The wine question I am most often asked is: how does one decide what wine goes best with what food? At The Shoalwater Restaurant, we have been asking ourselves that question--in reverse--at least once a month from December to May for the past 14 years as we plan our winemaker’s dinners. At these events, we invite a regional winemaker to present up to five different wines at a seven-course meal created specifically to complement those wines.

Our goal has always been to achieve that perfect balance in which both the food and the wine shine equally when paired. In the early years, my practice was to call up each winemaker and discuss the qualities and attributes of each wine to be presented. I would then communicate this information (along with my previous experience of the winery) to our kitchen staff, who would devise menus which seemed to fit the winemaker’s and my descriptions. The only time our chefs actually tasted the wines for which they were cooking was usually about an hour before the actual dinner, when the winemaker arrived with the bottles to be served. Although I daresay we put on some stellar meals, we also had our share of mis-matched courses where the food overwhelmed the wine (or vice-versa).

In recent years, we have used a more “scientific”—and fun--approach which has worked very well. A month before each event, I ask each winemaker to send us a sample bottle of each wine to be featured. My wife Ann and I sit down with our chefs and some French bread, and we systematically taste each wine and share our impressions. We begin with the “nose,” trying to ferret out the qualities of the aroma (those imparted by the particular grape variety grown in a specific area, such as black currant or flint) and the bouquet (attributes added in the winemaking process, such as oak or cream). Some elements jump out of the glass, while others are more subdued or fleeting. We then move on to actually tasting each wine, which adds a new dimension of flavor, continuity, body and finish.

As we share our impressions, we assist each other—and the group—to arrive at a consensus about each wine’s positive (and sometimes negative) features. During the discussion, food associations naturally begin to surface. Taking seasonality and current availability into account, we usually begin by narrowing down the fish, meat, pasta, etc., which we feel will work especially well with each wine. We then select the cooking method for that item, and finally fill in the preparation (sauce--if any--and accompaniments) which sounds best to us all. Even trying to keep our consumption to a minimum (lest our judgment get clouded, God forbid!), the discussion gets pretty lively as ideas pop up (and—often--get shot down).

My suggestion, then, to those trying to find the perfect wine to go with salmon or the best food and preparation to accompany a particular Pinot is to get together with friends, taste (the food or the wine) and free-associate. Trust your impressions, don’t be embarrassed to share (remember: in the subjective world of the senses, everyone’s right!), and be open to learning and expanding your experience base. And enjoy a delicious exercise.

This month’s picks: Amity Vineyards (one of Oregon’s oldest, founded in 1976) still consistently produces excellent wines. I especially enjoy the crisp, Alsatian-style Dry Riesling ($12) and Dry Gewurztraminer ($12) as accompaniments to seafood, Asian food preparations and light meats (like Christmas turkey). For those sensitive to sulfites, Amity also produces a very good organic, sulfite-free Pinot Noir called “Eco” ($14).