The Food: The Marriage of Food & Wine
When the wedding invitation arrives in the mail, there is often a choice to make aside from whether you will be attending the nuptials.
Would you like the meat entrée, the chicken or a vegetarian dish? Please check one.
When the big day arrives, emotions are high. Tensions mount. They have made it down the aisle and now it is time for some fun, food and drink.
Here are a few tips, complete with wine recommendations, on creating a perfect wedding menu your guests will remember.
Nancy Kelly, owner of the Pellston Market and Traveling Chef catering, states, “For me, it is important to get a feel for the style of the client, searching out their vision and then trying to weave that through my food, the presentation, even the tray garnishes. Even though I am only responsible for the food and beverage service, it is important for me to be aware of all of the reception aspects, the room decor, lighting, availability of restrooms, rentals, need for luminarias to light pathways, even the flashlights to return to an unlit parking area.”
Added Matthew Waterman, who, along with wife Linda, owns Sweetwater Catering in Petoskey, “In the off season, we spend a lot of time on function planning, especially with weddings. It’s a process. We can guide a couple through the many steps needed, whether it is the reception, everything from the initial setup, creating the menu, the beverages, linens, service. We can make it very easy on the party holding the event.”
The first step is to get your wedding date locked in with a licensed and insured caterer, about a year on advance.
Local flavor
Next comes the meal and beverage planning. Local flavors adds special pizzazz to the event, and both Waterman and Kelly incorporate regional foods into their dishes and meal planning.
“Everything is prepared by our staff. We like to tie in local flair and use Michigan products. We pride ourselves in catering to the clients’ tastes and try to accommodate the location in the planning stages,” said Waterman.
And, what typically follows the meal? Wine. But how do you decide what kind of wine will complement seared and roasted duck, filet mignon or chicken and wild rice?
“I usually tell our tasting guests that a lot of the so-called ‘rules’ of wine don’t apply much anymore. Drink what you like with what you like,” said Sandy Pfister, who along with partner, Jerry Perrone, owns Pleasantview Vineyards in Harbor Springs.
“However, a good rule of thumb to follow is: light-bodied foods with lighter-bodied wines, heavier-bodied foods with fuller or heavier-bodied wines. It really all depends on what effect you are going for, whether it is contrasting the wine with the food or complementing the wine with the food. Everyone’s palate is different, so you pair for your own individual taste.”
Pleasantview Vineyards is a boutique winery with hand-crafted wines from grapes grown with sustainable agriculture and cold-hardy hybrids. No chemical pesticides or fertilizers are used and low to no additional sulfites (which give you a much cleaner, crisper taste) are added.
“The nature of our wines is local. We use locally grown grapes and create specific blends based upon our local culture. For example, our Razz-ma-Tazz is a semi-dry blush with light raspberry backgrounds or Persikka, which is a semi-sweet white with subtle peach backgrounds,” said Pfister.
When selecting wines to pair with meals, Pfister had a few suggestions.
For white meat fish and chicken, she would suggest one of their whites, Vintner’s Choice Select, a semi-dry, clean and crisp blend of Niagara, Edelweiss and Kay Grey grapes. “The soft floral nose and tart finish pair particularly well with our own Northern Michigan whitefish,” she stated.
“If you are serving chicken, duck, turkey or a red-meat fish such as tuna or salmon, then we’d suggest Moonstruck. Its delightful flavor is not as subtle as Vintner’s Choice Select and will pair well with stronger flavored dishes featuring meat like those above. It is a dry white from Elvira grape harvested right here north of the 45th parallel.”
• Pleasantview Vineyards Winery is located at 6769 S. Pleasantview Road in Harbor Springs; (231) 526-8100; www.pleasantviewwinery.us.
• Sweetwater Catering is located at 6563 Indian Garden Road in Petoskey; (231) 347-5998; www.sweetwatercatering.com.
• Pellston Market is located at 230 U.S. 31 North in Pellston; (231) 539-7100; www.pellstonmarket.com.
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