Are you tired of organising the usual company dinner before or after holidays, festivities or to celebrate a company success? Read here how you can turn a boring dinner into a fun, inspiring, memorable and educational teambuilding event with our help.
Wine-Critics-Dinner, become a food and wine critic for an evening
One of our team building programmes is called 'Wine Critics Dinner'. The name already reveals part of the programme: the dinner guests become wine and food critics and have to judge the flavours of the dish, the balance of the wine and the harmony of the pairing.
This is no easy task and before we begin, our sommelier 'trainer' will introduce you to wine and food tasting techniques. This is where our 5 senses come into play, which are developed and present differently in each person; this means that judgement is never identical, but perception can vary. We must therefore discuss, reflect and taste together to come to a correct conclusion.
A happy marriage or a relationship doomed to separation?
That's when the real fun begins! We can assess together whether the proposed pairing is really a happy marriage or destined to break up. The wine may be good, the food great, but perhaps the harmony is missing.
Do you know the different rules for a perfect match between food and wine? Before examining the basic rules of food and wine pairing, it is important to emphasise a simple truth: food has a much greater impact on wine than wine has on food.
There are about ten rules, of which I will mention the essential four:
- Regionality: combine typical cuisine with wines from the region that enhance the special character of a territory; example: Bressaola della Valtellina - Valtellina Superiore DOCG.
- Seasonality: consider summer and winter temperatures with the foods and wines that most gratify our palates and needs; now in summer we prefer fresh, light foods, perhaps fish and vegetables, and consequently fresh, less alcoholic wines; example: the Caprese (tomatoes and mozzarella) - Soave DOCG or Friulano DOC.
- Concordance: must be a proportional balance between wine and food, in terms of complexity, sweetness, aromaticity; example: citrus fruit tart - Fior d'Arancio Passito DOCG.
- Contrast: the contrast between wine and food is used to create a new balance, the fattiness of the dish is contrasted by the acidity and effervescence of the wine, the unctuousness and succulence are contrasted with the alcohol and tannin; example: Braised beef - Barolo DOCG.
With all the know-how acquired and the support of the other team members, the dinner - or rather, the competition - begins. Various dishes, lots of wine tastings (scrupulously blind) to ensure our Eno-Gastronomic Critics do a job well done and a lively and fruitful exchange between team members. At the end, the sheets are examined and the winner, the team with the best scores, is proclaimed.
Sometimes it is just a detail that makes an event special! With our help, a company dinner can become a fun team event, but also each participant can expand their knowledge and take it home (to test friends and family).