San Francisco Bay Area Wine-Focus on Flavor: a Wine and Food Tasting Intensive. Class #6: Big and Spicy Red Wines

Do you want to improve your wine vocabulary? Are you confused when you hear a wine being described as “ having soft tones of dried apple and baking spice? ” What’s your favorite style of Sauvignon Blanc- Loire Valley, New Zealand or California? What's your favorite style Syrah- fruity and rich or spicy and robust?

If you are interested in answering these questions and more, please join chef /wine educator Cynthia Bloebaum for a series of classes that will help you hone your palate and increase your wine knowledge. Each session will offer 8 wines and “ tasting aids” (fresh and dried fruits, jams, spices, herbs, syrups and small bites of various foods) that will assist you in identifying flavors. Bloebaum will also offer a full meal from the best seasonal products that are made specifically to match the wines, plus other food paring info and tips for all of the wines.

This session is based on big and spicy red wines. There will be a blind tasting of 1 grape followed by samplings of other international grapes that you may or may not be familiar with. The wines are paired with simple family style meals that are harmonious with the wines, including patés, cheeses, vegetables and entrée.

Class #6 Big and Spicy Reds 6/24

Our blind tasting will be of Syrahs from France, California and Australia along with blackberries and blackberry jam, plums, prunes, white and black pepper, violet jelly, cinnamon sticks and cloves. We’ll also sample Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Petit Sirah, Nero d’Avola and other international grapes.

All wines and foods subject to availability.

The South Beach Yacht Club is on Pier 40 on the Embarcadero, off 3rd and King street directly behind the SF Giants’ ATT ballpark. For directions or parking information, please contact Chef Cynthia.

Cynthia Bloebaum is a San Francisco Bay Area chef and wine instructor whose love and enthusiasm for food and wine led to her studying the culinary arts in Europe and other schools in California including the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, CA. She has cooked at and been chef for numerous San Francisco restaurants throughout her 25 year career. Bloebaum has been the chef for wine classes at UC Berkeley Extension and has taught numerous wine classes for that institution. She is the wine instructor for Northern California’s Whole Foods stores. She also conducts her own classes on regional foods and wines of numerous wine growing areas, caters wine themed events and parties, and is an accomplished speaker, cooking instructor, wine trainer, wine judge and consultant.