I must admit that Kevin and I had a leg up on our guests. We assigned ourselves our favorite wine countries—France and Chile. Of course, we were also responsible for 2 dessert wine pairings, which proved to be a bit more challenging. Kevin is obsessed with Côte du Rhône wine; my obsession is Chilean cabernet sauvignon. Thanks to my trusted Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book (by Kevin Zraly) I was able to narrow down the selection. Apparently, 2003 was a very good year for Côte du Rhône, and the prices reflect that quality. Kevin managed to find an affordable one: Chateau Redortier Beaumes-de-Verige, Cotes-du-Rhone Villages, 2003. For Chile, I read that the Maipo Valley region is known for its distinctive cabs. Still, I spent a while reading the descriptions on several labels before choosing one—Marques de Casa Concha, D.O. Puente Alto, Cabernet Savignon, 2007.

For dessert, Kevin and I decided to do an actual pairing. One of my favorite wine experiences was a wine dinner I attended at the now-closed Tin Melon in Weatherford, Texas, several years ago when I first moved to Fort Worth. Each course was paired with a wine, and dessert was no exception: A fruit tart was served with a delicious muscat wine. The wine made the dessert come alive and vice versa. Separately, the two were just okay. Recreating this moment would be hard. The wine course book recommended a port for chocolate, and I wanted to try a muscat for the deconstructed cheese cake. We were very much in the sommeliers hands when we arrived at the store. We bought Warre’s 1999 Porto (Late Bottle Vintage), Portugal, and Dessani Moscato D’Asti, Italy.

Now, usually we buy our wines from WineStyles (we have a wine of the month membership), Central Market or World Market. This time, however, we had the good luck to discover a wine wonderland called Goody Goody. I’m pretty certain that all 3 of our usual stores could easily fit into the wine section at Goody Goody. I highly recommend checking out their selection.

Coming Next: Table Setting