Can’t have your day in Napa, but love the idea of a winery inspired menu? We tapped culinary expert, Brooke Bagliatto, of Carneros Inn, to share her top tips on creating a wedding menu straight from the wine valley.
WINE PAIRINGS
Wine is one of the most important parts of the meal when created a winery inspired menu. Start with a lighter wine and move into heavier wines as the meal progresses. This sometimes means moving courses a lithe out of the “normal” order to accommodate. For instance, you may want to have your salad course before your starter course so you may pair the sale with a lighter, crisper wine than the starter course. Share the level of wine you are looking for with your chef and examples of wines you already enjoy. From there allow your chef & sommelier to make the suggested wine pairings based on the menu created. Make sure you list your pairings on the menu as well so guests can get the full experience.
LOCALITY, SEASONALITY & SUSTAINABILITY
It’s no secret that the best meals start with the freshest products. Food that is grown locally doesn’t have to travel far and therefore is harvested at its peak ripeness. Locally grown products are typically dictated by season, so let your chef guide you into what products are going to be the best and most abundant at the time of your wedding. Asparagus may look beautiful in the picture from your favorite magazine, but if you’re having an October wedding, a seasonal squash will probably taste much better.
GOOD FOOD HAS A STORY
Wedding guests really enjoy knowing where their food is coming from. Knowing that the figs featured on their salad are the same ones growing on the tress 20 feet away is a lot of fun and should be included on the menu when possible. Ask your chef to be descriptive in his menus sharing all the details about the food including the farms it came from.
Photo from Jose Villa from Natalie & Pat’s Big Day.
