly is going to try to trek up there, so hopefully next Wednesday's post will include some interesting bits from that.

We love hosting winemakers tastings because it's really a lot of fun to talk to the person responsible for making the wine.

Well, no, of course it isn't. But in that case, we should probably clarify something.

The word garagiste. In French, it's a mechanic, or someone who owns a garage.

In wine (spoken fluently here), a garagiste winemaker is someone who makes really good wine in really small amounts.  (In the interest of full disclosure, I'm sure some of them make less-than-stellar wines, but of course we don't sell those.) These are the wines that you dream of finding being produced in some out of the way place while you're taking a lovely bicycle ride through the countryside. Lots of romance.

In the real world, these are also the wines that are really difficult to find, and thus somewhat frustrating to look for. Also, the operations are really hands-on, so they aren't likely to taste the same vintage to vintage, and in fact may not be available every vintage.

But they're definitely worth ...

We've got some upcoming winemaker tastings--you can get the details on our regular event calendar (under the Home tab, click on wine tastings). Fifteen winemakers (of which I think twelve are French) will be in five different ABC stores different nights next week. Tampa on the 3rd, Ocala on the 4th, Lake Mary on the 5th, Naples on the 6th, and Venice on the 7th. Great to attend for any reason, of course, but especially if you want to talk to some winemakers about their craft, or about their wine specifically. The event posting also has a list of who will be there.

Also, we've got some high-end wine/food events coming up. Anyone who's ever been to our Friday Night Wine-n-Dine events at Fleming's in Winter Park will recognize the format. The details are under our Special Events tab (with the wine tastings); these have limited seating, and by all accounts are a lot of fun. There's one coming up in Jacksonville, and one in Lake Mary, both focused on some really good Burgundy from 200 ...

I asked Brad Lewis, our Director of Fine Wines, his thoughts on the Irish food question. It's funny how people just give you that look sometimes...anyway, once I told him what Paul had suggested, he agreed to think about it and get back with me.

Brad came up with two more (specifice) suggestions: Yangarra Shiraz and Longboat Sauvignon Blanc. Both "down-under" wines.

Any favorite foods you just can't figure out a wine pairing for? Or maybe there are some we shouldn't find wine to match--perhaps looking at the food culture/history of a particular region, especially where wine isn't a large part of the culture, we'd find that the food really isn't suited to wine, but is suited to another drink of the area (beer, for example).

A friend and I were talking about St. Patrick's Day, and (of course) ended up talking about what to drink with the traditional corned beef and cabbage.

"Beer," said my (male) friend. Of course, beer is his default drink. If you aren't sure what to serve, there's usually a beer that works nicely. Actually, that's my default position, too, when it comes to beverages with alcohol in them: sometimes you just need the flavor and texture of beer to pair with the food.

Beer, preferably Harp Lager, would be a good choice. So would cider, preferably a fairly to very dry cider like Strongbow or K.

But what about wine? Neither of us could think of one, so yesterday I called one of our wine supervisors to get his opinion on what wine could be paired with corned beef and cabbage.

"Beer."

Finally he suggested that a Sauvignon Blanc would work, despite the beef. The problem, he ...

Brad Lewis, Director of Fine Wines for ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, has spent more than 30 years in the wine industry. Today, he spends a lot of his time not only tasting wines (and selecting them for our shelves) but also one-on-one with winemakers all over the world, talking to them, buying from them, even collaborating on special blends with them.

Recently he was recognized with the Medaille du Merite Agircole, an award dating back to the 19th century and France's oldest civic award. It's given in recognition of the recipient's steadfast support of French wine and culture. As a wine buyer, Brad travels two-three times a year to France--not just to Burgundy and Bordeaux, but to the Loire, Languedoc and Rhone. Phillippe Ardanaz, Consulate General of France, bestowed the award at a ceremony at the French Embassy in Atlanta.