Burgers and Bordeaux

Today we'll be hosting our 5th annual "Burgers and Bordeaux".

It was an idea 5 years ago to de-mystify wine in general and French wine in particular. Bordeaux was the perfect subject. Many new wine drinkers are afraid to try French wines, or find wine naming in general confusing. We work off a simple theme: We taste wines of each of the five grapes used in Bordeaux; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Malbec. Then we taste blends of those grapes from around the world, including many Bordeaux's.

It gives every one a chance to taste each part of the blend on it's own and see what it brings, and how the sum of parts can be greater than the individual grapes. Many people are afraid to get away from varieties they know, and this is a chance to explore blends. It also is an easy environment to learn in and take some of the fluff away from wine.

The "Burgers" portion of the BBQ plays an important part in that. I hate that people obsess over the "perfect pairing". There is no such thing. Time, place, mood, preperation and a hundred other factors make the interplay of wine and food unique each time you do it. Forget about "perfect", go for "fun". What's more fun than burgers on the Forth of July? The burgers also let people know, it's ok to have wine, even great wine, with any food you'd like.

So we'll relax on this 4th of July with a casual BBQ, good friends, and good wine. No fluff, no pretense, no anxiety. Just the way we like wine.