“I’m not gonna promise you’ll like all the wines tonight,” said Whiteside, echoing Wine Manager, Leah Dedmon’s prediction last week that “people are going to hate the Sherry.”

Fortified wines are not on a radio frequency that most American palates are tuned into; they’re not high-octane fruit bombs that want so much to be loved that they don’t care whether or not they have to share your attention with food. Just LOVE them, they plead with outstretched arms.

And by themselves, some of the wines last night were indeed extremely harsh (notably the first wine, a Manzanilla Sherry), challenging you to take them or leave them, as if to say,”Whatevah, I gots people.”

Not that this was an exercise in culinary sadomasochism. Getting back to the first wine of the evening that Manzanilla Sherry, it WAS indeed extremely caustic on the order of something you might find left over in a beaker in a science class. Why would anyone drink this by itself? The answer is that while imbibing this cousin to Madeira and Port, the magic of wine pairing was about to happen, and the point really was NOT to drink this wine by itself; the point was to experience what Whiteside characterized as the singular experience of pairing wine with food that somehow makes “1+1=3.”

See Sherry, you're not so tough when Sardine is around. Image: Amy Loeffler

Waiters nonchalantly brought out sardines stuffed with spinach and tomatoes and a quail egg on toast to accompany the Manzanilla without much hoo-ha. The saltiness of the sardine, however, made a dramatic impression, transforming the aloof wine into a refreshing cocktail. Whiteside also went on to explain that Spaniards are also known to cut Fino Sherry with Sprite, making a drink called a “Rebujito” which Iberians enjoy during the April fiestas. (According to Whiteside Spaniards consume 40% of the entire globe’s production of Fino Sherry during the month of April. And probably a lot of Sprite, too.)

I was beginning to feel like one of the cool kids. Like fortified wines were going to let me make friends and walk home with them from school.

My fave pairing of the evening was a Banyuls paired with dark chocolate. Banyuls is a Vin Doux Naturel, basically a Grenache that has had the fermentation process stopped, leaving a wine that is sweet and grapey (incidentally, Whiteside says this is the ONLY instance in which he’ll allow the descriptor “grapey” to be used with wine). Again, 1+1 equaled 3 with the tannins of the chocolate standing in for the muted tannins of this sweeter, libation Whiteside described as a “baby red wine.” Take note, because Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I am betting any amorous entanglements can only be elevated after consuming this combination of silk and velvet.

That said, Banyuls, I’m looking forward to hanging out. With your friend chocolate of course.

–Amy

Video: Youtube

But renewed interest in cocktail culture and anything beyond the simple red and white fermented grape juice has made fortified wines part of the vino vernacular again.

“[Fortified wines] are a category with growing interest,” says Leah Dedmon, wine manager at Brabo Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria.

Dedmon says tomorrow’s fortified wine class was the product of Brabo customers requesting more information about fortified wines intersecting with the winter season. “They’re great for the winter; it’s cold out, it just kinda makes sense,” she says.

The class tomorrow is lead by Jason Whiteside from the Country Vintner. Participants will learn how fortified wines are made and the importance of wine and food pairing.

One of the first pairings tomorrow is a Sherry paired with sardines stuffed with tomatoes and spinach accompanied by a quail egg. Dedmon is devilishly delighted as she explains the magic of food and wine pairing, “People are going to taste the Sherry and hate it; and then they’ll taste it with the sardine and love it.”

–Amy

Wines

Hidalgo “La Gitana” Manzanilla Sherry

Blandy’s 5 Year Old Verdelho Madeira

Cazes Muscat de Rivesaltes 2005

Domaine du Mas Blanc Banyuls 2006

Smith Woodhouse Late Bottled Vintage Port 1995