By Jan Howard

People who like to entertain at dinner parties but are stumped about which wine to serve will be able to learn the ins and outs of food and wine pairing at an educational series sponsored by McLaughlin Vineyards of Sandy Hook and Newtown’s Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

The series, called “Food and Wine, Cooking and Pairing,” will be held in the meeting room of the library on consecutive Tuesdays, beginning February 29 and continuing March 7, March 14 and March 21. Each class will meet from 6 to 8 pm.

The series features Morgen McLaughlin, the owner and winemaker of McLaughlin Vineyards, and Brenda Hrostek, co-owner and chef of Vineyard Food Company.

Ms Hrostek will serve four food courses for each class and demonstrate preparation of one of the courses during the class. She will also discuss how to prepare each course, and attendees will be able to ask questions about food preparation, entertaining and other related topics.

Ms McLaughlin will pair wines with each food course and discuss the art of wine and food pairing. She will also discuss maple syrup and how to incorporate it into food preparation.

“The premise of the series is to educate people on pairing of food and wine and cooking with maple syrup,” Ms Hrostek said this week. “Maple syrup is more than just for pancakes and French toast. It’s an ingredient that adds sweetness. Maple sugar is of the consistency of sugar.”

Foods she will be preparing include maple pumpkin soup, chicken with orange-maple sauce, pot roast and maple crème brulee.

 Each class will be set up like a dinner, consisting of an appetizer, salad and entrée, and ending with a dessert, Ms McLaughlin explained. Each class will have a different theme, and the wines chosen will be matched appropriately with the food.

Attendees will taste each food course and sample four to eight wines. Recipes will be given out at each class.

“We think it will be lots of fun,” Ms Hrostek said.

Ms McLaughlin said most people, when determining what wine to serve with food, focus on the entrée and go with a wine they are somewhat familiar with, such as white wine with fish and red with pasta.

“There are no set rules to pairing,” Ms McLaughlin said. “The wine should balance the food as to flavor. With spicy food, the wine should be more robust. Wines should also go up in flavor, starting with the lightest wine first.”

Wines should be changed with each food course, Ms Hrostek said. “We want to get across that as the food moves the wine moves.”

The wines should also go up the scale of color, Ms McLaughlin said. “You start with a white wine, then move to red, and finish the meal with a red.” Port, sauterne, or sweet wines are usually served with desserts, she noted.

Wine is becoming more main stream, and Americans are beginning to appreciate it more, according to Ms McLaughlin and Ms Hrostek.

Ms McLaughlin said there is also more interest in connecting wine with food, with major magazines beginning to include articles about the pairing of foods and wines.

Ms Hrostek said wine and food clubs, hosted at members’ homes, are becoming more popular. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “Wine enhances the flavor in food.”

Ms Hrostek and Ms McLaughlin are partners in Vineyard Food Company, a specialty food company based in Danbury that does catering for small events.

 “We’re just starting out,” Ms Hrostek said. A licensed caterer, she and Ms McLaughlin are renting the kitchen at Sandy Hook Deli

“We will be coming out with a line of food products and herb mixtures,” Ms Hrostek said.

Ms Hrostek, a resident of Danbury, has been interested in cooking all her life. “I starting cooking with my grandmother and my mother when I about three. I never thought of going to cooking school. I think of it as an art form. I don’t think you can learn creativity.

“I watched chefs, such as Julia Child, on TV when I was a child. That’s how long I’ve had the interest,” she said. “I get gourmet magazines and watch the food network.

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking as a hobby. If you like to do something, you’ll be good at it,” Ms Hrostek continued. “I love to feed people. I also like a nice table setting.”

Ms Hrostek said she and Ms McLaughlin are thinking about offering dinner preparation in clients’ homes as one of their services.

Ms McLaughlin is one of eight owners of McLaughlin Vineyard but is the only one who works at the vineyard.

The vineyard property has been in the family since her grandparents bought the farm in the early 1940s. The winery was started in 1979 when family members needed a way to generate cash flow to keep the farm property.

In addition to wines, McLaughlin Vineyard also produces maple syrup.

The fee for each class of “Food and Wine, Cooking and Pairing” is $8 per person or $32 for the series. To make a reservation, call the C.H. Booth Library at 426-4533.