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Basic Wine Sequencing Recommendations 237
pubs abound everywhere from Victoria, British Columbia, to Portland, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho. Many
of these great local and regional beers are a delightful accompaniment to the Pacific Northwest’s Asian-,
Indian-, and Mexican-influenced dishes.
The menu and recipes later in this chapter integrate many of the foods, preparation methods, and
ethnic ingredients that are part of Pacific Northwest cuisine.
GENERAL MENU PLANNING SUGGESTIONS
Prior to planning any menu, several questions need to be considered:
1. Who is the audience? This is an important consideration when determining the
types of food, preparation, and wines that will be most appreciated.
2. What is the purpose of the dinner or event? The reason for the event will be a key
driver of many decisions. Menu and wine choices for a wedding, for example,
will be quite different from those for a corporate meeting.
3. Is there a theme? The theme in this chapter’s menu focuses on the Pacific Northwest—but
other themes may be tied to a special occasion, holiday, ethnic culture,
or cuisine.
4. What are the equipment, staff, and location constraints? Each location has its limitations,
and careful consideration is needed to maximize value and creativity while
ensuring that the menu can be successfully presented in the given situation.
These constraints should also be considered if you are hosting a dinner party in
your home—you may want to decide how much time you want to spend in the
kitchen rather than interacting with your guests, and how much can be done in
advance.
5. How many guests will be there? What are the price and cost issues? Certainly, a menu
for a group of 8–10 people has different needs than one for 50, 100, or 500 people.
Also, knowing the price limitations and cost constraints up front can help
you to find creative ways to present great food and wine but with great value.
6. Are there any special diet needs? For example, in Louisiana, with its large Catholic
population, it’s often important to eliminate meat from menus during Lent. It is
not uncommon for the hosts of many catered dinners to specify particular needs.
7. What is the ‘‘ebb and flow’’ of the menu? This has to do with a smooth transition
from one course to the next. One method is to alternate more complicated
dishes with simpler ones. The menu below begins with a more complicated appetizer,
which includes both hot and cold elements, and follows with a soup that
can be ready to go and just needs to be dished up. This ebb-and-flow idea
comes in handy in situations where unexpected issues arise, as the simpler dishes
give you time to adjust.
BASIC WINE SEQUENCING RECOMMENDATIONS
Wine and food pairing can be thought of as having horizontal choices and vertical
choices. Horizontal pairing is the simplest kind and involves pairing one wine with a particular
food dish. Vertical pairings are more complicated and refer to matching with multiple
wines in a multicourse, progressive dinner.