By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

The sounds of corks popping and glasses clinking mingled with soft piano music and boisterous laughter at Monarch Landing’s first-ever wine tasting event in October.

Perfect pairings
Outside, the weather was crisp and cool, but inside Monarch Landing’s Millstone Restaurant, the atmosphere was warm and friendly. The event featured six different wine tasting stations—beginning with sparkling wines and ending with sweet dessert wines. At each station, guests could sample hors d’ouevres selected to compliment each wine by Monarch Landing’s Chef de Cuisine Henry Escobedo.

There were mini-quiches to enjoy with fruity white wines and robust reds to wash down the lamb with herbs de Provence. Guests mingled and meandered their ways through all of the stations, inevitably winding up at the last one, which featured chocolate-covered strawberries paired with port and other dessert wines.

Ask the expert
Wine aficionado Mike Yang selected all of the wines for the event and was on hand to answer questions and help guests discover new wines they might enjoy. Yang has been collecting wine for 40 years and is a three-time winner of the nation’s oldest pro/am wine tasting contest at Chicago’s acclaimed Geja’s Café.

"Everyone has their own style, so today’s event is to help people discover the style of wine they like best," Yang says.

Yang, who also teaches wine tasting courses at Monarch Landing, says you don’t have to be an expert to enjoy good wine.

"The bottom line with wine is to drink what you like," he says.

Thanks to Yang’s recommendation, Monarch Landing resident Mary Ann Rickert discovered a new port wine that she particularly enjoyed.

"This one is really wonderful and has a nice cherry flavor," Rickert says. "I like to drink port in the evening."