WINNING PAIRING
Dean Kang
Current Position:
Sommelier at Bistro 7 in Chicago
Dish
Assorted Cheese Plate
Winning Beverage:
Madison-Main,
Late Harvest Vidal 2024
$28
How did you come up with this pairing?
I tasted about 20 or so wines with the dish. I saw that tannin was a problem with many of the reds so I focused on whites. I tasted dry, off-dry, and sweet whites and I saw that the sweet wines gave me that further elevating experience that these guys look for. From there, I experimented with a bunch of the more affordable sweet white wines and I found that this one just blew the others away.
What the jury member said about the pairing?
This was just an outstanding pairing for the dish. There was that nice smooth transition when you took a sip of the wine after a bite of the cheese and it did a great job of extending the pleasure the food started. During that extended period, the wine added a beautiful and subtle apricot and honey taste that was a perfect complement to this dish.