I have at last got round to thinking about some dates for the diary for some FWW events and themed tastings and dinners for the first part of 2010.  Been a bit bogged down with our WSET® Wine Courses to be fair but its still a bit of a shock to see we are now into week 2 of February – yikes!  The feedback we’ve been receiving over the last year, by e-mail and in person, tells me that people are indeed fascinated by the whole concept of Food & Wine Matching and also why the foods of a certain country or region work best with the local wines.   I also think that although we live and work here in France (lucky us, hey?) that the French can be rather parochial and protective of their own part of the country and so whilst its great to relish and enjoy the rustic dishes of Provence (from Ratatouille to Tuna Niçois and Pissaladiere) with the ubiquitous Rosé, it’s a shame to not be able to experience the rest of this fine country’s cuisine, don’t you think?   
So the first planned themed evening is to be a Grand Dinner and Tasting paying homage to wines and dishes of the Loire Valley on 12th March. We shall be sipping our way through Muscadet and Seafood, Sancerre with Goat’s Cheese and the extraordinarily ethereal sweet wines from the Chenin Blanc grape with the French classic – Tarte Tatin.   A bit of research into the food of the region and I have discovered that this sumptuous buttery, caramelised pastry yumminess did indeed originate from the Loire.  A type of pear from the Jardin de la France, the Poire Belle Angevine from Anjou would give a lovely Loire twist to the more usual Apple Tatin – if I can track down this particular orchard fruit.!
I am wandering further afield for later in the year – a yearning to nip around the Mediterranean and over the border into Spain may (I hope) get the better of me this Spring!   Just as with our trip over to Germany for my Riesling fix last Summer, the pull of being within a few hours drive of all these amazing places in Europe is just too great!   Also, we’ve been invited to a Spanish Wine & Gastronomy Trade tasting here in Nice in early March which I am hoping may put is in touch with some interesting suppliers.  Lastly, as part of the Advanced wine course I was running last week, we had to drink (I know, I know) some crisp, minerally and deliciously citrusy Verdejo from Rueda plus a cracking Ribera del Duero Tempranillo.  That, and my fixation with Sherry (see earlier blog on this very close to my heart subject!) leads me to start planning a “Tapas on the Terrace” event for June.
So before I get completely carried away with menus and wine matches, I wondered if any Riviera Women readers have a particular region or country they would like to see me explore with a themed event?   Perhaps we should look at something further afield for this Year of the Tiger?  China is of course, the largest producer now of the Riesling grape and those aromatic wines from Alsace go so marvellously with subtle Asian flavours.  Tannic red wines and dishes rich with spicy chilli should however, be avoided – the tannins will make the chilli taste even hotter – you have been warned!